Key Points:

• State lawmakers aim to prevent homeowner associations from discriminating against pets based on breed, size or weight

• Legislation now awaits a House vote 

• The proposed law would still allow HOAs to adopt reasonable rules on pet behavior

A legislative maneuver has given Arizona dog owners a new shot at barring homeowner associations from restricting pets based on breed, size or weight — but whether the full Senate will get to vote on it remains uncertain.

The bill, Senate Bill 1582, was twice blocked from a hearing by a single Senate committee chairman. Supporters then attached it to an unrelated bill to route it around his committee — but whether Republican Senate leadership will allow a floor vote remains an open question. Legislation awaiting a roll-call vote in the House would spell out in Arizona law that any rules adopted by community associations about dogs are invalid if they limit the weight of the animal. Ditto any regulations that say certain breeds are not permitted.

The issue, according to one activist, goes beyond allowing people to have the kinds of dogs they want.

“We have seen an incredible increase in the number of abandonments at shelters across the state,” said Sam Richard, a lobbyist for the Humane World for Animals, the organization formerly known as the Humane Society of the United States.

“So what we are looking for is ways in policy to encourage pet owners to stay united with their pets in every conceivable way,” he said. “And one of those ways is to prevent HOAs from restricting based on breed, size, or weight in any kind of measures.”

Richard said there is evidence of the impact of association rules.

For example, he said that most shelters have an intake form for those dropping off animals.

“Of course, it’s not mandatory,” Richard said. “But for those who self-report, one of the reasons is housing.”

That, he said, often takes the form of a dog owner moving into a community with regulations, whether single-family homes, townhomes, or condos, unaware when buying the property that existing rules preclude the pet from coming along.

The measure also has the backing of the Best Friends Animal Society.

“This section ensures that families are not subject to arbitrary restrictions on pets based on breed size or weight, policies that are not grounded in evidence and often lead to unnecessary relinquishment of beloved animals,” said lobbyist Gretchen Jacobs.

Many restrictions, she said, are arbitrary.

For example, some associations prohibit pit bulls. Others, she said, won’t allow residents to have chihuahuas “because they’re known to nip at people — allegedly.”

But what’s lost in all that, Jacobs told lawmakers, is evidence that animals behave “based on their environment and the people that are guardians.”

So what Senate Bill 1582 would do is replace any ban based on size, weight or breed with a provision that allows associations to adopt “reasonable rules” on both the number of dogs — or cats, for that matter — as well as their behavior.

“An HOA can still keep a Great Dane from a community space,” Richard said. Similarly, he said it would be permissible to say that certain kinds of dogs cannot be in the community pool area.

“But you can’t keep a resident from owning an animal in their own space that they fully own as a home,” Richard said.

Dennis Legere, representing the Arizona Homeowners Coalition, told lawmakers that the measure provides a fair balance. He said it is based on common-law principles “that protect your right to make your own choices over what’s your property and the association’s right to protect everybody else from what you do — whether it’s your behaviors, your guest’s behaviors, your pet’s behaviors.”

Alexis Glascock, who represents the Community Association Institute, said her organization is not opposed to the measure. It represents those who govern and manage homeowner associations.

Gress had previously introduced the concept through House Bill 4017. He even got the full House to approve it on a 47-7 margin.

But the bill stalled when assigned to the Senate Government Committee, and Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, who chairs that panel, refused to give it a hearing.

Hoffman also quashed Senate Bill 1729, an identical measure introduced by fellow Republican Sen. John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills, before it ever got a hearing.

Hoffman acknowledged he refused to hear either measure but would not explain his opposition.

Here’s how supporters engineered the workaround.

SB1582 was tagged onto a bill crafted by Sen. Kevin Payne. The Peoria Republican was pushing a proposal to set aside $3.2 million to fund a school safety program.

That measure, in its original form, stalled because of the price tag. So Gress convinced Payne to allow his Senate-passed bill to be stripped of its original language and used for his proposal.

Under legislative rules, if the now-amended SB1582 with its provision about pets gets final House approval, it then goes back to the full Senate — and not to Hoffman’s committee. And that would allow all senators to vote on whether they agree with the House amendments.

An affirmative vote there would send the measure to the governor.

Hoffman, however, said he’s not worried about being overridden. He said he believes that GOP leadership will never allow that vote to occur — even if what’s in the bill does have the support of the majority of lawmakers from both parties.

“The Senate doesn’t circumvent chairmen,” he said.

Even if the bill becomes law, that doesn’t resolve all problems.

Richard said nothing in the legislation applies to apartments, which remain the legal property of the landlord. He said it would take separate legislation to address the rights of pet-owning apartment dwellers.

The post Measure to protect pets from HOA discrimination faces committee roadblock first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.

Key Points:

• HB 4011 would require HOAs to act fairly and reasonably when boards exercise their power

• Supporters say it will help people be aware of the standard to which HOAs are held

• Opponents say the bill doesn’t go far enough and needs a stronger enforcement mechanism

When Caroline Trotter noticed issues in her neighborhood, she went to her local homeowners association. What she encountered prompted her to propose a piece of new legislation. 

