HB2681 Summary

• Establishes an ombudsman's office for homeowner associations within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to investigate complaints, provide dispute intervention, and resolve conflicts between unit owners and associations.

• Creates an Ombudsman's Office Special Fund to be funded by condominium education trust fund fees, assessments from cooperative housing corporations and planned community associations, and fines collected by the ombudsman.

• Requires all board members of condominiums, cooperative housing corporations, and planned community associations to complete educational classes offered by the ombudsman within three months and recertify every three years.

• Replaces existing mediation and arbitration procedures (sections 514B-161 and 514B-162) with a mandatory dispute intervention process administered by the ombudsman's office for homeowner association disputes.

• Increases condominium education trust fund fees from $1.50 to $12.50 per unit annually (effective July 1, 2025) to support the ombudsman's office operations.