House Bill 959 Summary

• Associations must provide annual income and expense statements and balance sheets to all unit/lot owners at no charge within 75 days of fiscal year close, with financial records available for examination within 30 days of written request (not required for records over 3 years old).

• Budget increases exceeding 10% require majority approval of all unit/lot owners unless expressly authorized in the declaration; executive board cannot increase budgeted expenses by more than 5% without owner approval.

• Associations may foreclose liens for unpaid assessments only if the lien equals at least six months of assessments or $2,500 (whichever is less), the executive board votes to proceed, and the owner was offered a reasonable opportunity to cure the default through an installment payment plan.

• Mandatory prelitigation mediation is required before filing civil actions involving association disputes, with mediation to be scheduled within 25 days; disputes involving only failure to pay assessments or associated fees are exempt; mediation costs are split equally between parties.

• Department of Justice must collect and publish annual reports on owners' association complaints (effective July 1, 2024), including complaint summaries by county, nature of dispute, and management company involvement, while remaining prohibited from regulating association governance.