Connecticut Office of Condominium Ombudsman Proposed by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal

During testimony presented to the General Law Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal recommend the creation of an Office of Condominium Ombudsman for the benefit of owners of Connecticut condominium units. Prompted by hundreds of recent complaints by condominium owners, Blumenthal is proposing the formation of a self-funded commission to review complaints by condominium owners over accused violations by condominium associations.

Blumenthal suggests the ombudsman would review claims against condo associations by condo owners, then conduct hearings, if necessary, to resolve the issues and ensure condo bylaws and Connecticut state laws are upheld. Blumenthal’s proposal recommends that  a condo unit owner and the association first attempt to come to a resolution before the condo unit owner seeks support from the ombudsman.

In a prepared statement, Blumenthal conveyed to the General Law Committee, “A Condominium Ombudsman would provide help to outmatched, overwhelmed unit owners who are fighting for their basic rights under our condominium laws. … Many of the complaints received by my office concern failures by association boards of directors to follow basic governance principles such as adopting an annual budget with notice to the unit owners, holding fair elections for the board of directors, providing key financial information about the association, and fairly imposing association fines. … Some of these complaints are based on deliberate indifference by association boards to association bylaws or state condominium laws – or a lack of full understanding of condominium association responsibilities.”

The Attorney General’s proposal would be funded through an annual assessment of $4 per condo unit in Connecticut. With 240,000 condo units statewide, the assessment would yield $960,000 annually. In addition, a filing fee of $35 would be required by the complainant, with another $35 filing fee to be paid by the condo association, per dispute. The filing fee would be similar to the fee required when filing a complaint in small claims court. If the Office of Condominium Ombudsman receives 500 complaints in a year, it would yield an additional $35,000. Finally, Blumenthal’s plan would increase the filing fee for condominium managers to $400 biennially, rather than the existing $100 annual fee.  With 300 registered condominium managers in Connecticut, an additional $120,000 would be generated every two years instead of just $30,000 each year.

Blumenthal’s legislation to create the condominium ombudsman has a great deal of merit. Existing laws impose specific responsibilities on condo association boards while establishing undeniable rights to condo unit owners. However, the current laws are unfair to condo owners, and it’s evident why. If a condo unit owner has a dispute with the condo association, the unit owner must hire an attorney at their own expense while the condo association defends itself using association funds. Ironically, the funds the condo association uses to defend itself are raised through assessment fees levied on the unit owners. Consequently, the assessment fees paid by the unit owners are used to defend the condo association in grievances brought on by the unit owners themselves. In essence, the unit owners are paying the legal expenses incurred on both sides of the issue. If the legislation becomes law, the ombudsman would be permitted to impose a monetary penalty of a maximum of $200 for any deliberate violation.

–Robert Hyder