M.N. from New Haven County writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
My condo association recently hired a new management company. For the first time in history I was late on a monthly HOA fee and was charged a late fee of $15 and a statement fee of $5. The management company nicely waived the late fee since my check crossed in the mail but refused to waive the statement fee. I told them I want to opt-out of paper statements and they told me they only mail statements. Is it lawful to charge me $5.00 per statement?
Mister Condo replies:
M.N, yes, it is lawful for them to charge you a statement fee. The Board hired the new management company and should have been made aware of the fees and practices of the firm. The late fee was waived but that would have gone to the association’s coiffeurs. The statement fee goes directly to the management company and is a cost of doing business with them that your Board agreed to. If you are unhappy, you need to complain to the Board and ask them to either renegotiate with the management company to have the statement fee removed (unlikely) or find a management company that doesn’t charge a statement fee when their contract comes up for renewal. Or you could just pay the $5.00 statement fee and realize that it is part of how this management company collects its revenues from your association. All the best!
The management company should allow you to opt in for email statements at no charge. Not a nice practice. By the way: Did you get coupon books? Also, do they send statements to all members or just the ones who were late?
As well, ask to see a copy of the contract signed by the association. Is the $5 fee listed in their services?
If not, it’s at least improper that they charge you this fee.
As well, take the time to write a letter to the board, asking for transparency when changing management companies; the $5/ no digital statement position should not be a surprise to any owner.