Idaho HOAs to refund homeowners charged illegal fees in attorney general settlement
Some Idaho homeowners are due a refund after the Idaho Attorney General’s Office determined homeowners associations and a property management company that contracts with them illegally charged fees without proper disclosures, according to a news release from the agency.
The Attorney General’s Office announced Friday that it had reached court settlements with Pristine Springs Homeowners Association in Star, Armstrong Park Homeowners Association in Coeur d’Alene and Eagle-based Park Pointe Management Services after it received complaints about transfer fees.
The fees are onetime expenses charged when a property changes hands, and Idaho law says that they can only be charged by the HOAs themselves — not management companies — and only when the HOA’s governing documents explicitly allow them to.
“Idaho families work hard to buy a home, and they deserve to know every cost before they sign,” Attorney General Raúl Labrador said in the news release. “Hidden fees collected without legal authority violate Idaho law, and we will hold HOAs and the companies that manage them accountable.”
It’s unclear how many homeowners were affected by the illegal fees. The Attorney General’s Office news release said Park Pointe contracts with approximately 70 HOAs around the state.
The news release said the HOAs and management company signed Assurances of Voluntary Compliance, and the Attorney General’s Office will monitor their business practices.
As part of the settlements, Armstrong Park must refund any impacted homeowners $195 within 30 days, and Park Pointe must refund any impacted homeowners within 90 days.
