Table of Contents Sec. 20-450. Definitions. As used in sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, unless
the context otherwise requires: Sec. 20-451. Registration of community association managers required. No
person shall hold himself out to be a community association manager without first obtaining a certificate of registration as provided in sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive. Sec. 20-452. Application for certificate of registration. Fees. (a) Any person
seeking a certificate of registration shall apply to the department in writing, on a form
provided by the department. Such application shall include the applicant's name, residence address, business address, business telephone number and such other information
as the department may require. Sec. 20-453. Issuance, suspension and revocation of certificate. Upon receipt
of a completed application and the appropriate fees, the department, upon authorization
of the commission, shall: (1) Issue and deliver to the applicant a certificate of registration;
or (2) refuse to issue the certificate. The commission may suspend, revoke or refuse to
issue or renew any certificate issued under sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, or may
place a registrant on probation or issue a letter of reprimand for any of the reasons stated
in section 20-456. No application for the reinstatement of a certificate which has been
revoked shall be accepted by the department within one year after the date of such
revocation. Sec. 20-454. Hearing on denial of certificate. Subsequent application. (a) Upon
refusal to issue or renew a certificate the department shall notify the applicant of the
denial and of his right to request a hearing within ten days from the date of receipt of
the notice of denial. Sec. 20-455. Enforcement powers of commission and department. Injunctions. (a) The commission may hold hearings on any matter under the provisions of
sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive. The commission or department may issue subpoenas, administer oaths, compel testimony and order the production of books, records and
documents. If any person refuses to appear, to testify or to produce any book, record,
paper or document when so ordered, upon application of the commission or department,
a judge of the Superior Court may make such order as may be appropriate to aid in the
enforcement of this section. Sec. 20-456. Grounds for revocation, suspension or refusal to issue or renew
certificate of registration. (a) The commission may revoke, suspend or refuse to issue
or renew any certificate of registration as a community association manager or place
a registrant on probation or issue a letter of reprimand for: (1) Making any material
misrepresentation; (2) making any false promise of a character likely to influence, persuade or induce; (3) failing, within a reasonable time, to account for or remit any moneys
coming into his possession which belong to others; (4) conviction in a court of competent
jurisdiction of this or any other state of forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under
false pretenses, larceny, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, or other like offense or offenses, provided suspension or revocation under this subdivision shall be subject to the
provisions of section 46a-80; (5) commingling funds of others in an escrow or trustee
account; (6) commingling funds of different associations; (7) any act or conduct which
constitutes dishonest, fraudulent or improper dealings; or (8) a violation of any provision
of sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, or any regulation adopted under section 20-461. Sec. 20-457. Required and prohibited acts re certificate of registration. Penalties for violations. Expiration and renewal of certificate. (a) Each person engaged
in providing association management services shall (1) exhibit his certificate of registration upon request by any interested party, (2) state in any advertisement the fact that he
is registered, and (3) include his registration number in any advertisement. Sec. 20-458. Required provisions of contract. Sale or assignment of contract.
(a) No contract between a person contracting to provide association management services and an association which provides for the management of the association shall be
valid or enforceable unless the contract is in writing and: Sec. 20-459. Provision of services other than association management services.
(a) A community association manager may not provide services other than association
management services for compensation to an association for which the community association manager also provides association management services unless: (1) Such other
services are provided pursuant to a written agreement between the person providing the
other services and the association; (2) the agreement discloses the relationship between
the community association manager and such other person; and (3) the agreement sets
out the compensation for such services or one or more rates or formulas for which
the compensation can be determined based on the services actually rendered under the
agreement. Sec. 20-460. Fidelity bond required. Bond requirements. Payment of cost of
bond. (a) No person who provides association management services under the provisions of sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, shall control, collect, have access to or
disburse funds of an association unless, at all times during which the person controls,
collects, has access to or disburses such funds, there is in effect, a fidelity bond complying
with the provisions of this section. Sec. 20-461. Regulations. The department, with the advice and assistance of the
commission, shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to carry out the
provisions of sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive. Sec. 20-462. Appeals. Any person aggrieved by an order or decision of the commission under sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, may appeal therefrom in accordance
with the provisions of section 4-183.
