Important Condo Bills Enacted By the 2013 Connecticut General Assembly

The General Assembly enacted a critical law for condo owners that requires banks to reimburse condo associations for maintenance in case of foreclosures.

The reason the bill was critical because two judges had ruled that the state statute governing reimbursement of condo fees was limited to a one time six month payment.

State Rep.  Matthew D. Ritter (D-Hartford) said the bill was adopted during the last day of the General Assembly be an overwhelming vote from both parties. He said he believes the governor will sign the legislation.

Ritter said the bill clarifies that condo associations can be reimbursed for nine months of condo fees. If the foreclosure takes longer the association can continue to receive 9 months of fees every year.

Banks in return wanted more notice if a condo association was planning on taking a foreclosure action. The bill requires associations to provide banks with a 60 day notice.

The bill had the support of both the Community Association Institute of Connecticut, which mainly represents property managers and condo attorneys, as well as by the Connecticut Condo Owners Coalition, which represents condo owners.

Another bill enacted by the General Assembly authorizes the state Department of Consumer Protection to take action against property managers who willfully and repeatedly violate state condo laws.

As part of that bill, the legislature also required condo associations to make available agendas to condo owners 48 hours in advance of regularly scheduled meetings.

A third condo bill was enacted specifically to meet demands from the state’s largest condo association – Heritage Village in Southbury – that they not be bound by the state law on annual budget votes.

Many owners in Heritage Village object to the state law that says that more than 50 percent of all owners have to vote against the budget before it can be defeated.

The Heritage Village bill allows for a budget to be defeated at that complex if one third of the owners vote against it.

One critical bill died in the General Assembly.

The bill proposed by State Rep. James  M. Albis (D-East Haven) would have provided for an experiment in mediating conflicts between condo owners and associations.

Albis said he would try and raise the bill next year.

The reason it was defeated this year, Albis said, was because the leadership was concerned about the financial impact it would have on the state.

“In general condo associations are well run,” Albis said in a telephone interview, however when there is a conflict there is no agency that condo owners can turn to for help. Condo owners must file law suits to challenge boards that violate state condo laws.

Albis was intimately involved in all the legislation put forth this year in the General Assembly. He convened a meeting between the CCOC and the CAI of Ct where he helped form a consensus between the groups.