Condo Media - July 2018 - 44

MANY BILLS TO FOLLOW, LITTLE ACTION TO REPORT
The New Hampshire Legislative Action Committee's top
concern is a measure that would allow condominium owners
to call a special meeting on their own if the board does not
do so within 30 days of receiving a request.
Committee's (NHLAC) top concern in
the current session is a measure that
would allow condominium owners to
call a special meeting on their own if
the board does not do so within 30 days
of receiving a request. Responding to
concerns the NHLAC expressed, the
bill's sponsor amended it to specify that
the business owners could conduct at
this meeting would be limited to a vote
to remove board members. They could
discuss other issues but could not take
any action on them. Absent that restriction, NHLAC Chair Gary Daddario, a
partner in Winer & Bennet, explains,
with the governing board still in place,

"there could be massive confusion" about
who-the board, or the owners attending
the special meeting-has the authority
to make decisions for the association. As
of press time, a public hearing on the bill
had been scheduled but not yet held.
Phased Condominium Time Limits
A committee hearing was also still pending on another bill the NHLAC is watching, intended to counter a New Hampshire Supreme Court decision holding
that a developer was not subject to statutory time limits on phased condominium
developments. In Condominiums at Lilac
Lane v. Monument Garden, LLC, the de-

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veloper argued and the court agreed that
because he had not chosen either of the
two categories for phased developments,
neither of the two deadlines applied. The
legislation would clarify that "the only
options for phased developments are
the two options specified in the statute,"
Daddario explains.
Concentration of Ownership
The fate of a third bill on the committee's
watch list has been decided-and not
favorably. This measure targeted the
"concentration of ownership" in condo
communities, that would allow a single
individual, family, or corporate entity
to control decision-making by owning
enough units to give them a perpetual
majority of the votes. This bill would
have required a specified percentage of
the minority owners to approve amendments to the governing documents to
prevent the perpetual dominance of a
large owner.
Opponents argued that an owner who
had invested a lot of money in the community should have a controlling say over
decisions. The Commerce Committee
agreed, issuing an "inexpedient to legislate" report-a legislative determination
that a subject "shouldn't be addressed by
statute," Daddario explains. "It means
they tossed the bill down the drain."
Foreclosure and Priority Lien
Legislation that would allow New Hampshire condominiums to foreclose on
delinquent owners to enforce the association's priority lien-which the legislature
has defeated several times-is still on the
NHLAC's wish list, but the committee has
not re-filed it this year. Instead, Daddario
says, the NHLAC is working on building
legislative support for the initiative.
"We can draft any legislation we want,"
he notes, "but it's not going anywhere if
we don't have lawmakers willing to sponsor it and give it some life."
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CONDOMEDIA July 2018

Condo Media - July 2018

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