Tag: HOA Common sense

HOA boards are not required to uphold member fundamental rights

Folks, time for a reality check. You know I’ve repeatedly argued for constitutional protections and getting only slip-service.  As Prof. Evan McKenzie wrote in 1994 (Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government,

“CIDS [HOAs] currently engage in many activities that would be prohibited  if they were viewed  by the courts as the equivalent of local governments.” 

Many of your complaints, here and on other websites, reflect this reality of an authoritarian government that coerces consent.  HOA boards are not required to uphold member fundamental rights; neither are they obligated to be fair, just, understanding, or compassionate. HOAs are NOT public governments with these implied obligations.  It does not have to be that way! 

See HOA Common Sense and The HOA-Land Nation Within America.

Common Sense

“An HOA is the governing body of a condominium or planned unit development (PUD) functioning for all intents and purposes as a de facto local political community government, but not recognized as such by state governments.

“Without fair elections procedures that contain enforcement against HOA board wrongful acts, including retaliatory acts and intimidation by the board, voting in an HOA is a mockery of democracy.  Is this HOA government better than public government?  Common sense tells us no!”

HOA-Land Nation

“Your HOA board (BOD) is unaccountable under state laws with trivial, if any, penalties or punishments for violations of state laws or the governing documents?  Without meaningful enforcement to hold BODs accountable and to serve as a detriment to continued violations, you are forced to sue just to get compliance.

 “The much touted HOAs are democratic because members can vote is utterly without merit?  Fair elections protections, as compared with those in the public arena, do not exist under a corporation law.  Members do not have equal access to HOA newsletters, website, member lists, and use of common amenity meetings rooms, among other denials.” 

DEMAND CONSTITUTIONAL AND FUNDAMENTAL PROTECTIONS!  Demand your legislators support such a bill as proposed HOA constitutionality bill.

proposed HOA constitutionality bill

“Now is the time for all good homeowner advocate leaders to come to the aid of member-owners”

 living in HOAs and suffering abuse, financial and emotional distress as a result of BODs being  protected by Arizona laws. These abuses are easy to understand and support! (See HOA Common Sense: rejecting private government and The HOA-Land Nation Within America).

A quick and simple — but highly effective — bill that was proposed in March 2011 and will bring relief to homeowners being treated a second-class citizens by state laws in support of the HOA legal scheme. It was ignored by Arizona advocates and dismissed by the Legislature.

“No provision of any contract or any declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions . . . is enforceable in this state unless the party seeking to enforce the provision proves by clear and convincing evidence that 1) the provision being enforced was knowingly and voluntarily agreed to by all parties . . . . Any representation or statement offered as clear and convincing evidence . . . shall include a signed statement containing the following, beginning with “I understand that I can ask that the following be read and explained to my satisfaction.”

“So reads an excerpt from my proposed “Truth in HOAs” statute that should be made law in each and every state. That is, if indeed the legislature stands by the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, which we are hearing so much about in the media nowadays.”

The “The Truth in HOAs Act,” as I called  it,  allows each state to modify the proposal in accordance with its state HOA/condo acts — shown in square brackets [].  Also, subsection (3) contains a list of acknowledgements  that can be tailored to each state’s advocate lobbying efforts.  See Arizona Truth in HOAs statute (pvtgov.org).  The essential bill section is contained in subparagraph (4).

“Therefore, in reference to subsection 3(d) above, the CC&Rs or Declaration for any planned community, condominium association or homeowners association shall state that, “The association hereby waivers and surrenders any rights or claims it may have, and herewith unconditionally and irrevocably agrees to be bound by the US and State Constitutions and laws of the State as if it were a local public government entity.”

 The real estate subdivision or condominium will not be affected by requiring HOAs to join with other forms of local government and be subject to the Constitution as a home rule entity.  See HOAs violate local home rule doctrine and are outlaw governments.

This 2022 legislative session offers a unique, one-time opportunity to get the message across and to educate the legislators. Remaining silent on the issues only plays into the pro-HOA hands of CAI and offers excuses by the media not to cover HOA abuse.  Not only will you find “ammunition” in support of your arguments as contained in the 2 above publications, but also in my Arizona Supreme Court  amicus brief filed and accepted in Tarter v. Bendt (see note (vi) in Can HOA members expect justice in Arizona courts?).

My arguments are summarized in the Commentary.  As is my approach, my arguments are supported by legal authority and hard evidence documents, which CAI ignores and YOU lose!  They must be exposed if the legislators are to be fully informed on the reality of HOA-Land.  As leaders who are internet publishers,  actions speak louder than words!

