On February 28, HB 410 passed the House with a vote of 153-18. This bill relates to regulation of specialized land transactions, so as to provide for limits on certain fees imposed on purchasers of condominiums and lots in a property owners’ association; to provide for fees for statements of amounts owing to a property owners’ association; to provide for the manner of providing such statements; to provide for expedited fees; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
- Current Law allows an HOA to charge $10 for a statement of account or more commonly known as a HOA closing letter.
- In practice, however:
- $10 letter virtually nonexistent because management companies and 3rd parties are abusing current law by charging exorbitant fees for add-on charges.
- The consumer bears burden of these additional fees and is often only made aware of these at closing
- The additional fees accompanying the letter, which come by many names, have become excessive in recent years (processing, convenience, rush, service…)
- None of these fees are provided for under current law
- The consumer does not have a market option to obtain the letter, they can only obtain it from the HOA in which the property is located
- HB 410 seeks to address this issue by:
- Establishing a clear intent of the letter by comprehensively including all items necessary for closing & eliminating unnecessary charges
- Increasing existing cap from $10 to $100 (due to comprehensive list)
- Setting forth a timeframe of 10 days for production of letter
- Ultimately, removing any undue surprises at closing