Each legislative session in the New Jersey Senate usually includes at least one bill or proposal related to housing, or one that impacts the state’s HOAs. There were several such bills introduced this past year—some of which were allowed to continue their journey toward ratification, and others that just couldn’t catch a break, no matter how long ago they were first suggested to the assembled lawmakers.

UCIOA’s Last Stand?

One such bill was the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (UCIOA). UCIOA has died in the New Jersey State Senate every year since it was first introduced in 2005, although it always passed the Assembly.

But fans of the measure, fear not! A revised version of the bill, known as the New Jersey Community Association Reform Act (CARA), is in the process of being redrafted and is expected to be introduced into the Assembly in the near future.

UCIOA in New Jersey was the state’s version of the nationwide UCIOA proposal, promulgated as far back as 1982 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The idea, which was adopted in one form or another in at least 15 states, governs the formation, management and termination of a common-interest community—whether it be a condo, an HOA or a co-op community.

Why was such a bill needed? “The first and primary purpose,” says attorney Ronald Perl of Hill Wallack LLP, a former president of the national Community Associations Institute, “is to update the law of community associations in New Jersey [the Condominium Act], which hasn’t been updated in 35 years.” Also, he says, there is no statute that covers homeowners’ associations and cooperatives.

According to Perl, UCIOA’s would provide for open meetings, would provide access to association records by owners, and would in general “create an atmosphere where community associations are operating in the daylight.”

Just this past January, UCIOA was reintroduced—as A1991—in the Assembly, with Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, D-37, of Englewood and Teaneck, as the new sponsor (and was still listed on the Assembly’s website at the time of this writing).

Why did UCIOA run into so many problems? There are a variety of explanations.

“I believe UCIOA failed,” says Perl, “because there were a group of people who attacked it based on misinformation. In general terms, there were a group of people who were dissidents within their own associations who alleged it did not contain protections for homeowners, and that it would allow the association to have unchecked powers for associations to abuse the rights of owners. This wasn’t true.”

Kenneth Sauter, an attorney with Berman, Sauter, Record & Jardim, PC, in Morristown and chair of Community Associations Institute of New Jersey’s (CAI-NJ) Legislative Action Committee, says, “There were a lot of specific provisions that were not acceptable to multiple parties. Everyone has an axe to grind. We’re saying the chances of UCIOA looked good every year, so we looked at those provisions that are the most controversial and most sensitive, and are taking another shot at watering them down.”

Among these controversial provisions, he says, were one regarding a minimum threshold for putting proposals out to bid, a provision on certification for managers, and one about whether the board should be allowed to make political contributions.

Assemblyman Jerry Green, D-22, and the chair of the Housing Committee, believes UCIOA didn’t pass last year, “because of the inability to reconcile UCIOA with a competing bill in the Senate.” Presumably, he’s referring to the “Owners’ Rights in Common Interest Development Act,” sponsored by Sens. Shirley Turner, D-15, and Ronald Rice, D-28. Both bills, he said, had such a wide range of topics and were so complex that it was hard to reconcile them.

Of course, not everyone supports the UCIOA-related bills. Nevi Baker is immediate past president of the Common Interest Homeowners Coalition (C-IHC), a group formed in 1997 by homeowners, who disagree with established homeowner organizations like CAI-NJ. She believes that UCIOA-related bills give too much power to “special interest groups”—such as attorneys, management firms and building contractors—at the expense of homeowners.

Asked for specific areas of disagreement, she says that several years ago, “We met with the legislators and asked for developer issues to be taken out of the bill.” In other words, she says, once the developer has sold a certain number of units, “they should pull out of the governance of the homeowners’ association.” Some of the provisions supported by UCIOA, such as alternative dispute resolution, she adds, are “already on the books—they’re just not enforced.”

Seniors, Pools and HOAs

Other important legislative initiatives are also being followed with interest by CAI-NJ and similar groups. For example on its monthly legislative update for April, CAI-NJ mentions—and supports—Senate Bill S88, sponsored by Senator Christopher Connors, R-9, which would require the purchaser of a unit within an age-restricted community to certify that whoever occupies the apartment will be someone whose age complies with federal law.

The “housing for older persons” exemption from the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 says that if a development is designed for people over 62, all of the occupants have to be over 62; if it is designed for people 55 or older, at least 80 percent of the occupants have to be that age.

In other words, if Joe Senior wants to buy an apartment in a seniors’ development but wants his grandson to live there, the answer, most likely, is that he can’t. This passed in the Senate and, as of this writing, has been referred to the Assembly Housing and Local Government committee.

Another bill, S764, sponsored by Senator Robert Singer, R-30, would require community associations to install “hybrid pool heating systems”—or systems that heat partially with solar energy—within three years of its passage. CAI-NJ’s legislative action committee, as of this writing, is planning to contact the sponsor to propose amendments, since it believes that the bill places the burden on community associations to prove financial hardship or physical limitations.

