Maintaining Oversight and Regulatory Efficiency (M.O.R.E.) Housing Act

Bill Summary

This bill will introduce legislation that will provide the city of Atlanta oversight into the operations of condominiums to aid in the fight to address housing shortages. Specifically, this bill will address the level of vacant homes within the confines of a condominium owner’s association (COA) purview, penalize COA’s who refuse to comply with the city of Atlanta's request for records related to the financial operation and the usage of said property (vacant, owner-occupied or rental), require relevant Associations to submit a plan to bring the establishment up to code for those that failed to meet the exterior builder requirements of Atlanta Housing for the purpose of increasing the amount of affordable housing in the market to condominium owners wishing to lease their property to Housing Choice Voucher (formerly known as section 8) recipients but have been hindered by their COA’s maintenance of the exterior of the property. 

SECTION 1

Condo Owner Association (COA) is defined as any Homeowner Owner Association (HOA) that is made up of a multifamily dwelling unit and legally fits the description of a condominium. 

COA’s within the city of Atlanta are hereby required to submit their annual budget to the Housing Commission for review. This allows for the evaluation of COAs on the verge of insolvency.

Condo Task Force: The creation of a standing task force (possibly within the existing Housing Commission) to handle and review COA data (e.g. annual budgets, number of COA fee delinquent units) and both owner complaints with the aim to provide both meditation duties and conflict resolution. 

If it is determined that a COA refuses to engage in mediation and do so in good faith, it shall be ruled to be in default. 

Unit Vacancies: Along with their annual budget, COAs will be required to the best of their ability to provide data on each unit in their purview and relate if any unit is either 1) owner-occupied (indicate if primary or secondary home), 2) rented or 3) vacant.

Action plan to meet the standard of Atlanta Housing if an inspection results in failure due to the exterior of the structure which in a COA is the responsibility of the COA.

SECTION 2

This section provides penalties and punishment for failure to comply. 

Any COA found to be in violation of the requirements of this law or found to be in default shall be fined up to $5,000 per occurrence.

Any COA board member found to be destroying or falsifying data submitted to the Task Force shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall face 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine up to $10,000.

Notes: This proposed legislation will not seek to override any existing HOA/COA bylaws or other restrictions related to the rental of units. For example, if an HOA/COA has rent cap restrictions rules, this proposed legislation would not force them to change rules but rather allow unit owners who are otherwise able to rent their units to do so within the framework of the Atlanta Housing (HCV) Housing Choice Voucher program  (formerly known as Section 8).