2008 Legislative Session:
Perhaps the most influential of the homeowner association bills that came out of the 2008 Arizona legislative session was a bill that altered the applicability of the Arizona Condominium Act (A.R.S. § 33-1201, et seq.) to include all condominiums, regardless of the date that they were created. See A.R.S. § 33-1201. Previously, the Arizona Condominium Act applied to all condominiums created after January 1, 1986. Prior to the adoption of this bill, the Arizona Condominium Act only applied to condominiums created before January 1, 1986 to the extent that it did not conflict with the condominium association's governing documents (its articles of incorporation, bylaws, and declaration of condominium, "horizontal property regime" or conditions, covenants, and restrictions) or it did not conflict with the Arizona Condominium Act's predecessor.
2009 Legislative Session:
The 2009 legislative session introduced a number of bills of interest to both homeowners and homeowner associations, although many of these bills target specific groups. Please note that, although some of these bills made progress before the Arizona State Legislature, none of these bills have passed as of the date of this update. The Arizona State Legislature adjourned on July 1, 2009. This bill summary does, however, provide insight into the current trends in homeowner association legislation.
One of the most interesting bills before the legislature was HB 2034, which provided that homeowner associations do not have the authority to regulate roadways, easements, or other areas that were dedicated to or otherwise under the authority of a governmental entity. If passed, this bill may have restricted a planned community's ability to enforce rules prohibiting parking on roadways within the association in certain circumstances, among others. This bill passed the Arizona House of Representatives, but failed in a Senate committee.
Also, HB 2625, if passed, would permit a homeowner to "opt-out" of mandatory membership in a planned community. To do so, the owner would have to record a notice of his intention to opt-out and would only be valid for that specific owner. Any recorded notice of intention to opt-out would not be applicable to subsequent purchasers of the property.
Other proposed bills included, among others:
- A bill permitting the installation of solar screens or shade structures (HB 2141);
- A bill requiring homeowner associations to adopt bylaws and complete other matters to incorporate and function within ninety (90) days of the termination of the period of Declarant control (HB 2391);
- A bill requiring planned communities and condominiums to register with the Secretary of State and to provide certain information regarding the association, including contact information (HB 2430);
- A bill permitting homeowners to circulate petitions for amendments to an association's community documents (HB 2454);
- A bill prohibiting planned communities from restricting the installation of amateur radio station emergency communications antennae and related structures of reasonable height and dimensions (HB 2514);
- A bill permitting the installation of rainwater catching devices designed as a water saving device (HB 2518); and
- A bill permitting the installation of certain energy saving devices in a planned community, including awnings, shutters, clotheslines, energy saving lighting, and attic and garage fans (HB 2542).
Again, the legislature appears concerned with energy saving issues (HB 2141, HB 2518, and HB 2542), homeowner rights and oversight (HB 2454 and HB 2625), and association operations and transparency issues (HB 20343, HB 2391, and HB 2430). The bills proposed are largely "homeowner" friendly by placing limitations on a homeowner association's restrictions and authority to regulate. Although these bills did not pass during this legislative session, it appears that Arizona's congressmen and congresswomen are concerned with protecting homeowner rights.
