HOA dissolved for 6 years, has been reinstated

Beth, you were not "dissolved" - only placed into an "inactive" status because you did not file the correct papers with the State.

The residents dropped the ball by letting the HOA get nto this condition (especaily the officers of the last Board who should have let the residents know what was going on and the consequences)

Can you bill retroactively? You could TRY but trust is probably a really lows commodity for this board. Expect a real revolt!!

You need to call a Special Meeting of the Members and explain why you are even needed - OR they might even get together and vote for a dissolution. You must prove that an HOA is even needed, after letting things go for so long.

Before we say that the HOA wasn't dissolved, I'd like to hear a little more about why Beth say that it was. I agree with Susan and Michelle that an inactive HOA doesn't automatically mean that it gets dissolved, but there have been times when an HOA with no common areas and no real purpose other than CC&R enforcement was actively dissolved by the members. That could be what happened in Beth's case as well. We just don't have enough info. If that was the case, then there was no HOA during that period, so there would be no back dues.

If somebody is trying to restart an HOA that was actively dissolved, then it would really be a new HOA, not just a reinstatement of the old one.

I just checked the Secretary of State website- the HOA was administratively dissolved during the last 6 years and only recently reinstated. Most of the homeowners did not even know that it was dissolved, ever. During the last 10 months our renter along with others in the complex have not paid their dues because it was discovered that the HOA didn't "exist". Now we, and others, have received letters about a lien if back dues are not paid. We are just curious if they have the legal right to do so if the HOA was not incorporated during that time. The current manager is awful, causing a lot of problems with owners and tenants and not taking care of the common areas. My husband and I want to get the other owners together with the board and vote for another manager and or hire a management company. Before we do that we want to know our obligations to paying the past dues. I have no problem paying the HOA dues each month but wonder about those that were not paid during the years of dissolution.

I would think that if the HOA was inactive, and not dissolved, trying to collect the funds would not constitute a "failure to act", but an inability to act until they file the appropriate paperwork.

I would think this would be like driving on a suspended license... you have a license, it's not expired, but you're not allowed to drive until you do what is necessary to get everything back in order.

Since this was an administrative dissolution, I withdraw my statement. The others are correct - the HOA still existed and they can probably collect past dues. If they made no attempt to collect during that time there might be a time limit involved like the 2 years that Michelle mentioned.

However, you mention that "our renter ... have not paid their dues". That leads me to wonder if you were having the bills sent to the renter instead of to you. Some rental contracts may stipulate that the renter is supposed to pay the dues and will ask the HOA to send the bills to the renter. However, regardless of the rental contract, the owner is ultimately obligated to pay the dues. If the HOA was sending the bills to the renter at your request and the renter didn't bother to pay, then you will probably be on the hook for the whole 6 years.

That's what we're working on, collecting from the renter. We realize that it is our responsibility, as the owners, to pay the HOA fees and DID NOT change the billing address to our renter but more curious why we are just now finding out that the dues were never paid.

Thanks so much for all your help! Very insightful!

Kevin,

I don't see how any of those apply to HOA assessments (they're not rent!).

I'm not sure which it would fall under, but although they are assessments, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes the District of Colorado, had ruled that in some instances assessments are debt and governed by the FDCPA (Ladick v Van Gemert).

Based on that, I would assume that they would fall under such limitations.

I had misread one of the earlier posts... I thought that the HOA just started asking for payment for older assessments... I didn't see the part that the renter stopped paying after discovering the dissolution...

Several responses to this thread discuss Arizona corporations. I have created two of my own AZ corporations over the last 15 years and may be able to shed some light on the subject.

First, AZ Corporation Commission (ACC), not the Secretary of State, is the agency that grants corporate charters. The ACC is an independent commission and it does not answer to anyone except the voters. Every corporation is required to file an annual report with the ACC. If a corporation fails to file annual reports for three consecutive years, the ACC will administratively dissolve the corporation.

Administrative dissolution has the same effect as if the corporation dissolved itself. It’s gone. There is no “reinstatement” process.

Since the corporation is gone after administrative dissolution, the name is available and anyone can file new Articles of Incorporation using that same name. It will not, however, be a continuation or rebirth of the old corporation; the ACC will treat it as an entirely new corporation.

For an HOA, this presents a big problem. If I bought into a subdivision where I had to join the incorporated non-profit XYZ HOA and the association is dissolved for failing to file annual reports, can someone – anyone – compel me to join a new association with the same name? I have not seen this issue addressed in any recent Arizona court decisions.

Continuing to operate as a corporation after the corporation has been dissolved could also be a problem, especially for those who claim to be the board of directors. This is not an area where I have substantial knowledge or experience, but I would not want to be on that board.

The only prudent course of action would be to consult with an attorney specializing in corporate law.