Trotter has lived in Sun City West for the past six years. For the last year, she has worked on a bill to bring to Rep. Beverly Pingerelli, R-Peoria, that she says could have a significant impact on how HOAs operate. 

If passed, House Bill 4011 would charge a condominium unit owners’ association (COA) and a planned community association, such as a homeowners association (HOA), with the duty to act reasonably in the exercise of discretionary powers. The bill defines “duty to act reasonably” as a duty to exercise discretionary powers neutrally, fairly, without favoritism and in a nonarbitrary fashion. 

The bill moved through the Legislature with bipartisan support and no votes in opposition, a rare feat. That means it should be on track to reach the governor’s desk after the House gets back to business on June 1. It joins more than 30 bills affecting HOAs that have been filed this session. Most are dead, but a handful are still alive, according to an analysis by the Arizona Capitol Times. 

Pingerelli said she and her family live in two HOAs. One is a master community association and the other is a sub-association. She said she hasn’t had any issues with them, and her husband has been active with both associations, but acknowledged not all HOAs are problem-free.

“There are associations out there where people are having issues,” she said. “The language we came up with was the most appropriate to start out the conversation. It’s a very bipartisan issue.”

Essentially, Pingerelli thinks it’s a starting point — something to move the needle and help future HOA members. HOA bills are a step outside of Pingerelli’s usual arena, with her background being largely in education and health care. She joked in committee that it might be her first and only HOA bill, but said she’s encouraged by the fact that it has no opposition in the Legislature. 

The Arizona Association of Community Managers, the trade organization for planned communities, did not respond to a request for comment. The League of Arizona Cities and Towns, another influential local voice for housing issues, said they do not typically weigh in on HOA bills. 

One person who does believe the measure will help HOAs and homeowners is retired attorney Steve Cheifetz. He has litigated different sides of HOA cases throughout his career and currently serves as counsel at Iannitelli Marcolini Law Firm in Phoenix. 

As a quasi-government unit, HOAs and planned communities are usually set up with deed restriction law, Cheifetz said. Developers are often tasked with the responsibility of writing them. When someone agrees to buy a home within an HOA, they’re deemed to have accepted those restrictions, he said. Cities would prefer that new developments have an HOA because it shifts some responsibility, he added. 

HOAs often have a document called a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, or a CC&R, which is a legally binding document that outlines what property owners can and cannot do with their property. Cheifetz noted that many HOA restrictions are limited by law, otherwise they would be too overbearing.

Courts tend to be suspicious of this type of contract because they’re pre-established terms the homeowner doesn’t have a right to negotiate before they buy and it comes down to take it or leave it, he said. 

“HOAs are, I think, somewhat of a failed concept, because they have a lot of complicated issues, and they’re just a volunteer board of people that are not necessarily experts in the field, so they rely on management companies, and management companies are making a big profit,” he said. “It’s just an unfair fight. If you get an HOA against a homeowner, the HOA board members don’t have to pay a penny … whereas the homeowner, they have to reach in their pocket if they get in a fight with their HOA.”

Cheifetz is hopeful HB 4011 will help even things out. The bill codifies a landmark 2007 Arizona Court of Appeals case, Tierra Ranchos Homeowners Association v. Kitchukov, which established HOAs have a duty to “treat members fairly” and the duty to “act reasonably in the exercise of its discretionary powers including rulemaking, enforcement and design-control powers,” language very similar to HB 4011. 

An association’s failure to meet its duties to a homeowner is deemed to be a breach of contract, which is a homeowner’s best claim against their HOA, Cheifetz said. He said few people know about the standard in that common law case. 

“It’ll create better awareness of what the standard is,” he said. “HOA board members are volunteers. They’re not necessarily trained. Sometimes they get trained, but they really are just volunteers.”

Others are a bit more skeptical of how much it will help. Dennis Legere started the Arizona Homeowners Coalition in 2016 after he successfully fought his HOA on open meeting law violations. He was invited by Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, to be part of a working group of homeowners who helped legislators understand what needs to be done to address HOAs. He heard a lot of horror stories and started looking at ways to change the law.

Ten years later, he still drafts legislation and works with legislators. He does it for free, he said. There are about 2,500 members across the state as part of his group. His website provides information for homeowners to understand what their duties and responsibilities are. 

Legere also referenced the Tierra Rancho case and said it’s been a top priority for him to get that into statute. 

“If these boards understood those duties, life would change in these communities,” he said. 

He said it’s a bit like “motherhood and apple pie.” Likely, the change would help incrementally, but there’s still going to be issues, due to a lack of enforcement mechanism. 

“The biggest problem we have in HOAs is there is no enforcement mechanism for the law,” he said. “The only way the law can be enforced is if a homeowner risks their own money to sue the association for breach of law and the association knows that most homeowners are not going to be able to afford that.”

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