How do HOA's normally keep up with the law?

Happy Post-Thanksgiving!

I have a new question. How do HOA's normally keep up with changes in the law that impact HOA's?

I accidentally learned that a new law says HOA's "shall" write up a policy regarding solar panels. It's a new law saying they have to be allowed. In looking at other HOA's in my area, I see that they have already hired a lawyer to write up their policy, and filed it with the Records Office.

Is there a mailing list or something to let HOA boards know about new laws, or is up to us to keep tabs on changes in the law?

Judy

Your management company should be guiding you.

If they are not, maybe you need a new management company

I would say your management company, but ours has been tripped up with new laws they were not aware of. Then I started attending weekly legal briefings regarding new laws and learned of lots of new laws that the property management company was unaware of. Of course, they refuse to admit and pretend that they knew about the law for some time, but for some reason had missed telling just our HOA about it.

The answer to your question is - I have no idea. I am sure there are many laws that we are not following and not familiar with.

How do I find out about these weekly legal briefings in my state?

My city doesn't offer any help at all.

j

you don't need a lawyer to write up any policy. just make one like
the HOA allows solar panels on the roof of the house as long as they are permitted and inspected and meet NEC code 2022. Ground mount solar panels are only allowed behind a home and the back yard must be fenced.

Ours are offered by an HOA attorney firm as part of a sales effort to gain clients. I have no idea what resources are available in Illinois. As a private corporation, your city will be of zero help whatsoever.

In our area the HOA law firms do online webinars at least monthly that are free to join (they are looking for business) and they discuss changes in the laws. I find it very helpful.

Our attorney that we have on retainer (costs less then $500 per year) also updates us on important things.

Be careful with your solar policy. Many states now have very strict regulations about what you can and can't tell homeowners that they can do with their solar panels. I would do an internet search and find another HOA's policy in your state, adapt it for your community and run it by an attorney.

As an MC, we consider it one of our responsibilities to advise our clients of changes to the property code and other laws with affect them. Few, if any, of our client board members are attuned to changes in the law which affect associations.

In our area, and perhaps across the state of Texas, CAI publishes a synopsis and verbatim copy of changes implemented by the Texas Legislature. At least one attorney in the state who specializes in HOA and Condominium law does the same.

Since the Legislature meets in regular session only in odd-numbered years, we generally have to deal with this every 24 months or so, depending on the effective date of the changes.

I agree with Lori and do not agree with Wendy about the solar panels. Seek the advice of counsel regarding installation guidelines, then develop and implement an association policy including ACC application guidelines and an approval process.

While Texas has mandated in the property code HOAs cannot prohibit the installation of solar panels on the roof, some aspects of the installation are left to the discretion of the association if the efficiency of the panels is not compromised. I do not know if yard mounted panels are subject to the same restrictions. Condos were not addressed at all.

I know a lot of people don't like CAI (Community Association Institute), but this is what some of their chapters do (some better than others). You might want to check the website to see what's in your area.

In fact, it would appear your board could use a lot of education on HOA issues, which is one reason I often recommend CAI. They do have lots of education materials for new and experienced HOA board members (and homeowners for that matter who would like more background on best practices for HOA boards). In addition to assorted books, there are also seminars - some may be live in your others and I believe there are online webinars available. Your community might consider getting a group membership so all of you can get some education.

Otherwise, get a HOA attorney, as Wendy and several others have suggested. The bar association may be able to give you referrals to some in your area and you can speak to them to see who you're most comfortable with. I'd like for someone who has some sort of board member education available (our previous attorney did an annual dinner/education presentation for its clients).

And since you're wondering about the law, Google can be your friend - look up the state legislature website in your state and start pointing and clicking. Better yet, this could be something you ask your local representative to do (they may even have a newsletter you can subscribe to that provides updates on all sorts of information.)

With Shelia, Tim posted some CAI materials on one of Judy's other posts and, imo, the Board Members Toolkit is invaluable for learning about HOAs.

In my state too, as also mentioned, a large HOA law firm puts on frequent webinars open to anyone at no cost.

Weekly legal briefings? For a pwrson with no time.

Thanks! Good suggestions!

This, children, is why it's a good idea to review your documents every 5-7 years to see what should be added, dropped, or tweaked. You don't have to address EVERYTHING that comes up in HOA land (most folks already ignore what's there). Since most documents do give Boards the authority to draft additional rules, they can use that flexibility to address e-bikes (from another conversation), solar panels, or whatever. The demographics of your community and its priorities will be your guide - some won't give a hoot about anything, and others are gung-ho about solar panels.

As a practical matter, the more rules you have, the more time and resources you'll need to enforce them, so don't enact the rule if you're unwilling to do so consistently and fairly.
Your common sense really should kick in on some of these things, especially when you establish what you think will be useful, only for the city or state to enact something that will flip that rule on its head.

As the owner of a management company in California, one of the services we provide is updating our clients on any new laws going into effect at the beginning of the year. We will email blast all board members and post a video on our website of the new changes that would be available to any board member or homeowner that wishes to view.

That takes care of my clients, what about the 30,000 self managed HOA's in California, how do they stay on top of new legislation? My daughter and I have been doing research over the past year and have found that these self managed HOA are only using what's in their current (ages old) governing docs.