When my HOA made the difficult decision to foreclose on a homeowner's property due to failure to pay monthly HOA fees we began the process of researching our rights and responsibilities. New laws that went into effect Jan. 1, 2012 reign in the ability of HOAs to regulate homeowners.
Regarding elections, meetings and directors: board meetins must be open and written minutes must be kept. Meetings must be announced to homeowners 10 - 60 days prior (if mailed) and at least 72 hrs. in advance if posted in a common area. Secret ballots are not allowed and owners may not be disqualified from voting for any reason,
Five things that homeowner's associations can no longer prohibit are: solar-enery devices, rain-harvesting devices, display of religious items, roof shingles that are wind/hail resistent, energy efficient or solar generating, and flags (although the HOA may determine the size, number and location of flagpoles).
Records policies were also addressed in the new law. By-laws are not effective unless recorded with the county. Governing documents must be posted on the HOA web site and declarations can only be amended by 67% of the homeowners. Books and records must be open to the owners. Retention of records was also addressed and varies from 4 to 7 years depending on the type of document.
Assessment, liens and foreclosures are now regulated. Owner payment plans must be put in plase and recorded with the county. Application of payments is now regulated to be made in a special order and must start with the actual debt.
Foreclosures must now by judicial foreclosures. HOAs must use "expedited foreclosure procedures" to obtain a court order. This procedure is now in progress through my HOA board. We also discovered that junior lien holders must be notified 60 days prior to the foreclosure in order to give them an opportunity to cure.
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