ATLANTA — Editor's note: The broadcast version of this story states Michael Shepherd moved into his unit at Peyton Place. While Shepherd is an owner of a unit, he has never lived in the community and uses the property as a rental.
A homeowner’s association, or HOA, is responsible for maintaining the property values of the community under its jurisdiction. When HOAs make news, it’s often about complaints with an overzealous board fining residents for what they believe are irrational things.
There are at least five bills in the Georgia Senate to create transparency and accountability within the state’s HOAs - but they have yet to be heard in committee, a hurdle they must pass before coming to a formal vote. Find a list of legislation at the bottom of this story.
However, residents at Peyton Place said the issues are piling up right now. One resident is calling attention to the community's condition.
Michael Shepherd is fighting his HOA because he feels it’s not doing enough to hold homeowners accountable. He said the townhouse community in southwest Atlanta is in desperate need of repair, and no one on the board seems interested in fixing it.
In the case of a townhome or condo community like Peyton Place, the HOA is responsible for maintaining the roof, home exteriors, and common areas.
RELATED: Never-ending fees, bad HOA boards: Georgia senator proposes new office to help resolve disputes
Shepherd said his HOA doesn’t consistently collect dues and recently has demanded cash only. He’s asked to see the community’s financial statements, a right protected by his HOAs covenants, but has been denied.
Shepherd provided a series of checks that he sent to pay his dues when he first purchased two townhomes, but the checks he sent more recently have been returned from the post office.
Other residents expressed a similar frustration when they tried to pay dues.
No dues means no repairs.
Denied by Atlanta Housing Authority
Residents took 11Alive Investigates on a tour of the property pointing out holes in the roofs, allowing animals and water inside the units, gutters filled with pine straw and growing plants, a collapsed retaining wall, and broken pipes allowing raw sewage to spill onto the ground.
It’s why, despite how nice Shephard’s unit looks on the inside, he was told by the Atlanta Housing Authority there were too many problems on the outside to allow tenants using its housing choice voucher – formerly called section 8 – to live there.
Another homeowner, Anthony Herring, said the exterior maintenance problems have also prevented him from renting his unit and pointed to several other vacant properties that could help with the city’s affordable housing problems if the community was cleaned up.
Studies show metro Atlanta needs nearly 400,000 more affordable units to meet the need.
“I said, 'OK, I'm going to do what I can to work with the HOA on that.' And then I realized rather quickly that they had zero intentions of making any repairs, having any meetings, fixing things up,” said Shepherd. That's when Shepherd says he created a web page to track his efforts.
Holding the HOA accountable
No board member lives in the townhomes. 11Alive Investigates did try to reach out to all of them. None responded, but investigative reporter Rebecca Lindstrom did find HOA president Clare Cherry picking up trash in the neighborhood.
According to property tax records, she owns nearly 30 percent of units in Peyton Place, which means with a functioning board, she’d owe more than $25,000 each year in dues. Since homeowners have not been able to see any financial documents related to the HOA, it’s unclear if she’s paid.
Cherry refused to answer any questions, blaming the community’s maintenance problems on a lack of money. She offered no explanation as to why then the board wasn’t taking action to collect dues so that it would have the necessary funds.
As 11Alive tried in vain to get answers, code enforcement passed out violation notices. It’s unclear if it will be able to hold the HOA accountable or if individual residents will be forced to do what the HOA will not. Most violations won’t be addressed in court until March.
Cherry did have a court appearance on Feb. 8 related to a code violation at one of her properties. She did not appear.
Right now, in Georgia, the only way homeowners can fight back against the actions of its HOA board is to go to court. Shepherd said he’s already spent more than $7,000 and has no idea when his battle will end.
HOA legislation, how to contact your lawmaker
There are five pieces of proposed legislation aimed at creating more oversight and accountability for HOAs in Georgia. None of the committees have brought them up for discussion. Here's where they stand:
Senate Judiciary Committee: SB356
This proposed legislation works to provide protections for homeowners in community associations and aims to revise provisions concerning the foreclosure of liens, among other suggestions of oversight in the interest of homeowners. Read the bill here.
Voice concerns or support of this bill to committee members by using contact information found this link.
Senate Judiciary Committee: SB29
In an effort to create transparency when it comes to HOA dues, this proposed piece of legislation would require associations to offer and participate in alternative dispute resolution strategies before issuing a lien on a lot for unpaid assessments. It would also downgrade such liens to be inferior to unpaid medical bills and outline policies for dispute resolutions.
Let committee members know how this bill could impact lives by using this link.
House Judiciary Committee: HB885
If passed, this bill could implement requirements and procedures for turnover and transition "from declarants, developers, or other establishing entities to property owners comprising the community association" while requiring HOAs to provide budgets and have reserve accounts for maintenance under law.
People can tell committee members how they feel about this bill by contacting them using this link.
House Government Affairs Committee: HB303
This bill seeks to provide more general oversight for HOAs at the state level by requiring associations to create more transparency about its policies and procedures, limit enforcement of violations, fees, fines and foreclosures, and provide for a community ombudsman. Read the bill here.
Urge committee members to pass this bill - or not - by contacting them using this link.
Senate Rules Committee: SR37
This resolution asks senators to create the Senate Property Owners' Associations, Homeowners' Associations, and Condominium Associations Study Committee to deal with legislation that could regulate HOAs in Georgia.
Show support for creating this new committee by using this link to contact committee Senate Rules Committee members.
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