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Bill aims to clarify when homeowners association covenants are 'abandoned'
Summary
Representative Jedidiah Hinkle told the committee HB 147 defines what counts as an enforcement action so homeowners can defend against selective covenant enforcement; proponents said the bill provides clarity for small HOAs and courts.
Representative Jedidiah Hinkle opened House Bill 147 to define what constitutes an "enforcement action" by a homeowners association for the purposes of the eight‑year abandonment defense under existing law. The sponsor described constituent complaints about selective or retributive enforcement by HOA boards and said the bill requires a covenant to have been "equally and consistently enforced" over at least a two‑year period to count as an enforcement action.
Stephanie Bacchus, a Billings attorney who practices in HOA law, supported the bill and said the two‑year consistency test creates predictability for courts and property owners. Committee members raised hypotheticals (temporary handicap ramps, compassionate exceptions) and discussed how the bill interacts with private HOA covenant language; the sponsor and proponents said the measure was intended as a interpretive clarification rather than a contract override.
No opponents appeared and the hearing closed; committee members asked follow‑up questions about practical application to diverse HOA documents.
