The Utah CAI Legislative Action Committee is running HB 329, that will have new HOA laws. The bill will make changes (some minor and some more important) to various sections of the Condominium Ownership Act and the Community Association Act. After negotiations with various constituents, the bill is in the process of being shortened from its current form but will still include some changes that Utah community associations and homeowners’ associations will need to know about. There will be some technical changes to Utah Code Ann. § 57-8-13.1 and § 57-8a-105 related to lien enforcement during periods when a homeowners’ association has failed to register with the Department of Commerce. The basic obligation of all Utah HOAs to register with the department of commerce remains. Utah Code Ann. § 57-8-54 will undergo substantial changes related to owners requesting payoff information from their HOA or the HOA’s manager. The lawyers at Morris DeVoe suspect this provision will have further modifications from its existing form before passage. The rules provisions in the community association act, Utah Code Ann. § 57-8a-217, will also undergo some significant changes. These changes include new definitional terms that could have significant effects on the validity of various HOA governing documents. In addition, these changes include limitations on the time period for challenging the adoption of a rule that does not comply with the notice and vetting periods allowed to owners before new rules are adopted in community associations. The lawyers at Morris DeVoe are involved with these amendments through their service on the Utah CAI Legislative Action Committee and are closely watching the progress of these new 2019 Utah HOA laws. The time for this bill to get passed is slipping away, but there still remains a chance these provisions could go into law. Look for future updates from Morris DeVoe on the status of this bill and the passage of other new laws in 2019 that affect HOAs.