 

Preface to HOA Common Sense

PREFACE

The title of this pamphlet, “Common Sense,” was chosen to identify and relate to the aims and purposes of the original 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine, Common Sense. Prior to the American Revolution it was Paine who provided the reasons and justifications for overthrowing the oppression government of King George III. He raised the consciousness of the colonists as to their second-class citizenship with respect to the British Empire, and something had to be done about. It was widely read by the Founding Fathers who did do something about it.

With a similar object in regard to oppressive, authoritarian HOA regimes, I present a summary of the essential issues that must be similarly remedied to bring about substantive changes to planned community/condo private governance.

Clarifications of meanings and concepts

A nation consists of a distinct population of people that are bound together by a common culture, history, and tradition who are typically concentrated within a specific geographic region. The common, binding element of HOAs is its organic law foundation, from which flow all state laws and the declarations of CC&Rs boilerplate, is based on The Homes Association Handbook of 1964.


An HOA is the governing body of a condominium or planned unit development (PUD) functioning for all intents and purposes as a de facto local political community government, but not recognized as such by state governments.

An organic law is a law, or system of laws, that form the foundation of a government, corporation or any other organization’s body of rules. A constitution is a particular form of organic law for a sovereign state. The US has indeed a set of documents constituting its organic law.

Definition of HOA-LAND: HOA-Land is a collection of fragmented independent principalities within America, known in general as “HOAs,” that are separate local private governments not subject to the constitution, and that collectively constitute a nation within the United States.

Read the book: HOA Common Sense: rejecting private government, a summary of 6 constitutional defects.

HOA board education in constitutionality

HOAs have, as local private governments are not subject to the Constitution, created divisiveness and a separation from the greater public community resulting in member confusion regarding the law and their constitutional rights and protections. StarMan Group presents an online educational series, with numerous authorities, to instruct HOA boards in regard to their obligations “in the best interests of the members”.

This HOA educational series to reorient HOA boards and the public in general is available online under the collection, “Restoring the Lost Constitution to HOA-Land”:

1) HOA Common Sense: rejecting private government, a summary of 6 constitutional defects,

2) The HOA-Land Nation Within America, presenting the scope of outlaw private governments that deny constitutional protections,

3) The Plan to Restructure the Model of HOA Governance that advances an approach to restore the Constitution to HOAs while keeping the desired benefits of the “real estate package,” and

4) Establishing the New America of Independent HOA Principalities,” a history of the HOA scheme.

For a historical perspective of HOA-Land, see: 1) The Homes Associations Handbook (ULI, 1964). (Not publicly available but I have a copy of the 434 page document); 2) Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government (1994), Evan McKenzie; and 3) Community Associations: The Emergence and Acceptance of a Quiet Innovation in Housing (2000), Donald R. Stable. (ULI and CAI production).

Restoring the lost Constitution to HOA-Land

Some 23% of Americans live in HOA-Land, that collection of fragmented independent principalities known, in general, as HOAs. Overwhelmingly their members swear by the HOA as the next best thing to Mom’s apple pie. It is hard to accept this undying loyalty to the HOA and its board of directors in view of the fact that their acceptance of HOAs is the result of an intentional indoctrination by national lobbying, business trade group that, in my mind, does not know how to spell “constitution.. Obviously then, those CAI surveys are suspect.

HOAs are separate, local private governments not subject to the constitution, and collectively constitute a nation within a defined geographical region known as the United States. “A nation consists of a distinct population of people that are bound together by a common culture, history, and tradition who are typically concentrated within a specific geographic region.”

“Public policy today rejects constitutional government for HOAs allowing them to operate outside the law of the land. The policy makers have failed to understand that the HOA CC&Rs have crossed over the line between purely property restrictions to establishing unregulated and authoritarian private governments.”

To provide the ignored but important and substantial aspects of the HOA legal scheme I have designated three books by StarMan Group under the collection, “Restoring the Lost Constitution to HOA-Land.” They are 1) HOA Common Sense: rejecting private government, a summary of 6 constitutional defects, 2) The HOA-Land Nation Within America, presenting the scope of outlaw private governments that deny constitutional protections to HOA members, and 3) The Plan to Restructure the Model of HOA Governance that advances a plan to restore the Constitution to HOAs while keeping the desired benefits of the “real estate package.” (All the above can be found on Amazon.com).

For a historical perspective of HOA-Land, see:

  • The Homes Associations Handbook (ULI, 1964). Not publicly available but I have a copy of the 434 page document).
  • Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government (1994), Evan McKenzie.
  • Community Associations: The Emergence and Acceptance of a Quiet Innovation in Housing (2000), Donald R. Stable. (ULI and CAI production).

(All the above, except for the Handbook,  can be found on Amazon.com).