A $300,000 price tag killed Delaware's HOA ombudsperson expansion
A $300,000 price tag killed Delaware's HOA ombudsperson expansion
2026-09-03 · Delaware · Legislation · Did not pass
Delaware has one Common Interest Community Ombudsperson for the whole state. In 2024 that office logged 84 formal complaints, 456 formal email inquiries and 26,775 general emails. A bill to give it three county deputies and a dedicated funding stream was introduced on June 10, 2026, carried a fiscal note of $292,617 a year, and was never placed on a committee agenda.
HB 469 died in House Judiciary when the 153rd General Assembly adjourned on June 30, 2026.1
Who filed it
The prime sponsor was Representative Jeff Hilovsky, with Senator Eric Buckson as additional sponsor and Representatives Hensley, Collins and K. Johnson as cosponsors — a predominantly Republican bill in a Democratic-majority legislature, which is context rather than explanation.
The bill record carries a single action: “6/10/26 — Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House.” The page's own note says a “Committee Hearing takes place within twelve legislative days.” The committee-meeting history is empty. It never happened.
What it would have created
Three Deputy Ombudspersons, one per county, appointed by the Ombudsperson, each acting as the primary local point of contact for unit owners, associations and declarants, each able to assist in investigating alleged violations under delegated authority, each reporting quarterly on complaint volume and disposition.
A Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Fund — nonlapsing, held in the Treasury, administered by the Ombudsperson under Controller General oversight. It would have been capitalised by legislative appropriations, by grants and contributions, and by fees charged for meetings, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution, election monitoring and vote counting. Spending was authorised for office operations and technology, deputy salaries, independent experts for investigations, and education for owners, associations and declarants.
The Act would have taken effect January 1, 2027.
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Related Delaware HOA Topics
- HB 469, 153rd General Assembly — bill record and action history (introduced June 10, 2026; died in House Judiciary without a hearing) ↩
- HB 469 fiscal note, Office of the Controller General, June 11, 2026 (3.0 FTE; FY2028 $292,617; FY2029 $298,374) ↩
- Delaware DOJ, Common Interest Community Ombudsperson, 2024 Annual Report (dated Dec. 18, 2025), reporting under 29 Del. C. § 2544(16) ↩
- 29 Del. C. ch. 25, subch. IV — Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act (§§ 2540–2546) ↩
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