Retirement Communities are vulnerable to civil penalties and bad press if they don’t carefully adhere to Fair Housing Act regulations and recordkeeping, as this complex with 2,600 units found out last month:

“After three years of investigation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last week filed a complaint against Colorado’s oldest retirement community,

The Governor recently signed into law House Bill 10-1278 (“HB 1278”), which creates the “HOA Information and Resource Center” and requires property owners’ associations (not just residential/homeowners associations) to register annually with the Division of Real Estate.  HB 1278 takes effect January 1, 2011.  Real estate owners and professionals should be aware of HB 1278 because