CCHAL Website to Help Owners File HOA Complaints  with State Agencies

“Which state agency handles complaints against homeowner associations and property managers?” ask homeowners. The Center for HOA Law (CCHAL) gets this question all the time.  It’s a logical question.  Several state agencies regulate California industries – insurance for example and certain banks and companies doing debt collection – so why isn’t there a California agency to regulate homeowner associations? After all: California’s HOA industry now controls $14 billion in cash – all of it collected from California consumers – and trillions of dollars in California real estate. While there isn’t ONE state agency dedicated to homeowner complaints, state agencies do exist that can resolve specific issues, for example: Discrimination (racial or disability or age-related) (Department of Fair Employment and Housing) Use of unlicensed contractors by the HOA to make repairs (Contractors State License Board) Failure of the developer to pay assessments on unsold homes or failure to finish/deliver amenities, e.g. the swimming pool (Department of Real Estate) Refusal by the board to release financial records (California Department of Justice/Attorney General)  Failure by the board to hold elections (California ;Department of Justice/Attorney General) These are routine complaints that come to CCHAL We are about to re-launch the Center’s website which will – among other things – identify in detail the state agencies that resolve specific homeowner complaints and lay out the process for getting them resolved.  The website also lays out getting help from local government.  However, the first step before filing a complaint is finding and connecting with a local Self-Help Center attached to the county court where homeowners can get SUPPORT for filing a complaint correctly and get SUPPORT while the agency is processing it.  Remember: it’s not enough to say “the board is discriminating against me because I’m disabled.”  The complaint has to lay out proof of discrimination.  A Self-Help Center has staff that can assist with identifying the right proof. Self-Help Centers are listed BY COUNTY here: https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-selfhelpcenters.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en Self-Help Center services are free. Filing a complaint with a state agency is not the same as hiring a lawyer and going to court.  But homeowners will have to assemble evidence as though they were going to court: documents, records, telephone and email notes, witnesses and witness statements, chronology of events, etc.  Self-Help Center staff can help with this process. Going to court – including small claims – is always an alternative to filing a complaint, but as homeowners know, the courts are expensive, time-consuming, and slow.  Filing in small claims will also be explained on the website with models of successful suits won by homeowners. Filing complaints, using small claims, and using alternatives  (mediation, for example) – will be laid out in the re-launched website.  The Center aims to unveil it soon. Look for it! Please forward this  NewsBrief to your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms  Questions/comments? Email us at info@calhomelaw.org     Copyright © 2024 Center for California Homeowner Association Law, All rights reserved. January 15, 2024. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Center for California Homeowner Association Law 3758 Grand Ave Ste 56 Oakland, CA 94610-1506 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.