Virginia Code 54.1-2354.3: Common Interest Community Ombudsman; appointment; powers and duties.
A. The Director in accordance with § 54.1-303 shall appoint a Common Interest Community Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) and shall establish the Office of the Common Interest Community Ombudsman (the Office). The Ombudsman shall be a member in good standing in the Virginia State Bar. All state agencies shall assist and cooperate with the Office in the performance of its duties under this article.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-2354.3
- Association: includes condominium, cooperative, or property owners' associations. See Virginia Code 54.1-2345
- Board: means the Common Interest Community Board. See Virginia Code 54.1-2345
- Common interest community: means real estate subject to a declaration containing lots, at least some of which are residential or occupied for recreational purposes, and common areas to which a person, by virtue of the person's ownership of a lot subject to that declaration, is a member of the association and is obligated to pay assessments of common expenses, provided that for the purposes of this chapter only, a common interest community does not include any time-share project registered pursuant to the Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act (§ Virginia Code 54.1-2345
- Director: means the Director of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. See Virginia Code 54.1-2354.1
- Governing board: means the governing board of an association, including the executive organ of a condominium unit owners' association, the executive board of a cooperative proprietary lessees' association, and the board of directors or other governing body of a property owners' association. See Virginia Code 54.1-2345
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. The Office shall:
1. Assist members in understanding rights and the processes available to them according to the laws and regulations governing common interest communities and respond to general inquiries;
2. Make available, either separately or through an existing website, information concerning common interest communities and such additional information as may be deemed appropriate;
3. Receive notices of final adverse decisions and may either (i) refer such decision to the Board for further review of whether such decision is in conflict with laws or Board regulations governing common interest communities or interpretations thereof by the Board or (ii) make a determination of whether a final adverse decision is in conflict with laws or Board regulations governing common interest communities or interpretations thereof by the Board and promptly notify the complainant of such determination. If the Office determines that such conflict exists, the Office shall promptly notify the governing board, and if applicable the common interest community manager, of the association that issued the final adverse decision that such decision is in conflict with laws or Board regulations governing common interest communities or interpretations thereof by the Board. If within 365 days of issuing such determination the Ombudsman receives a subsequent notice of final adverse decision for the same violation, the Office shall refer the matter to the Board;
4. Upon request, assist members in understanding the rights and processes available under the laws and regulations governing common interest communities and provide referrals to public and private agencies offering alternative dispute resolution services, with a goal of reducing and resolving conflicts among associations and their members;
5. Ensure that members have access to the services provided through the Office and that the members receive timely responses from the representatives of the Office to the inquiries;
6. Maintain data on inquiries received, referrals made to the Board, types of assistance requested, notices of final adverse decisions received, actions taken, and the disposition of each such matter;
7. Upon request to the Director by (i) any of the standing committees of the General Assembly having jurisdiction over common interest communities or (ii) the Housing Commission, provide to the Director for dissemination to the requesting parties assessments of proposed and existing common interest community laws and other studies of common interest community issues;
8. Monitor changes in federal and state laws relating to common interest communities;
9. Provide information to the Director that will permit the Director to report annually on the activities of the Office of the Common Interest Community Ombudsman to the standing committees of the General Assembly having jurisdiction over common interest communities and to the Housing Commission. The Director’s report shall be filed by December 1 of each year and shall include a summary of significant new developments in federal and state laws relating to common interest communities each year; and
10. Carry out activities as the Board determines to be appropriate.
1993, c. 958, § 55-530; 1997, c. 222; 1998, c. 463; 2001, c. 816; 2008, cc. 851, 871; 2010, cc. 59, 208; 2012, cc. 481, 797; 2019, c. 712; 2023, cc. 20, 21.