The Colorado Division of Real Estate has published the 2014 Annual Report of the Colorado HOA Information and Resource Center. This report provides a great deal of information on the registration of HOAs in Colorado and a general overview of complaints received by the HOA Information & Resource Office (“Office”) relating to associations.
You will notice that during 2014, the Office received 1,440 complaints relating to HOAs. Interestingly, those 1,440 complaints were registered by only 409 complainants. Given the fact that there are an estimated 2 million individuals living in HOAs in Colorado, receiving complaints from just 409 individuals is an extremely low number.
It is also important to note that HOA Information Officer has no statutory authority to investigate complaints which are registered with the Office. While there is no doubt that some of the complaints are absolutely valid, without the authority to investigate the complaints, it is impossible to get a real estimate of the true number of meritorious complaints.
The Division of Real Estate has the authority to investigate complaints brought against real estate brokers. Of the complaints that are investigated, it’s my understanding that about 80 to 85 percent of those complaints are determined to be without merit. If complaints regarding HOAs were investigated, it would be interesting to see what percentage of those complaints were ultimately determined to be valid. Prior to proceeding with the regulation of HOAs, this information would be critical from a public policy perspective.