Bill > A3467

Introduced Session

This bill enhances the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) regulatory powers over owner-controlled governing boards found within common interest communities; creates an Advisory Council on Common Interest Communities; establishes the Office of Ombudsman for Common Interest Communities; and creates Common Interest Community Homeowners' Association Trust Fund. Additionally this bill requires DCA to prepare and publish and distribute a booklet that serves a general guide to community associations to owners in common interest communities. Lastly, the bill provides funding for grants and loans to homeowner associations maintaining common property in inclusionary common interest communities containing units reserved for low and moderate income families. Under this bill common interest communities would include condominiums, cooperatives, and any other real estate development composed of individually owned property units and common property jointly owned and managed by the unit owners as an association. Under the bill DCA would have the power to initiate, receive, hear and review complaints, adopt rules, hold hearings, make findings and impose sanctions. Additionally, DCA would have the power to issue subpoenas for the production of documents and the attendance of witnesses with respect to the investigation of any complaint; to forward to the appropriate governmental officials any information that may indicate violation of any statute, criminal or otherwise, or any rules of court or professional conduct; to render advisory opinions as to whether a given state of facts or circumstances would constitute a violation of any statute or rule applicable to associations; to enforce all statutes and regulations imposing any duty upon associations; to remove from office, after notice and the opportunity for a hearing, any governing board member or officer who fails to comply with any order issued by the commissioner to cease and desist from violating any statute, rule, court order or proper vote of the owners; to set standards and procedures for dispute resolution at the association level; and to select, assign and provide trained and impartial volunteer mediators for the purpose of resolving disputes in conjunction with the Office of the Ombudsman of Common Interest Communities. These new authorities provided to DCA would only apply to common interest communities with over 100 units. The bill also creates an Advisory Council on Common Interest Communities to assist DCA in formulating and revising its regulations and policies regarding common interest communities. Additionally, the advisory council would recommend improvements to DCA, if needed, in the education or other current programs impacting common interest communities. The advisory council would consist of nine members appointed by the Governor, and would contain representative members for owners, board members, governmental entities and a nonpartisan voting rights group. This bill creates a new entity within DCA, known as the Office of the Ombudsman for Common Interest Communities. This office would assist homeowners in understanding their rights and responsibilities and the remedies available to them, as well as assist governing board members and officers of associations in receiving appropriate training to allow them to properly discharge their functions and duties. Additionally, this office would function as a liaison between associations and any entity concerning disputes regarding code compliance or inspections. The costs associated with the Office of the Ombudsman for Common Interest Communities under the bill would be met by a registration fee required to be paid annually by each unit owner assigned a vote as a member of a common interest community. The fee is not subject to being increased by the commissioner. Under the bill, 90 days after enactment all homeowners associations are required to register with DCA, and pay an annual registration fee. The fee would not exceed three dollars for each unit to which a vote as a member of the association is allocated within the common interest community. This fee would not be adjusted annually by the commissioner. Associations would collect the fee on a per voting unit basis and report the fee paid in their financial documents separate from any other assessment or association charges. All registration fees and penalty moneys received by DCA would be deposited in an interest bearing, non lapsing revolving fund, entitled the "Common Interest Community Homeowners' Association Trust Fund," to be held by the State Treasurer. Moneys held in this non-lapsing revolving fund would be continuously appropriated to DCA for the purposes of making grants to associations comprised, in part or in whole, of low and moderate income households for assistance to those households in the payment of the common maintenance expenses. As well as, used by the Center for Government Services, Rutgers University; for the purposes of providing educational training or training materials for board members; the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Rutgers University for the purposes of providing conflict resolution training for board members, property managers and owners; the Association Regulation Unit in DCA for the purpose of providing arbitration services and for training of volunteer mediators; and the purposes of defraying administrative costs of the department for the booklet and Advisory Council expenses, if any. Under the bill, DCA is required to prepare and publish a booklet, which is to be made available at cost to the general public, to associations and to unit owners in common interest communities to serve as a general guide to community associations. The booklet would be distributed by the association to each unit owner free of charge initially, and at cost as required for distribution to purchasers; it will be the duty of each selling unit owner to provide a copy of the booklet to a purchaser of the unit at or before the time of signing of the sales contract. Under the bill, funding for grants and loans to homeowner associations maintaining common property in inclusionary common interest communities containing units reserved for low and moderate income families, would be supported by a set-aside of a portion of the registration fees now charged developers of such communities.

AI Summary

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Carol Murphy (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee (on 02/05/2024)

Official Document