Highline Gardens

Regulation sought for HOA firms

March 3, 2012

   Management companies working for homeowners associations should be regulated to create a clear line of accountability to the groups that hire them, according to a state review issued Friday.    Saying there is “no shortage of horror stories” related to HOAs and living in a covenant-controlled community, Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies made the recommendation to the legislature.   

Regulating the companies that administer HOA rules would also bring into focus the number of community managers operating in the state, an amount estimated at around 1,250.   

Of those, just 565 managers are credentialed as certified managers of community associations. Under state oversight, they would all have to be credentialed and undergo criminal background checks.   

Proponents of regulation said it would serve “to instill greater professionalism” in the industry, while opponents — many of them the HOAs — said their boards of directors could handle oversight on their own just fine.   

The Community Associations Institute, which represents HOAs, supports regulation.    Colorado legislators received so many complaints about HOAs that in 2010, they voted to create an HOA Information Office and Resource Center to gather complaints and help homeowners.   

About 2 million people in Colorado live under more than 8,000 HOAs, according to state estimates. Nine states and the District of Columbia license or regulate community managers.    David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com