Apr. 25, 2018
EAST STROUDSBURG – At a press conference Wednesday, Rep. Rosemary M. Brown (R-Monroe/Pike) announced that a bill she is sponsoring to improve the process for how certain complaints within residential communities are handled was approved by the Senate last week. The bill has been sent to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature.
House Bill 595 would assign additional powers to the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in regard to how Home Owner Association (HOA) complaints are handled.
“This has been a long time coming, and I join so many residents of the 189th District and beyond in being optimistic that the governor will sign this legislation into law,” Brown said. “I have been working on this bill for years, following many calls and conversations from frustrated residents living in residential communities in the Poconos. Nearly one quarter of Pennsylvanians live in some type of self-governing communities, and I hope we can finally provide a resolution for affected residents.”
Communities formed under Title 68 operate under a set of governing bylaws, which create micro-governments. When occasional disagreements or incidences of fraud occur in these communities, residents and unit owner boards feel they have nowhere to turn for assistance in resolving complaints.
“There needs to be a way to mediate and investigate serious violations, and because the Bureau of Consumer Protection already handles similar complaints, it makes sense for this set of issues to be added to its purview,” Brown explained.
Title 68 already allows for complaints regarding financial documents to be filed with the Bureau of Consumer Protection; however, it does not assist with other serious complaints that may be a violation of other portions of Title 68. Examples include meetings, quorums, voting/proxies and other association records.
For more information about House Bill 595, or any state-related issue, contact Brown’s district office in East Stroudsburg located at 143 Seven Bridge Road, by calling 570-420-8301. Information can also be found on online at
RepBrown.com or
Facebook.com/RepRosemaryBrown.
Representative Rosemary M. Brown
189th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Krisinda Corbin
717.705.2032
KCorbin@pahousegop.com
RepBrown.com /
Facebook.com/RepRosemaryBrown