Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Bill would require associations to answer owner inquiries or forfeit attorney-fee recovery, witnesses say
Summary
Supporters and association-industry representatives debated House Bill 1501, which would give homeowners in common-interest communities a limited right to have boards respond to written inquiries; opponents warned the measure could be weaponized and impose unbudgeted costs on associations.
House Bill 1501 would create a narrow enforcement incentive for homeowners to obtain answers from homeowners associations by limiting an association’s ability to recover attorney fees in any later dispute if it failed to respond, witnesses told the Washington State House Committee on Housing.
Steve Horvath, testifying for HOA United, said the bill’s intent is to encourage “good governance” by giving owners a route to get substantive replies to questions that affect their money. “The only thing that happens is if what you asked becomes a dispute, the association won’t be able to recover their attorney’s fees,” Horvath said. He added that the sponsor is Representative…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
