Communication is the key to many things in life. The same holds true for property owners associations (POAs). Board members and community managers play a major role in keeping the community informed about operations, in times of disaster and of general happenings within the community. Accordingly, RMWBH wants to ensure board members and managers have access to the tips and knowledge they need to successfully communicate with their communities.
Digital is the Way
For many years, the common way for POAs to communicate with their residents and owners was via the mail and a bulletin board in a common area.
Community events and other happenings would be shared via a printed newsletter. Notices of all meetings would have to be printed and mailed. (In some instances, this is still required by law, more on that later in this article.) The bulletin board would be full of the same information, plus items that residents posted, such as furniture for sale, lost pets and more.
In some POAs, mass mailings of a variety of materials still occur on a weekly or monthly basis. All of these mailings come at great expense to the POA. On top of this, communication is not instantaneous.
If a POA has not done so already, it should consider using almost exclusively digital forms of communication such as email, text messaging and/or social media. While this may not be a perfect fit for all POAs, those POAs that still prefer mailings should consider digital communication as well.
Each of these communication forms comes at a low cost to the POA and allow for instantaneous updates to the POA’s members and residents. These forms of communication have proved effective for many POAs in times of severe weather events and to promote community events.
But there are drawbacks to each that POAs should be aware of.
By choosing to communicate via email and/or text message, the POA is collecting personally identifiable information (PII). Should this information be compromised, the POA could face devastating financial penalties. RMWBH has a detailed article on what qualifies as PII and why POAs should have a cybersecurity plan.
As for social media, you have seen and read RMWBH attorneys’ thoughts on the subject in numerous articles and webinars. While the simplest answer, and one as attorneys we would prefer, is for POAs to not have social media pages, we also know in today’s digital age this is just not possible for many POAs.
Social media is an effective tool that most residents young and old have grown accustomed to using. The social media pages can serve as a modern-day water cooler to share information about the community, inform residents of upcoming meetings and events and provide updates in the times of disaster, but they can also quickly turn into pages of conflict.
Conflict on social media will prevent the message the POA is trying to deliver from being acknowledged. The POA should take all possible steps to avoid conflict on its social media pages.
As we speed further into the 21st century, residents and members expect information to be readily available quickly and easy to find. Digital platforms provide POAs with the ability to accomplish this for the benefit of all.
Be Forthright and Upfront
Along with easily available information, POAs have a responsibility to their membership to be upfront and forthright in their communication.
This should occur in all communications with members, either digitally or in person, by the community manager and board members, but it should occur within reason.
There are certain things in the governance of a POA that managers and board members should not share, such as specifics on a delinquent assessment account, or proprietary information regarding a contract negotiation, but boards should be willing to share their thoughts on why they came to certain decisions. Texas law even details 15 items that must be discussed by the board in an open session of a board meeting unless an exception applies.
By being upfront and forthright, POAs can go a long way to fostering a relationship of trust and communication with their members.
Stay to the Letter of the Law
The final tip we would like to offer for homeowner communication is the most important. POAs have an obligation to follow the law in their communication with members.
The Texas Property Code outlines how certain communications between the POA and members should be conducted.
Board Meetings
Details on the notice for board meetings are outlined in Sec 209.0051 for single-family associations and Sec 82.108 for condominium associations.
For condominiums, the process for communication about board meetings is simply what is outlined in the Bylaws of the association.
For single-family associations, Sec. 209.0051 allows for options on the communication of the notice. The association can choose to mail the notice to each homeowner no later than the 10th day or earlier than the 60th day before the meeting. As we touched on earlier, this could cause costs to increase quickly. Or the POA can post notice in a conspicuous manner in the common area and/or post on the POA’s website and email the owner the notice of the meeting. This must be done at least 144 hours before a regular meeting and 72 hours before a special meeting.
Violations
Ensuring the communication of violations is done according to the law is essential. One misstep could result in the POA being unable to collect delinquent assessments or in the case of deed restriction violations, put their Bylaws and restrictions at risk.
There are numerous sections of the Property Code that detail how deed restriction violation notifications should be processed. For single-family associations, deed restriction notices are outlined in Sec. 209.006.
This notice must describe the violation, specify the date by which the violation must be cured (if curable) in order to avoid a fine, if the POA has fining authority, and inform the owner about their right to a hearing.
For condominiums, details on deed restriction notices are found in Sec. 82.102. As with single-family associations, the notice must describe the violation, give the owner a reasonable time to cure the violation before levying a fine and state the owner’s right to a hearing. Additionally, you must notify the owner once you levy the fine within 30 days of such levy.
Collection Letters
Things become slightly more cumbersome for communicating the collection of delinquent assessments because it is not only Texas law to consider, but federal law as well.
State law varies between the two types of POAs. For single-family associations, violation letters are detailed in Sec. 209.0064. The letter must be sent via certified mail and the letter must:
- Specify each delinquent amount and the total amount of the payment to make the account current
- Describe options of payment plans, if required by Chapter 209 or the POA’s dedicatory instruments
- Provide a period of at least 45 days to cure the delinquency before next steps
For condominiums, the requirements are outlined in Sec. 82.113. While Chapter 82 does not contain the specific details that Chapter 209 requires, condominiums may want to consider structuring their letters similarly to the 209 letter with a 30-day period to cure the delinquency.
Websites
Finally, a relatively new requirement in Sec. 207.006 for communication with residents and members is the requirement of single-family associations to have a website that contains a current version of the association’s dedicatory instruments in certain instances.
There is currently no requirement for condominiums, but a bill pending debate in the legislature may change this. HB 1349, if passed, would require condominiums to maintain a website that hosts a current copy of its dedicatory instruments. Stay tuned throughout the legislative session to find out if this bill passes.
If you have questions on how the law details resident and member communication or issues in the communication process with a specific resident, please contact your legal counsel. They will be able to offer you the best path forward to ensure the POA is following the law and taking the right actions for the benefit of each of its members.
