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Monday, Dec. 21, 1998

Legislators aim to reign in homeowners' associations

Reforms would limit such neighborhood groups' power of foreclosure

Associated Press

   HOUSTON - A state legislative committee has concluded that homeowners' associations have gained so much power over residents that they need more regulation.
   The groups can require homeowners to join, collect fees and take away homes through foreclosure, making them "de facto political subdivisions," the Texas Senate Interim Committee on State Affairs said in a recent report.
   Some homeowners' associations have "banned political signs, children, spouses below a certain age, pets above a certain weight, day-care centers, the use of back doors, pickup trucks and even goodnight kisses on front steps," the committee said in its report to Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock.
   State Sen. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria, who was chairman of the interim committee, said that while most homeowners' associations operated fairly, others "were just a racket," the Houston Chronicle reported.
   One lawmaker pledged to introduce legislation next year to regulate new and existing homeowners' associations, particularly to limit their ability to take houses through foreclosure.
   "Strong neighborhood groups have been the bedrock for protecting people's investments in neighborhoods, particularly in Houston, where there is no zoning," said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston.
   But, he added, "I have been concerned about possible abuses of power by homeowners' associations, especially in Houston. My main concern is that homeowners be protected against any hasty foreclosure decisions."
   The committee heard from Johnnie and Harvella Jones, who said their homeowners' association in Kingwood took their home in a foreclosure and sold it at auction for a pittance.
   The committee also heard from NASA manager James Evans, who said that after he wrote a critical article for his subdivision's newsletter, he was sued over a deed restriction involving a yard light. The case dragged on for several years before it was withdrawn, he said.
   The issue of homeowners' associations is particularly emotional in Houston, the nation's only major city without zoning laws. Many civic leaders see deed restriction enforcement by homeowners' associations as the only way to maintain property values and prevent neighborhoods from declining.
   Under the current law, a homeowners' association board may pursue foreclosure against members who fail to pay maintenance fees or, in some cases, fail to pay fines assessed for violating deed restrictions. With any outcome short of an outright victory in court, the homeowner is liable for the association's court costs and legal fees, as well as his own. The association, however, is responsible only for its own costs if it loses.
   Legal fees in disputes can run well into the thousands.
   The Senate committee found one case in which a homeowner owed $80,000 in legal fees in a dispute over the placement of a flower pot on his property.
   "They have an economic weapon that you cannot resist," said Evans.
   Some homeowners believe the Senate committee's recommendations do not go far enough. They want the Legislature to remove the associations' foreclosure authority.
   

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  © 1998 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.