Which Connecticut Laws Govern Your HOA or Condo?

In Connecticut, a single statute — the Common Interest Ownership Act (CIOA) — covers condominiums, planned communities, and cooperatives alike, instead of separate condo and HOA laws. How much of it reaches your community depends mostly on when the community was created. For your specific situation, a licensed Connecticut attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

Does Connecticut have an HOA law?

Yes. The Common Interest Ownership Act (Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 828, §§ 47-200 to 47-295) is the main state statute for condominiums, planned communities and cooperatives. Under § 47-201, sections 47-214 to 47-219 govern how much of it applies: generally in full to communities created on or after January 1, 1984, and only in part, or not at all, to some others.

Section 47-200 provides that chapter 828 "may be cited as the 'Common Interest Ownership Act'", and § 47-201 sends every coverage question to one place: "Applicability of this chapter is governed by sections 47-214 to 47-219, inclusive." Among the topics the act addresses:

• Association powers and fines — under § 47-244(a)(11), the association may "impose charges or interest or both for late payment of assessments and, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, rules and regulations of the association"
• Meetings — at each executive board meeting, § 47-250 requires the board to "provide a reasonable opportunity for unit owners to comment regarding any matter affecting the common interest community and the association"
• The assessment lien — § 47-258 gives priority to the common expense assessments that "would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the nine months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce" the lien
• Records — under § 47-260, records are available for examination and copying "Upon thirty days' notice in a record reasonably identifying the specific records of the association requested"

Which communities it covers

Created on or after January 1, 1984

Section 47-214 is the starting rule: "the provisions of this chapter apply to all common interest communities created within this state on or after January 1, 1984." The same section adds that "The provisions of chapter 825 do not apply to condominiums created on or after January 1, 1984." Later amendments to CIOA reach those communities too, but § 47-214 limits each one: it "applies only to events and circumstances occurring on or after the effective date of such amendment to this chapter."

Created before 1984

For older communities, § 47-216(a) lists specific CIOA sections — including § 47-244 (association powers), § 47-250 (meetings), § 47-257 (assessments), § 47-258 (the lien) and § 47-260 (records) — that "apply to all common interest communities created in this state before January 1, 1984." Two limits come with that list: those sections "apply only with respect to events and circumstances occurring after January 1, 1984, and do not invalidate existing provisions of the declaration, bylaws or surveys or plans of those common interest communities."

An older community can also amend its way in. Under § 47-218(a), its documents "may be amended to achieve any result permitted by this chapter regardless of what applicable law provided before January 1, 1984," following the procedures in its own instruments or, "if there are none, in conformity with the amendment procedures of this chapter."

Small, nonresidential, and special-act communities

Several exceptions narrow coverage:

• Small pre-1984 communities. Under § 47-217(a), a pre-1984 community that "contains no more than twelve units and is not subject to any development rights" (or contains only nonresidential units) "is subject only to sections 47-204, 47-205 and 47-206" unless the declaration is amended to opt in under § 47-218.
• Nonresidential communities. Under § 47-215(a)(1), a community of units "restricted exclusively to nonresidential use" is "not subject to this chapter unless the declaration otherwise provides."
• Low-assessment planned communities. Under § 47-215(a)(3), a planned community whose declaration caps the average annual common expense liability at three hundred dollars (as adjusted under § 47-213) "is subject only to sections 47-204, 47-205 and 47-206 unless the declaration provides that this entire chapter is applicable," if the conditions in that subdivision are met.
• Special-act communities. Under § 47-217(b), a pre-1984 community "formed pursuant to a special act of the legislature" is "not subject to the provisions of this chapter unless a majority of the unit owners vote" to bring it in.

Do Connecticut condos follow a different law than HOAs?

Only if the condo predates 1984. Condominiums created on or after January 1, 1984 fall under CIOA, like planned communities. For a condominium declared from 1977 through 1983, the Condominium Act of 1976 (Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 825, §§ 47-68a to 47-90c), together with the CIOA sections that § 47-216 extends to older communities, supplies much of the framework.

Before CIOA, condominiums were organized under chapter 825, which § 47-68a says "shall be known as the 'Condominium Act of 1976'". Under § 47-90c(a), its main sections took effect January 1, 1977 and "apply to all condominiums declared on and after said date," while the earlier version of chapter 825 "in effect on December 31, 1976, shall continue to apply to condominiums declared prior to January 1, 1977," with listed exceptions. For a condominium declared from 1977 through 1983, that earlier statute — together with the CIOA sections § 47-216 extends to pre-1984 communities — supplies much of the framework. Which statute controls a given community is a fact-specific question a licensed Connecticut attorney can sort out.

The Revised Nonstock Corporation Act (Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 602)

CIOA does not require any one entity form. Section 47-243 provides that "The association shall be organized as a business or nonstock corporation, trust, partnership or unincorporated association." An association organized as a nonstock corporation also falls under chapter 602, which § 33-1000 says "shall be known and may be cited as the 'Connecticut Revised Nonstock Corporation Act'". That act sets the general standard for directors in § 33-1104(a): a director acts "In good faith; (2) with the care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances; and (3) in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation."

CIOA also leaves room for other law. Section 47-207 provides that "The principles of law and equity, including the law of corporations and unincorporated associations, the law of real property," and other listed doctrines "supplement the provisions of this chapter, except to the extent inconsistent with this chapter."

How the layers fit

1. The recorded governing documents — declaration, bylaws, and rules. For covered communities, § 47-203 provides that CIOA's provisions "may not be varied by agreement, and rights conferred by it may not be waived," except as the act itself allows; and under § 47-222(c), "In the event of a conflict between the provisions of the declaration and the bylaws, the declaration prevails except to the extent the declaration is inconsistent with this chapter."
2. CIOA (§§ 47-200 to 47-295) — fully for communities created on or after January 1, 1984; through the § 47-216 list for older ones. For condominiums declared from 1977 through 1983, the Condominium Act of 1976 (ch. 825, §§ 47-68a to 47-90c) still supplies much of the framework.
3. The Revised Nonstock Corporation Act (ch. 602) for an association organized as a nonstock corporation, plus the general law § 47-207 makes supplemental.
4. Federal law — the Fair Housing Act, ADA, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, OTARD, and the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act.

From records to fines to the assessment lien, CIOA is the starting point for most Connecticut homeowner questions.

Sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 828 — Common Interest Ownership Act (§§ 47-200 to 47-295)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-214 — Applicability of chapter and amendments thereto
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-215 — Applicability to nonresidential, mixed use and small common interest communities
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-216 — Applicability to preexisting common interest communities
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-217 — Exception for certain preexisting common interest communities
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-218 — Applicability to amendments to governing instruments
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-243 — Organization of unit owners' association
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-244 — Powers and duties of unit owners' association
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-258 — Lien for assessments and other sums due association
• Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 825 — Condominium Act of 1976 (§§ 47-68a to 47-90c)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 602 — Connecticut Revised Nonstock Corporation Act