February 1st, 2010

Because a great number of Arizona neighborhoods have homeowners’ associations, a significant population of Mesa belongs to HOAs.  And while HOAs offer people many benefits, sometimes members take issue with their restrictions or policies.  For a brief window, Arizona law allowed for an administrative process to handle HOA disputes, which provided people with an alternative to taking such disputes to court.

Under the old administrative procedure, homeowners filed petitions with the Department of Fire, Building and Life Safety (DFBLS) for an administrative ruling.

An administrative law judge would set a hearing, and issue a ruling within 2-3 months.  This saved time and money, but it turned out to have its own set of problems.  In the end, the court ruled that the administrative process was unconstitutional.  As of January 2009, the administrative process has been removed as an option for Arizona homeowners and HOAs.

This fairly recent change in procedure means that at least for now, Arizonans cannot handle HOA disputes with an administrative process.  Rather, most serious disputes must be handled in court.  An attorney experienced in HOA law can be instrumental in helping homeowners navigate the process and resolve their dispute appropriately.