ROYAL PALM BEACH —

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A bill moving through the Legislature protects people in homeowner associations from retribution if they take steps to reduce water use for landscaping. AB2104 passed the Assembly Thursday on a 71-1 vote without debate. The bill’s author, Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego, says associations have been finding ways to force their members to maintain lush lawns despite existing laws that seek to protect homeowners. Her bill aims to reduce loopholes that are being used by the associations.

Under her bill, associations, apartment projects and housing cooperatives could not ban water-saving plants or prohibit their members from following local water conservation rules. It now heads to the Senate. Four other bills targeting homeowner associations would spare homeowners from fines for letting their lawns die during a drought. Read:

What happens in private communities stays in private communities.

That was the point politely conveyed by the Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors during the public comment session at its bimonthly meeting when a small, but determined, group of residents of Timber Mountain Estates came to state their concerns about water issues in their community. Timber Mountain has 30 homes, but two are unoccupied. Although the roads are serviced during winter weather by the township as municipal roads, the community is enjoined in an agreement from a developer from 30 years ago. When that developer, who is the head of the company overseeing the community, died recently, the new president and vice president of Timber Mountain Estates notified residents they must pay a $75 monthly fee to pay for operating the community well and system shared by residents.

A letter sent to each resident from that office tells them to pay the rate, or get their water turned off. “We’ll pay the rate, but we want a cap (limit) on that (rate),” said one resident who asked not to be named because the person is not sure what will happen and doesn’t want to affect the process since many residents have approached an attorney to intercede on their behalf.  Read more:

SMITHFIELD — A 27-home subdivision has opted to disband its homeowners association and revert to the control of Smithfield City, a move that was approved by the Smithfield City Council. The 5-1 vote regarding the Three Creeks subdivision took place during the council meeting on Wednesday, March 26. Councilmember Brent Buttars was the lone nay.

While foreclosures are falling on a nation-wide basis, one category that is an exception is foreclosures filed by homeowners’ associations against members that are delinquent on their fees. And on a more general basis, due to defaults and slow payments, in aggregate, reserves of HOAs have fallen and many have scrimped on services and maintenance as a direct result of the housing bust. Foreclosures by bank servicers has produced an adverse feedback loop: homes in foreclosure sit vacant, often for lengthy periods, and they don’t pay fees to the HOA. That produces shortfalls in the HOA’s revenues versus their needs. Thus when a homeowner now goes into arrears, the HOA has less ability to cut them slack and work out a payment or catch-up plan.

This phenomenon is broader than you might imagine. Homeowners’ associations aren’t just a fixture of condominiums in Sunbelt states like Florida and Nevada. 63 million Americans live in residences that are in HOAs, and 80% of new homes sold are subject to these arrangements. They aren’t just a way to pay for common services in multi-family housing; they are increasingly an example of privatization of formerly public services. As a new Reuters story explains:

Homeowner associations first took off in the 1970s as local governments looked for a way to offload costly services, such as snow removal and road repair. Municipalities have encouraged their growth since through tax incentives and zoning laws…  Read more:

Guy Nir and his wife Cheryl are upside down on the mortgage for their downtown Fort Myers condo and worried they could be forced out — but not by the bank. Under a 2007 law passed by the Florida Legislature, the biggest owner in the building — Lofton Island Holdings LLP — has the right to dissolve the condo association and buy the Nirs’ unit whether they like it or not. The Nirs, who live in Sarasota and bought the condo as an investment in 2008, are suing Lofton, a Canadian investment company, to stop the dissolution of the condo association. “The statute, we believe, is just unconstitutional,” said Tracey Starrett, the couple’s lawyer.  Read more:

The treasurer of a Deerfield Beach condominium association is accused of stealing more than $12,000 from the association’s bank account. Michael Dettman, 28, is facing a charge of larceny/grand theft. During 19 days in February, Dettman made 19 withdrawals totaling $12,450 from the operating account of the Coco Cay Condominium Association at the BB&T bank branch on North Federal Highway in Deerfield Beach, according to a Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest report.  Read more: