Senate Bill 1588 amends the Property Code to revise the powers and duties of a property owners' association. Among other provisions, the bill restricts an association's authority to regulate the display of religious items anywhere on an owner's or resident's property or dwelling, the installation of a swimming pool enclosure, or the building or installation of security measures. The bill prohibits an association from collecting a regular assessment if the dedicatory instrument authorizing the collection is not filed in the public records as required by law.

Senate Bill 1588 caps the resale certificate fees charged by an association, changes the deadline to deliver a resale certificate after the second request by an owner, and raises the cap on the monetary amount that may be awarded to the owner if that deadline is missed. The bill requires an association that has at least 60 lots or that has contracted with a management company to make current versions of its dedicatory instruments available online. The bill revises requirements relating to management certificates and, effective December 1, 2021, provides for electronic filing of such certificates with the Texas Real Estate Commission.

Senate Bill 1588 disqualifies certain individuals from serving on an architectural review authority for an association consisting of more than 40 lots and sets out procedures for the appeal of such an authority's decision denying an application or request by an owner for the construction of improvements in the subdivision. The bill revises notice requirements for open association board meetings, requires all budget changes to be voted on in an open meeting regardless of whether the budget increases, and requires an association that proposes to contract for services that will cost more than $50,000 to solicit bids or proposals using a bid process.

Senate Bill 1588 requires an association to give written notice to an owner before reporting any delinquency to a credit reporting service, prohibits the reporting of delinquent fines, fees, or assessments that are the subject of a pending dispute, and requires an association reporting an owner's delinquent payment history to first provide to the owner a report of all delinquent charges owed and an opportunity to enter into a payment plan. The association may not charge an owner a fee for reporting delinquent charges to a credit reporting service. The bill increases the number of days an association must give an owner to cure a delinquency.

With respect to a hearing to resolve an owner's violation, Senate Bill 1588 eliminates the option for the hearing to be held before a board‑appointed committee instead of the board itself, requires an association to provide the owner with the information the association intends to introduce at the hearing, entitles the owner to an automatic postponement of the hearing if the information is not timely provided, and establishes that, during the hearing, the association board presents its case first and then the owner is entitled to present their case. The bill authorizes an association to request certain information to be submitted to the association regarding a lease or rental applicant. The bill authorizes a property owner to bring an action for a violation of the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act against an association in an applicable justice court.

Except as otherwise provided, the bill takes effect September 1, 2021.

Senate Bill 1588	Senate Author: Hughes et al.
Effective: See below	House Sponsor: Turner, Chris et al.