is there a required response time

Hi,

I , my owner account was assessed charges for something that I have contended is included in the normal monthly maintenance.

When I received my monthly statement, I immediately sent an email to the accounting company and the board disputing the charge and listing the reasons why this charge is improper and not authorized.

The only answer I received was from the accounting company. see the following..

Laskas,

Thank you for your email. Your request will be provided to the Board of Directors for review and consideration. I will contact you once they have made a decision. Until a decision is made, you will continue to receive a notice with regard to the balance due, I thank you in advance for your patience.

Thank You ~

The board has not responded and I have been given no indication that a hearing has been added to the agenda. I know the owner has 30 days to dispute a charge. Are there any requirements for the board to respond in a timely manner.

No this is not how it works in Texas for this issue, for one. Applicable to all condos in Texas is the following statute section:


Sec. 82.161. EFFECT OF VIOLATIONS ON RIGHTS OF ACTION AND ATTORNEY'S FEES. (a) If a declarant or any other person subject to this chapter violates this chapter, the declaration, or the bylaws, any person or class of persons adversely affected by the violation has a claim for appropriate relief.

(b) The prevailing party in an action to enforce the declaration, bylaws, or rules is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs of litigation from the nonprevailing party.

In texas. for condominiums, an owner has a right to appeal charges or fines assessed to their account.

I sent notice to the board , office manager and accounting company.

The accounting company acknowledge my letter and I included the response in my original post.

What I'm asking is, if the accounting company notifies the board,(which I'm sure they did) that an owner is contesting certain charges.

Does the board set the hearing date.? Is there a time limit? I know with ACC requests there are time limited for the board to respond. If they don't respond, the ACC request is approved. The board can no go back and rescind the approval. They are required to respond in a timely manner.

is there anything like this for arbitrary, unauthorized charges.??

Looking at the sections of TPC 82 that are relevant to your pre-1994 condo association, I see no timreframe for responding to a request for a hearing. As I think you know, the Courts say the Board has to act "reasonably and fairly" when it has discretion that must be exercised.

I would write them (super politely and with conciseness) once a month for the next six months, documenting your communications and that they have been received. In the fifth and six letters, state that, if the charge/fine is not removed by ____, you will have to consider taking this matter to small claims court. If the assessment/fine is still there after six months, then consider proceeding to small claims court.