Sec. 20-450. Definitions.
Sec. 20-451. Registration of community association managers required.
Sec. 20-452. Application for certificate of registration. Fees.
Sec. 20-453. Issuance, suspension and revocation of certificate.
Sec. 20-454. Hearing on denial of certificate. Subsequent application.
Sec. 20-455. Enforcement powers of commission and department. Injunctions.
Sec. 20-456. Grounds for revocation, suspension or refusal to issue or renew certificate
of registration.
Sec. 20-457. Required and prohibited acts re certificate of registration. Penalties for
violations. Expiration and renewal of certificate.
Sec. 20-458. Required provisions of contract. Sale or assignment of contract.
Sec. 20-459. Provision of services other than association management services.
Sec. 20-460. Fidelity bond required. Bond requirements. Payment of cost of bond.
Sec. 20-461. Regulations.
Sec. 20-462. Appeals.
Secs. 20-463 to 20-473.
(1) "Association" means (A) an association, as defined in section 47-202 and an
association of unit owners, as defined in section 47-68a and in section 47-68 of the
general statutes, revised to January 1, 1975, and (B) the mandatory owners organization
of any common interest community, as defined in section 47-202, which community
was not created under chapter 825 or 828 or under chapter 825 of the general statutes,
revised to January 1, 1975. "Association" does not include an association of a common
interest community which contains only units restricted to nonresidential use;
(2) "Community association manager" means a person who provides association
management services;
(3) "Association management services" means services provided to an association
for remuneration including one or more of the following: (A) Collecting, controlling or
disbursing funds of the association or having the authority to do so; (B) preparing budgets
or other financial documents for the association; (C) assisting in the conduct of or conducting association meetings; (D) advising or assisting the association in obtaining insurance; (E) coordinating or supervising the overall operations of the association; (F)
advising the association on the overall operations of the association. Any person licensed
in this state under any provision of the general statutes or rules of court who provides
the services for which he is licensed to an association for remuneration, shall not be
deemed to be providing association management services. Any director, officer or other
member of an association who provides services specified in this subdivision to the
association of which he is a member shall not be deemed to be providing association
management services unless such director, officer or other member owns or controls
more than two-thirds but less than all of the votes in such association;
(4) "Commission" means the Connecticut Real Estate Commission appointed under
the provisions of section 20-311a;
(5) "Department" means the Department of Consumer Protection; and
(6) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or other legal entity.
(P.A. 90-306, S. 2, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 1, 19; P.A. 95-79, S. 69, 189; P.A. 98-10, S. 64; 98-47.)
History: P.A. 91-341 added definitions of "department" and "person"; P.A. 95-79 redefined "person" to include a
limited liability company, effective May 31, 1995; P.A. 98-10 made technical changes; P.A. 98-47 redefined "association
management services" by adding provisions in Subdiv. (3) re director, officer or other member owning or controlling more
than two-thirds but less than all of the votes in the association.
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(P.A. 90-306, S. 3, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 2, 19.)
History: P.A. 90-306, S. 3 effective July 1, 1991; P.A. 91-341 deleted language providing that certificate of registration
is obtained "from the commission".
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(b) Each application for a certificate of registration as a community association
manager shall be accompanied by an application fee of sixty dollars and a registration
fee of one hundred dollars. The department shall refund the registration fee if it refuses
to issue a certificate of registration.
(P.A. 90-306, S. 4, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 3, 19.)
History: P.A. 90-306, S. 4 effective May 1, 1991; P.A. 91-341 replaced "commission" with "department", established
a registration fee of one hundred dollars and required the department to refund the registration fee if it refuses to issue a
certificate.
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(P.A. 90-306, S. 5, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 4, 19.)
