89R11319 RAL-F
By: Hinojosa of Hidalgo S.B. No. 1935
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the composition and operation of a property owners'
association board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 209.0051(c-1), Property Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c-1) Except for a meeting held by electronic or telephonic
means under Subsection (c-2), a board meeting must be held:
(1) in a county in which all or part of the property in
the subdivision is located or in a county adjacent to that county;
and
(2) within 10 miles of the subdivision, if a majority
of the board members are not elected by owners other than the
declarant.
SECTION 2. Section 209.00591, Property Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d), (e), and (f) to
read as follows:
(c) The declaration may provide for a period of declarant
control of the association during which a declarant, or persons
designated by the declarant, may appoint and remove board members
and the officers of the association, other than board members or
officers elected by members of the property owners' association.
(d) Regardless of the period of declarant control provided
by the declaration:
(1) on or before the 120th day after the date a
majority of the lots that may be created and made subject to the
declaration are conveyed to owners other than a declarant or a
builder in the business of constructing homes who purchased the
lots from the declarant for the purpose of selling completed homes
built on the lots, at least one-third of the board members must be
elected by owners other than the declarant; and
(2) [,] on or before the 120th day after the date 75
percent of the lots that may be created and made subject to the
declaration are conveyed to owners other than a declarant or a
builder in the business of constructing homes who purchased the
lots from the declarant for the purpose of selling completed homes
built on the lots, at least a majority [one-third] of the board
members must be elected by owners other than the declarant.
(e) If the declaration does not include the number of lots
that may be created and made subject to the declaration, at least a
majority [one-third] of the board members must be elected by owners
other than the declarant not later than the 10th anniversary of the
date the declaration was recorded.
(f) Not later than the 30th day after the date a majority of
the lots that may be created and made subject to the declaration are
conveyed as described by Subsection(d)(1), the declarant shall give
notice to the owners that at least one-third of the board members
must be elected by owners other than the declarant. Notice required
under this subsection must be provided by:
(1) posting the notice on any Internet website
available to association members that is maintained by the
association or by a management company on behalf of the
association; and
(2) sending the notice by e-mail to each owner who has
registered an e-mail address with the association.
SECTION 3. Section 209.0061, Property Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) The amount of a fine assessed by the property owners'
association must be reasonable in the context of the nature and
frequency of the violation and the effect of the violation on the
subdivision as a whole. If the association allows fines for a
continuing violation to accumulate against a lot or an owner, the
association must establish a reasonable maximum fine amount for a
continuing violation at which point the total fine amount is
capped.
SECTION 4. Chapter 209, Property Code, is amended by adding
Section 209.018 to read as follows:
Sec. 209.018. RESTRICTION ON INCREASE OF REGULAR
ASSESSMENT. Notwithstanding a provision in a dedicatory
instrument, a property owners' association may not increase the
amount of a regular assessment by an amount greater than or equal to
five percent per year unless the increase is approved by an
affirmative vote of at least a majority of the total votes allocated
to property owners entitled to vote on the proposed increase.
SECTION 5. (a) Section 209.00591, Property Code, as
amended by this Act, applies to a property owners' association
board regardless of whether the association's declaration was
adopted before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 209.00591, Property Code, as
amended by this Act, at least one-third of the board members of a
property owners' association to which Chapter 209, Property Code,
applies must be elected by owners other than the declarant on or
before March 1, 2026, if the association reached the majority
conveyance threshold described by Section 209.00591(d)(1),
Property Code, as added by this Act, before the effective date of
this Act.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 209.00591, Property Code, as
amended by this Act, at least a majority of the board members of a
property owners' association to which Chapter 209, Property Code,
applies must be elected by owners other than the declarant on or
before March 1, 2026, if:
(1) the association reached the 75 percent conveyance
threshold described by Section 209.00591(d)(2), Property Code, as
added by this Act, before the effective date of this Act; or
(2) the 10th anniversary of the date the association's
declaration was recorded occurred before the effective date of this
Act or occurs on or after the effective date of this Act and before
March 1, 2026.
SECTION 6. Section 209.0061, Property Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a fine that becomes due on or after the
effective date of this Act. A fine that becomes due before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. Section 209.018, Property Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to an increase of a regular assessment proposed by
a property owners' association on or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.