CounselOurHOA.com, resources and laws annotated, brings you the laws that apply to your Utah homeowner association in an easy to reference format with tools to help you understand the law. Access and benefits are available at two tier levels - Practical and Prudent-Legal.
Practical Plan
Practical Plan membership includes:
- Smart Index. The index is the main hub of the site that explains key terms and concepts, such as "liability of a board member," describing what potential liability a board member has and how to avoid liability, and "annual obligations of associations," detailing what an association is required to do each year, records, notice of meetings, open board meetings, rules, etc., with links to statutes and cases, as well.
- Statute Q & A with Attorney. Have questions about a statute? Ask it and an experienced Utah HOA attorney will answer it.* Plus, see all of the previous questions and answers for each statute (questions are limited to generally applicable questions, not questions about only one HOA or only one specific circumstance).
- Step-by-Step Guides for Homeowners. Guides to walk a homeowner through:
- making a proper request under the law for HOA records.
- making a proper request under the law for a special meeting of the owners.
- requesting approval to keep an assistance animal as a 'reasonable accommodation' for a person with a disability under the law, if the HOA prohibits or limits pets.
- One Stop HOA Laws and Tools. Full access to HOA statutes and case law together with the site's unique features:
- powerful search for searching the whole site or just one body of law.
- hovercard definitions of keywords,
- comments, explanations and annotations in many statutes,
- cross-references for the statutes and case law that apply to your HOA.
- Legal Updates. Updates delivered to your email address of new HOA laws with explanations of how they affect your community and what your association must do to comply with the law and minimize risk.
- A subscription includes 5 user accounts (access and benefits for up to 5 board members or other members of the association, or 4 members and one property manager, or for individuals, up to 5 individuals), subject to limitations described in the Terms and Conditions.
This plan is not meant to replace the advice of a qualified attorney when appropriate, but is meant to provide the user with the tools and information the user needs to save themselves paying for hours of attorney time.
A value of over $3,400 in attorney work!† Prudent-Legal Plan membership is for HOAs only. It includes all the benefits of Practical membership, plus:
- 2 Hours Attorney Time
Get counsel from an HOA specialist attorney at Kimble Law. Two hours of attorney time is included per subscription period (yearly). There is no obligation to change law firms or use Kimble Law exclusively.
Unused time expires at the end of the subscription period. See Terms and Conditions.
The 6 resolutions every HOA should have, with the procedures required by law for certain issues, updated as the laws change yearly so your HOA can always be in compliance:
- Open Meetings. The law has certain requirements regarding open board meetings. This resolution sets out those requirements for the board, including regarding executive sessions, owner comment period, and notice to owners.
- Action without Board Meeting. The law has specific requirements for a board to be able to vote and take action without holding a meeting, such as by email. This resolution contains those requirements. See Utah Code § 16-6a-813.
- HOA Registry. This resolution contains the requirements of the law regarding an association updating its information with the Utah HOA Registry. See Utah Code §§ 57-8-13.1 and 57-8a-105.
- Reserve Analysis. The law has certain requirements regarding a reserve analysis (reserve study). This resolution sets out those requirements for the board, including what must be included in the study, when to update a study, and when to provide a summary to owners.
- Reserve Fund. The law has requirements regarding reserve funds and the annual budget, and it places limitations on using money in a reserve fund. This resolution helps an association comply with those provisions.
- Customizable! You may choose to limit or expand how reserve funds may be used by the association in the future to protect the funds for a narrow purpose or allow flexibility in how they are used.
- Rule-making Procedure. The law requires community associations to abide by a specific process when adopting, changing or enforcing board-adopted rules. This resolution includes those required procedures so a board can easily follow them.
- Violation Reporting Procedures (complaints). While these are not required by law, you may include them in this resolution so the association has a clear policy on how violations are reported and acted upon. Customizable.
- Fining Procedure and Fine Schedule. The law requires a specific process to be followed in order to levy a fine. That process is set out in this resolution. The law also requires that fines may only be assessed in the amounts provided for in the association's governing documents. So, a fine amount must be specifically stated somewhere in writing, such as in this resolution, before a fine in that amount can be levied. Default violations and fine amounts can be included and/or add your own. Customizable.
