In terms of the Consumer Protection Act which will become law in October this year, Home Owners Associations will also be regarded as 'suppliers' of services and thus home owners as their consumers, can exercise their consumer rights against such HOA.
In practical terms this will mean that Home Owners Associations will no longer be able to be prescriptive to home owners with regard to the appointment of contractors or agents that would be allowed to work on an estate.
In terms of the Consumer Protection Act the consumer has a right to choose whom they wish to associate or contract with, and a supplier will infringe this right should such supplier prescribe that the consumer may only deal with certain contractors or estate agents, (the so-called 'accredited agencies'), to the exclusion of other registered estate agencies.
This does not however give estate agents carte blanche to enter any estate to sell property on such estate as the Home Owner's Association will be entitled to lay down basic security requirements for outside contractors or agents when entering such estate.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
