Latest Legal Updates
Latest Legal Updates
HOA and condominium association legislation, court rulings and regulatory changes across every state, the District of Columbia and federal law — newest first.
Showing 1,273–1,296 of 1,989 updates
Question 7 would legalize starter homes on 5,000 square foot lots. That means more HOAs
The only housing question on the 3 November 2026 Massachusetts ballot would permit single-family homes on any residentially zoned lot of at least 5,000 square feet with 50 feet of frontage.
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A Colorado HOA got a $1.26 million fee award against it reversed — and won a new route to its own fees
In 2026 COA 58, announced July 9, 2026, the Court of Appeals held that a breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing is a "default" triggering contractual fee-shifting, and that a lodestar may not be built on hours the court concedes are unreasonable.
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An Illinois association lost the business judgment rule for liening fees a court had refused
In Du Bois v. Sherwood Commons Townhome Owners Association the Third District affirmed removal of a lien, held Section 9.2(b) fees are unrecoverable where the association failed to prove a default, and denied business-judgment protection for want of any evidence of legal advice.
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The five-member HOA review board in Georgia's new law does not exist
Guidance circulating to Georgia boards describes a State Board for Review of Complaints, six-year terms and an Attorney General referral duty. All of it comes from a superseded draft — and the version still served by legis.ga.gov is that draft.
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Kansas gives owners a 24-hour squatter removal, and a triple-rent penalty for getting it wrong
The Removal of Squatters Act lets the owner of a dwelling unit clear an unauthorized occupant by notarized affidavit within 24 hours, and exposes an association that misuses it to punitive damages of triple the fair market rent plus fees.
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Nothing is pending for 2027 — and Louisiana's fiscal-session rule is why HOA bills move in even years
As of September 10, 2026 the 2027 Regular Session does not exist on the Legislature's site and nothing is pre-filed. Because odd-year sessions are limited to fiscal matters, a Louisiana community-association bill has to occupy one of a member's five constitutional prefiling slots.
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Weeks-long elevator outages leave Honolulu condo residents stranded
More than ten Oahu residential buildings lost elevator service for weeks after the 2026 storms, against a state certification backlog of 3,421 elevators — a common-element failure with fair-housing consequences.
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Alabama's condominium declaration bill died without a committee vote — opposed by the Realtors
HB 260 and SB 121 would have barred consents and waivers from being used to amend a condominium declaration and let associations intervene in arbitration and mediation. Both died in committee; Alabama REALTORS says it worked to oppose the legislation.
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Two Iowa bills about what you may grow on your own lot died — one aimed squarely at HOAs
HF 2367 would have barred Iowa associations from banning native plantings and stripped their height limits. SF 494 passed the Senate 49-0 without the association carve-out CAI asked for. Both are gone.
Read the full updateMassachusetts solar covenants are already void. The bill to make that enforceable was sent to study
H.3496 would have added a 60-day deadline, a numeric test for unreasonable restrictions, and a private right of action with fee shifting to the existing void rule in c. 184 section 23C.
Read the full updateThe municipal counter-proposal would bar Illinois HOAs from unreasonably prohibiting ADUs
The Illinois Municipal League's REAL Housing Act, unveiled May 4, 2026, is framed as protecting local control — but two of its provisions reach directly into association governance, with a private right of action and treble damages.
Read the full updateLakewood voters repealed the city's entire zoning overhaul — and covenants were never at stake
On April 7, 2026 Lakewood voters struck down all four 2025 zoning ordinances by roughly 64%, restoring prior single-family zoning. The vote was about public zoning; it did not touch any declaration.
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Florida rebuilt the interested-director contract test — and moved the burden onto the owner who complains
Chapter 2026-168 substantially reworded s. 617.0832, defined what is fair to the corporation, and provided that a challenger bears the burden of proving unfairness where disclosure and a qualified vote occurred.
Read the full updateGeorgia is under a statewide drought declaration — and the watering law beats the covenant
EPD declared Level 1 in April 2026 and it still stands. The rule underneath it matters more: Georgia permits landscape irrigation only between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m., year-round, drought or not.
Read the full updateHawaii Act 40 gives multi-family policyholders 30 days and a stated reason
From January 1, 2027, an insurer nonrenewing a policy on multi-family residential property must give 30 days' notice, state the specific reason, and prove it mailed the notice.
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Indiana capped HOA amendment thresholds at two-thirds
IC 32-25.5-3-9 now bars governing documents from requiring more than two-thirds owner consent to amend, with a 95% carve-out preserved for conveying common areas or dissolving the plan of governance.
Read the full updateLouisiana HOAs may fine — and may not be arbitrary or capricious about it
R.S. 9:1141.20 gives Louisiana planned-community associations an express power to impose reasonable fines, discretion over whether to enforce, a bar on arbitrary or capricious enforcement decisions, and two hard limits on suspending an owner's privileges.
Read the full updateAn SBA disaster-loan programme for HOAs is on the federal table, unpassed
CAI's 2026 federal priorities include H.R. 9159, creating SBA disaster loans specifically for associations to repair common areas, and H.R. 9569 expanding FHA financing for structural repairs. Neither has passed.
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Kentucky is about to register storm-chasing contractors — comments close 30 September
Proposed 40 KAR 12:450 would bar unregistered contractors from working in a declared emergency area, requiring a $100 fee, $200,000 of liability cover or a surety bond, and a named person in control.
Read the full updateNo Kansas agency regulates HOAs. Two years of records confirm it
A sweep of every Kansas Attorney General opinion issued in 2025 and 2026, the Real Estate Commission's jurisdiction and the state's licensing statutes finds no agency with authority over community associations — and no manager licensing of any kind.
Read the full updateColorado's turf law names common interest community property — and most boards misread it
HB25-1113 extended Colorado's nonfunctional turf prohibition, which since January 1, 2026 has covered common interest community property. It is a duty on local entities, no existing turf must be removed, and it does not let a board force turf on an owner.
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Two words end Arizona's executive-session vote
SB 1290 inserts “without action” into the planned community open-meeting statute, so a closed session may consider but not decide. Condominiums are not covered.
Read the full updateTen Massachusetts towns went fossil-fuel-free, and Newton's gas cooking exemption has closed
The municipal fossil fuel-free demonstration programme lets ten communities require new construction and major renovations to be fossil-fuel-free. Newton ended its gas cooking exemption on 1 January 2026.
Read the full updateHawaii's condo regulator says AI invented a statute section that does not exist
Real Estate Branch guidance documents fabricated Hawaii citations, a wrong meeting-notice deadline, and warns that documents uploaded for AI analysis do not stay confidential.
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