- Hearing Procedures. The law allows an owner who has been fined to request a hearing before the board. The law also specifies certain procedures and requirements related to the hearing, which are all included in the resolution.
- Collection Policy. Associations should have a clear policy notifying owners about the consequences of failing to pay assessments (dues), including the amount of the late fee, interest, and other penalties such as recording of a notice of lien.
- Terminating Utilities. The law authorizes an association to suspend utilities that are paid as a common expense when an owner is delinquent. This is a valuable and effective remedy. The law specifies a procedure that must be followed, which is contained in this resolution. See §§ 57-8-52 and 57-8a-309.
- Future Rent Payments. The law authorizes an association to require a tenant to pay their rent to the association when the landlord owner is delinquent. This is a valuable and effective remedy. The law specifies a procedure that must be followed and is contained in this resolution. See §§ 57-8-53 and 57-8a-310.
- Using electronic methods, such as email, to provide notice and conduct business such as voting, is much more efficient and cost effective than printing and mailing. The law allows for this if authorized by a resolution or other governing document, such as this resolution. See §§ 57-8-42(3)(a) and 57-8a-214(3)(a).
- The law has specific requirements for how and what records must be kept by associations and for allowing owners to view those records. The law includes monetary penalties when an HOA fails to comply, so it's important to have a policy in place that complies with the law to help the board respond to a request for records by an owner. This resolution contains the requirements of the law and also has a form for owners to use when requesting records, so the request is clear and complies with the association policy and the law.
Guides to walk the board through responding to:
| • | Owner records requests. Avoid the penalties imposed by law for failing to properly respond to an owner's records request. |
| • | Resident request to keep assistance animal as a "reasonable accommodation" under the law because of disability. Avoid discrimination complaints and fines from the UALD and HUD. |
| • | Request for satellite dish installation. Avoid violating federal law regarding HOA restrictions on satellite dishes (coming soon). |
| • | Reasonable Accommodation Requests Policy (including assistance animal requests). Avoid discrimination complaints from residents and fines from the UALD and HUD. |
| • | Satellite Dish Policy. Avoid violating federal law regarding HOA restrictions on satellite dishes. |
- Templates
Templates updated as the laws change yearly for:
| 1. | Taking action/voting without a meeting by the board |
| 2. | The warning notice required by law that must be given to an owner before a fine is levied |
| 3. | Letter to delinquent owner requesting rent from tenant be paid to HOA |
| 4. | Letter to tenant of delinquent owner regarding paying rent payments to HOA instead of owner/landlord |
| 5. | Letter to delinquent owner regarding terminating utilities and/or access to amenities and voting rights |
- Downloads
| • | Records chart. HOA records requirements at a glance! |
| • | Annual checklist for HOAs. HOAs in Utah are required to do certain things every year. This checklist helps associations comply with the law. |
| • | Checklist of periodic requirements for HOAs. HOAs in Utah are required to do certain things periodically. This checklist helps associations comply with the law. |
| • | Notice of reinvestment fee covenant (required to charge a fee when a unit is sold) |
| • | Application to keep assistance animal and health care professional's letter for use by residents |
| • | Sample minutes, proxy form, budget, written consent for action without meeting, and application for architectural approval |
† The value of resources provided exceeds $3,400 assuming rate of $225 an hour. Only attorney work specifically stated is provided. Amounts approximate and based on an attorney drafting similar templates.
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CounselOurHOA.com is brought to you in partnership with Kimble Law PLLC and Curtis G. Kimble, the creator of the blog at UtahHOALawBlog.com, as well as the original UtahHOALaws mobile app and website. He has been providing valuable, comprehensive and cost-effective representation for community associations in Utah since 2006.
Kimble Law PLLC provides valuable, comprehensive and cost-effective representation for community associations in Utah. The firm provides services related to real property law, contract law, and business and corporate law and helps HOA boards and managers, and real estate developers, as well as business owners and corporations with all of their legal needs. Kimble Law can help your association board today!
CounselOurHOA.com is not intended as a substitute for the counsel of a qualified attorney. It is recommended that all associations engage the assistance of a qualified HOA attorney as the need arises and on a periodic basis.