Homeowners Association

[JackLance]

I'm on the Board of Directors of a HOA in Texas. I'm told by our Association Manager that revealing any information to other Homeowners that are not on the Board of Directors, about any particular Homeowners standing with the HOA is against state law. Is his true?

 

[adjusterjack]

"Mr Manager, please give me the statute number so I can look it up and confirm what you are telling me."

Do that and come back with the results.

 

[quincy]

I'm on the Board of Directors of a HOA in Texas. I'm told by our Association Manager that revealing any information to other Homeowners that are not on the Board of Directors, about any particular Homeowners standing with the HOA is against state law. Is his true?

Why don’t you ask the Association Manager what state law he thinks you would be violating by disclosing a homeowners standing with the HOA?

The Associate Manager could be speaking of privacy laws that can protect against the disclosure of financial information and delinquent accounts.

 

[zddoodah]

I'm on the Board of Directors of a HOA in Texas. I'm told by our Association Manager that revealing any information to other Homeowners that are not on the Board of Directors, about any particular Homeowners standing with the HOA is against state law. Is his true?

When Person X tells you that something is "against [the] law," your response should be something along the following lines: "Really? Just so I have all relevant information, what is the specific law that this violates?"

 

[adjusterjack]

I'm on the Board of Directors of a HOA in Texas. I'm told by our Association Manager that revealing any information to other Homeowners that are not on the Board of Directors, about any particular Homeowners standing with the HOA is against state law. Is his true?

Almost.

What he should have said was "revealing any information to other Homeowners that are not on the Board of Directors, about any particular Homeowners standing with the HOA, without the consent of the particular, homeowner, is against state law. "

Rather than wait for you to come back I had time so I looked it up. Assuming that you are in an HOA of private homes, and not a condo association, HOA law is contained in the Texas Property Code, Title 11, Restrictive Covenants, Chapter 209. Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act.

Section 209.005 addresses association records and provides for the production of records to homeowners upon proper request.

(k)(1) is what you are looking for:

(k) Except as provided by Subsection (l) and to the extent the information is provided in the meeting minutes, the property owners' association is not required to release or allow inspection of any books or records that identify the dedicatory instrument violation history of an individual owner of an association, an owner's personal financial information, including records of payment or nonpayment of amounts due the association, an owner's contact information, other than the owner's address, or information related to an employee of the association, including personnel files. Information may be released in an aggregate or summary manner that would not identify an individual property owner.
(l) The books and records described by Subsection (k) shall be released or made available for inspection if:
(1) the express written approval of the owner whose records are the subject of the request for inspection is provided to the property owners' association; or
(2) a court orders the release of the books and records or orders that the books and records be made available for inspection.

PROPERTY CODE CHAPTER 209. TEXAS RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY OWNERS PROTECTION ACT

If, instead, you happen to be on the board of a condominium association, the applicable section of the condominium law 81.219. Condominium Records and you'll note that there is no requirement for consent of an owner.

PROPERTY CODE CHAPTER 81. CONDOMINIUMS CREATED BEFORE ADOPTION OF UNIFORM CONDOMINIUM ACT (texas.gov)

 

[zddoodah]

Almost.

What he should have said was "revealing any information to other Homeowners that are not on the Board of Directors, about any particular Homeowners standing with the HOA, without the consent of the particular, homeowner, is against state law. "

I agree with the "almost" but disagree with the second sentence.

Section 209.005 addresses association records and provides for the production of records to homeowners upon proper request.

It says that the "property owners' association is not required to release or allow inspection" the various listed information. It does not say that the property owners' association is prohibited from releasing or allowing inspection. Sub-section (l) then says the records shall be released/made available if the owner consents or there's a court order.

Stated differently (and based solely on the quote of the law), the release of the records is not prohibited and only required if the owner assents or a court orders.

 

[adjusterjack]

the release of the records is not prohibited and only required if the owner assents or a court orders.

Which is really just paraphrasing what I wrote.

You've elevated nitpicking to an art form.

Now, I expect, you'll argue the point incessantly.

 

[JackLance]

I agree with the "almost" but disagree with the second sentence.




It says that the "property owners' association is not required to release or allow inspection" the various listed information. It does not say that the property owners' association is prohibited from releasing or allowing inspection. Sub-section (l) then says the records shall be released/made available if the owner consents or there's a court order.

Stated differently (and based solely on the quote of the law), the release of the records is not prohibited and only required if the owner assents or a court orders.

zddoodah I think this nuance is important, If I have a casual conversation with another member of the Association, I am not prohibited from releasing information I have become privy too through my membership on the Board of Directors. Thank you for this interpretation.

The reason I didn't just ask the Association Attorneys, is because they charge per question which means the Board has to vote on the approval to ask the Attorneys any question on any point of law.

 

[LdiJ]

zddoodah I think this nuance is important, If I have a casual conversation with another member of the Association, I am not prohibited from releasing information I have become privy too through my membership on the Board of Directors. Thank you for this interpretation.

You are not prohibited by law (possibly) but that does not mean that you are not prohibited in some way under the organization's bylaws. In addition, I would think that many homeowners would find it distasteful that one of the board members thought it was ok to discuss their financial business with other homeowners and might very well vote you off the board at the first opportunity.

Just because you possibly CAN do something, does not mean that you should take the risk of doing it.

 

[adjusterjack]

If I have a casual conversation with another member of the Association, I am not prohibited from releasing information I have become privy too through my membership on the Board of Directors. Thank you for this interpretation.

I don't think that was Zddoodah's interpretation and that's certainly not what the statute says.

As a board member you cannot reveal information about a homeowner without that homeowner's consent.

 

[Zigner]

Which is really just paraphrasing what I wrote.

You've elevated nitpicking to an art form.

Now, I expect, you'll argue the point incessantly.

I tend to agree with (the other) Z. I don't see anything in the code section that you cited that would prohibit the release of information.
Let me paraphrase the code section:

(k) says nobody can FORCE the release of records, but puts no prohibition on the voluntary release of records.
(l)(1) says except that you MUST release the records if somebody asks and the owner expressly approves it in writing.

Edit: Of course, (l)(2) says they must be released with a court order, as well.

 

[Zigner]

In the end, the board in question should be relying on advice from their legal counsel. In lieu of that, it's probably best to err on the side of caution and not gossip about information related to other owners. Heck, that's just common courtesy.

 

[adjusterjack]

(l)(1) says except that you MUST release the records if somebody asks and the owner expressly approves it in writing.

Which is the same as saying "you can't release the records without the consent of the homeowner."

(Does not apply to court order.)

 

[Zigner]

Which is the same as saying "you can't release the records without the consent of the homeowner."

(Does not apply to court order.)

No, it's saying that you can't refuse to release the records if there's consent of the homeowner.

 

[Zigner]

Let's say that Bob of Bob's Mortgage Lending asks to see Joe's records. The board says "Heck no!". Then, Joe signs a release stating specifically that the board shall release the records to Bob...the board must comply.