Proposed Iowa Common Interest Ownership Act

Hi All,

Just seeking some opinions here. The Iowa Common Interest Community Ownership Act has been proposed in the Iowa legislature this year - SF285 https://www.legis.iowa.gov. I am not that computer literate these days so hopefully this will link you to the proper page.

I believe it will help Iowans belonging to common interest communities have easier access to records and have an opportunity to attend meetings of the board of directors.

The common interest community where I live has no covenants and restrictions to adhere to because of expiration but it does have common elements to maintain. That being two ponds and a sanitary sewer system. We share the expense to operate the sanitary sewer, insurance, and taxes. My concern is that if the legislation passes, the BOD will claim the law does not apply to our community because of the expiration of the CC&R's. The community is registered with the Iowa Secretary of State as a nonprofit corporation.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated. I understand you are not lawyers and I am not seeking legal advice. I am just interested in some opinions. Thank you.

The applicability section of the bill indicates that it is only for cooperatives and condominiums (horizontal property regimes).

This is from page 13 of Tim's link:

"The bill specifies that a common interest community does not include a covenant that requires the owners of separate parcels of real estate to share certain costs or other obligations, unless all such owners consent in writing to the creation of a common interest community, and does not include community where all units are owned by a single unit owner."

Thanks Tim and Jeff. Looks like I may have to contact the bill's sponsors and my state senator to seek some clarification and some discussion of the bill.

I have read Iowa 504 but it does not require open meetings. As far as getting records from the Association, it takes multiple requests to get anything. At one point we paid an attorney and he suggested we send them a copy of the code regarding records. It still took months to actually get anything. The president offered to meet at his house once but I would not feel comfortable doing that without others present. This president has made false accusations against us so don't want to provide him any opportunity for a he said she said scenario.

I will do my best to reach them and keep you posted.