RALEIGH, N.C. – Even though the North Carolina General Assembly isn’t currently in session, there’s still work going on to preparing for the upcoming short session.

One of those areas of interest impacts people all across North Carolina.

A new subcommittee is studying home owners' associations in North Carolina; how HOAs operate, what issues people have and potential areas for state oversight.

What You Need To Know

  • A subcommittee in the legislature is studying potential HOA oversight

  •  Currently, homeowners can only bring lawsuits against HOAs if they have issues

  •  There is no oversight on a state level to hold HOAs to account

  • The committee will hold several more meetings before making a proposal

In their first meeting Thursday, homeowners from across the state came to share their stories with lawmakers, and ask for long-awaited change.

Two of those people were Jeanne and Timothy Hinds.

The Raleigh couple never expected to be in the HOA advocacy business, but things charged when they bought their home in Oak Island.

“There were a number of areas in which they were not being transparent. They're not really submitting to accountability to the owners. So as a result, we delved deeper. We asked a lot of questions,” Timothy Hinds said.

As they asked their own questions, they spoke to other homeowners across the state. They found that they weren’t alone in their problems or complaints.

They founded the NC HOA Law Reform Coalition.

Jeanne Hinds says homeowners across the state tell similar stories.

“Their board members are not opening up board meetings to them so that they can express their concerns. They are not, they can't get minutes, they can't get accounting records,” Jeanne Hinds said.

They both say HOAs can be great things, if run properly and transparently.

There is no currently no state oversight of HOAs.

The only recourse many homeowners have is to file lawsuits, using their own money. HOAs can use the homeowner’s fees to pay for lawyers in those lawsuits.

That’s one of the issues lawmakers heard about Thursday.

Speakers also touched on foreclosures for missed fees, and other areas where they said their rights are infringed on.

Several lawmakers spoke themselves about the folders they had, full of emails and communications from constituents, detailing issues and allegedly illegal acts from their HOAs.

The state Department of Justice had a spokesperson speak about issues where they thought change was needed in HOA oversight.

The committee will hold several more meetings, then put together recommendations for the full legislature when lawmakers are back in session.

Time will tell if any change actually comes from the subcommittee. Hinds has a little hope, but says he’s seen this process before with no resolution.

He and Jeanne just want homeowners to be able to hold their HOAs to account when things aren’t being done according to the law.

“What I would want to see in Nirvana, a fond wish, would be that either the executive or the judicial branch would have a mechanism for real enforcement of the law,” Timothy Hinds said.