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78R7830 KCR-D
By: Edwards H.B. No. 2790
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to property owners and property owners' associations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 209.006, Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 209.006. NOTICE REQUIRED BEFORE ENFORCEMENT ACTION.
(a) Before a property owners' association may suspend an owner's
right to use a common area, file a suit against an owner [other than
a suit to collect a regular or special assessment or foreclose under
an association's lien], charge an owner for property damage, or
levy a fine for a violation of the restrictions or bylaws or rules
of the association, the association or its agent must give written
notice to the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(b) The notice must:
(1) describe the violation or property damage that is
the basis for the suspension action, suit, charge, or fine and state
any amount due the association from the owner; and
(2) inform the owner that the owner:
(A) is entitled to a reasonable period to cure
the violation and avoid the fine, suit, charge, or suspension
unless the owner was given notice and a reasonable opportunity to
cure a similar violation within the preceding six months; and
(B) may request a hearing under Section 209.007
on or before the 30th day after the date the owner receives the
notice.
SECTION 2. Section 209.007(d), Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The notice and hearing provisions of Section 209.006 and
this section do not apply if the association files a suit seeking a
temporary restraining order or temporary injunctive relief [or
files a suit that includes foreclosure as a cause of action]. If a
suit is filed relating to a matter to which those sections apply, a
party to the suit may file a motion to compel mediation. The notice
and hearing provisions of Section 209.006 and this section do not
apply to a temporary suspension of a person's right to use common
areas if the temporary suspension is the result of a violation that
occurred in a common area and involved a significant and immediate
risk of harm to others in the subdivision. The temporary suspension
is effective until the board makes a final determination on the
suspension action after following the procedures prescribed by this
section.
SECTION 3. Section 209.009, Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 209.009. FORECLOSURE SALE PROHIBITED IN CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES. (a) A property owners' association may not
foreclose a property owners' association's assessment lien if the
debt securing the lien consists solely of:
(1) fines assessed by the association; or
(2) attorney's fees incurred by the association solely
associated with fines assessed by the association.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in a
dedicatory instrument, a property owners' association may not
foreclose a property owners' association's assessment lien without
first obtaining a court judgment:
(1) foreclosing the assessment lien; and
(2) ordering the sale of the property to which the
assessment lien has attached.
SECTION 4. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
Sections 209.013 and 209.014 to read as follows:
Sec. 209.013. ALTERATION TO OWNER'S LOT. A governmental
entity may not require an owner to reverse an alteration made to the
owner's lot or to any improvement on the owner's lot if the
alteration:
(1) has been submitted to and approved by the property
owners' association; and
(2) does not violate a law or ordinance designed to
protect or promote public health or safety.
Sec. 209.014. DISSOLUTION OF PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATION.
(a) An owner seeking to dissolve a property owners' association to
which the owner belongs may circulate a petition calling for the
dissolution of the property owners' association among other owners
belonging to the association.
(b) A petition circulated under Subsection (a) must
contain:
(1) the name of the subdivision in which the owner
initiating the petition lives;
(2) the name of the owner initiating the petition;
(3) the reason the owner initiating the petition seeks
to dissolve the property owners' association; and
(4) the date the owner began circulating the petition.
(c) If five percent of the total number of owners belonging
to the property owners' association sign, acknowledge, or otherwise
approve a petition circulated under Subsection (a) on or before the
first anniversary of the date the petition began circulating, the
owner initiating the petition shall file the petition in the real
property records of the county in which the subdivision is located.
(d) Not later than the 180th day after the date a petition is
filed under Subsection (a), the property owners' association that
is the subject of the petition shall hold an election amoung its
members in accordance with the association's bylaws to determine if
the property owners' association will be dissolved.
(e) If 60 percent of the total number of owners belonging to
the property owners' association vote for the dissolution of the
property owners' association, the property owners' association
shall, not later than the 180th day after the date of the election
dissolving the property owners' association, take all steps
necessary under the association's constitution or bylaws formally
and fully to dissolve the association.
(f) The property owners' association shall record the
results of an election held under Subsection (d) in the real
property records of the county in which the subdivision is located.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
SECTION 6. Sections 209.006, 209.007, and 209.009, Property
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a cause of action that
accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A cause of
action that accrued before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect at the time the cause of action
accrued, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.