Another organization, the New Jersey Apartment Association (NJAA) has a different focus—it represents developers, owners and managers of rental apartments. One of the main bills it is following, however, is A500, dealing with affordable housing, which is sponsored by Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, D-5. This bill, because it talks about both rentals and homeownership and specifically mentions assistance programs for maintenance expenses for condo units, would also be of interest to condo, co-op and HOA residents.

According to Conor Fennessy, the NJAA’s vice president of government affairs, the organization is concerned about a provision in the bill proposing a two-and-a-half percent fee for new non-residential developments, and wants to clarify that multi-unit developments are inherently residential. Another important provision in the bill would require all state agencies, when proposing rules, to include a “housing affordability impact statement.” Currently, he says, state agencies have to consider all sorts of impacts, from agricultural to jobs—but not how a specific rule will affect affordability of housing.

Finally, Assemblyman Green calls our attention to three bills that specifically focus on homeowner associations.

These are A1041, introduced by Assemblyman Peter J. Biondi, R-16, which would authorize the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to establish bidding and conflict of interest guidelines for HOAs. A1565, sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, D-14, would presume grandfathering of certain governing documents of HOAs when they conflict with new provisions. And A1640, the “New Jersey Homeowners Equity Protection Act,” is being sponsored by Assemblyman John F. McKeon, D-27.

How Do Groups Make Wishes Known?

How do these organizations try to impact housing-related legislation?

In the case of CAI-NJ, says Sauter, “it’s not so much influencing, it’s giving yourself an opportunity to speak to these legislatures. Once you get in the door and get a chance to talk to them, you can clear up some simple misconceptions. Many legislators don’t understand the difference between condos, co-ops and HOAs—they lump them all together.” Group members also write letters and testify and legislative hearings.

The NJAA similarly believes, in the words of Fennessy, that “education is the key.” Contacting legislators and their staff members, setting up meetings with legislators, and asking the group’s members to reach out to their legislators are all important.

C-IHC issues “calls for action” for its members to write their legislators, but Baker stresses that it is “not a lobbying organization” and doesn’t make political contributions.

More Bills

In addition to the bills we’ve mentioned, here are some others that have some application to condos and co-ops:

A1359, sponsored by Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, D-32, would expand the scope of irrigation work that may only be performed by a licensed irrigation contractor. CAI-NJ is seeking an amendment that would amend the bill to exempt routine repairs done by an association’s employees. As of this writing, the bill passed the Assembly and has been referred to the Senate Conference Committee.

S245, introduced by Sens. John Adler, D-6, and Nia Gill, D-34, would eliminate Regional Contribution Agreements, by which one community can get out of its obligation to produce affordable housing by paying another community to build it there.

A1625, sponsored by Assembly members John McKeon, D-27, and Upendra Chivukula, D-17, which would require installation of automatic rain sensors on lawn sprinklers, so that the sprinklers wouldn’t keep running in the rain. The bill had its second reading in the Assembly in March.

A2481, sponsored by Assembly members Dan Van Pelt, R-9, and Brian Rumpf, R-9, would extend veterans’ property tax exemptions to unit owners in cooperatives and mutual housing corporations.

A502, sponsored by Assemblyman John Rooney, R-39, would specify that a solid waste collector couldn’t collect the contents of a solid waste container until the resident removes all recyclable material. The bill has been referred to the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste committee.

S628, sponsored by Senator Joseph Vitale, D-19, which permits water and sewer submetering in multi-family dwellings (just as it already exists for electricity and gas in some places). This bill has been referred to the Senate Economic Growth Committee.

S 1061, sponsored by Senator Turner, would authorize municipal court judges to hold hearings on complaints involving unsafe buildings, and authorizes housing inspectors to issue summonses. The bill has been referred to the Senate Community and Urban Affairs committee.

What does Governor Jon Corzine think of some of these bills? It’s basically too soon to know. “When it comes closer to the end of the session, then you’ll see him begin to take positions,” said spokesman Jim Gardner, who also stressed Corzine’s commitment to build 100,000 units of affordable housing.

Return of the Old-Fashioned Clothesline?

One interesting condo-related problem has come up in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont and Massachusetts, where the “right to dry” has come up.

This has nothing to do with the right to dry yourself after you go swimming—rather, it’s whether or not the right to set up clotheslines can and should be legislated by the state, rather than individual associations. Clotheslines are often forbidden by associations’ bylaws, perhaps because they remind many people of the old tenement lifestyle. However, they’ve been revived thanks to people who advocate them for environmental reasons—because clothesline users save energy by not using electric dryers.

“I haven’t seen it come up in New Jersey yet,” says Sauter, “but it wouldn’t surprise me if someone did introduce [a bill to this effect].” It’s a conflict among owners—one owner, said Sauter, wants to do the “environmentally correct thing” [dry clothes outside], but another finds it distasteful to even look at the clotheslines.

Will this issue ever come up in New Jersey? Keep checking your legislative updates!

Raanan Geberer is a freelance writer and editor living in New York City.