Treasurer right to share information with others

Started by NancyG5 • 5 replies • 1428 views

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NancyG5 (Utah)
Posts: 1

Posted:

I am a homeowner in a 16 unit community. The treasurer is a homeowner and has served in her present role for over ten years. I received an email from the treasurer threatening to place a lien on my home and also charge attorney fees, as my account was 14 days past due. Also, she told my adult son to let me know the account was past due when he visited me and was taking a walk. Can an HOA treasurer share that type of financial information with someone other than board members? I certainly did not want my son to hear that I was having trouble paying this assessment. I paid the fee two days later with the required $25 late assessment fee. This fee is charged if HOA fees are five days late, as well as special assessments. Also, when can a lien be filed...15 days late, etc?

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Hi Nancy,

Welcome to the forum.

State law, your CC&R's, or the bylaws for your association may address how and when notice must be given. I doubt that telling an owner's adult child to tell the owner would suffice. But keep in mind that there may not be any notice required at all.

If one is going to give notice, it should always be directed to the responsible party and in some acceptable form. A letter to the owner would be acceptable. Telling someone who lives in the household to tell the owner would not normally be recognized as notice.

Threatening to file a lien because payment is 14 days late is overkill. Most associations have a policy in place for dealing with late payments and few seem to file liens until the assessment is at least 90 days past due.

In answer to your question as to can they file a lien? Yes. In theory they could do so if it was just one day late. But as I said above, it's overkill.

Overall, I would have to agree that the treasurer did not handle this matter in a business-like way.

GnomeX (Washington)
Posts: 253

Posted:

Another thing to consider is once a lien is filed it is a public document that anyone can view.

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

Well, Nancy, I don't know UT laws, but the treasurer, it seems to me overstepped by revealing your personal financial information to someone who doesn't own your unit. (other than the Board). Notice should be in writing to you and anyone else who's on title.Your governing documents might spell out more and also your state laws.

Since you're not being liened at present, I don't believe that GnomeX's remarks apply at this time.

I guess a question might be that IF the treasurer was out of line, what would you want to do about it? What would others advise?

GnomeX (Washington)
Posts: 253

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By CarolR11 on 10/19/2013 8:42 PM

Since you're not being liened at present, I don't believe that GnomeX's remarks apply at this time.

It depends on the state. For example in Washington State, ALL association records except unlisted phone numbers are open to review by all members of the association. That includes account balances of all owners.

I had to fight my old Board over this. We needed account balances in order to know who was in "good standing" in order to get a petition for a special meeting for their removal. And only owners in "good standing" were eligible to sign the petition. Their own attorney even concurred they could not withhold such information such as account balances.

Granted that doesn't mean the Treasurer should go around plastering such info on a billboard. However is this the case? It doesn't sound like it to me.

Here you have the Treasurer informing a family member of a delinquent account. I personally have had to track people down with delinquent balances and many times the only was I was able to get word to them was via one of their family members. Some people in arrears tend to "hide" from an association. Doing this is an association's only option and IMHO is a service to such members as it gets the word to them before things get stepped up to legal.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Nancy,

I serve as treasurer for my association and will not even tell our Board who specifically is behind in assessments unless voting rights have been suspended. They know the numbers but not the names. I would certainly not have told your son if I was the treasurer what the issue was about.

It sounds like your Association needs to adopt a policy on how late payments are to be addressed. I've never heard threatening a lien in the first notification.

Here is our policy:

30 days - letter
60 days - Letter
90 days - certified letter informing the Board is considering escalating collection efforts
120 days - member invited to Board meeting where a decision will be made to escalate collections which will require the member to also incur legal fees, court costs, etc.

Since this policy has been in effect, we have had no issues that required us to send the issue to the attorney.

NOW with all that said, I see that you have the following options concerning your issue:

1) Talk with the Treasurer one on one
2) Send a formal letter to the Treasurer instructing them to only discuss issues with you
3) Request a hearing before the Board and explain the issue. Perhaps, have ideas to resolve the issue.

I understand that you are upset. The question becomes, what is it you want fixed and how should it be fixed?

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