History: P.A. 90-306, S. 5 effective July 1, 1991; P.A. 91-341 provided that the issuance or refusal to issue a certificate
shall be the responsibility of the department, upon authorization of the commission, rather than the responsibility of the
commission, replaced "a certificate to engage in the business for which the application was made" with "a certificate of
registration", and provided that the acceptance of an application for reinstatement shall be the responsibility of the department rather than of the commission.
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(b) In the event the applicant requests a hearing within such ten days, the commission shall give notice of the grounds for its refusal and shall conduct a hearing concerning
such refusal in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 concerning contested cases.
(c) In the event the commission's denial of a certificate is sustained after such hearing, an applicant may make new application not less than one year after the date on
which such denial was sustained.
(P.A. 90-306, S. 6, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 5, 19; P.A. 98-10, S. 65.)
History: P.A. 90-306, S. 6 effective July 1, 1991; P.A. 91-341 amended Subsec. (a) to replace "commission" with
"department"; P.A. 98-10 made a technical change in Subsec. (b).
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(b) The Attorney General, at the request of the commission or department, is authorized to apply in the name of the state of Connecticut to the Superior Court for an order
temporarily or permanently restraining and enjoining any person from violating any
provision of sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive.
(P.A. 90-306, S. 7, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 6, 19.)
History: P.A. 90-306, S. 7 effective July 1, 1991; P.A. 91-341 deleted authority of commission to conduct investigations
and provided that the department has the same enforcement powers as the commission.
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(b) The commission shall not revoke or suspend any certificate of registration except
upon notice and hearing in accordance with chapter 54.
(P.A. 90-306, S. 8, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 7, 19; P.A. 98-10, S. 66.)
History: P.A. 91-341 made no changes; P.A. 98-10 made technical changes in Subsec. (a).
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(b) No person shall: (1) Present or attempt to present, as his own, the certificate of
another, (2) knowingly give false evidence of a material nature to the commission or
department for the purpose of procuring a certificate, (3) represent himself falsely as,
or impersonate, a registered community association manager, (4) use or attempt to use
a certificate which has expired or which has been suspended or revoked, (5) offer to
provide association management services without having a current certificate of registration under sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, (6) represent in any manner that his
registration constitutes an endorsement of the quality of his services or of his competency
by the commission or department. In addition to any other remedy provided for in sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, any person who violates any provision of this subsection shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than
one year or be both fined and imprisoned. A violation of any of the provisions of sections
20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under
subsection (a) of section 42-110b.
(c) Certificates issued to community association managers shall not be transferable
or assignable.
(d) All certificates issued under the provisions of sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, shall expire annually on the thirty-first day of January. The fee for renewal of a
certificate shall be one hundred dollars.
(e) A community association manager whose certificate has expired more than one
month before his application for renewal is made shall have his registration restored
upon payment of a fee of twenty-five dollars in addition to his renewal fee. Restoration
of a registration shall be effective upon approval of the application for renewal by the
commission.
(f) A certificate shall not be restored unless it is renewed not later than one year
after its expiration.
(g) Failure to receive a notice of expiration or a renewal application shall not exempt
a community association manager from the obligation to renew.
(P.A. 90-306, S. 9, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 8, 19.)
History: P.A. 90-306, S. 9 effective July 1, 1991; P.A. 91-341 amended Subdivs. (2) and (6) of Subsec. (b) by adding
"or department", amended Subsec. (d) by providing that all certificates expire on the thirty-first day of January rather than
in different months according to the first letter of the name of the applicant and by specifying the renewal fee is one hundred
dollars rather than "the same as the fee charged for an original application", deleted Subsec. (e) re prorated fees and
relettered the remaining Subsecs. accordingly, and amended new Subsec. (e) to increase the restoration fee from twenty
to twenty-five dollars.
Cited. 231 C. 707, 727.
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(1) Provides that the person contracting to provide management services shall be
registered as provided in sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive, and shall obtain a bond
as provided in section 20-460; and
(2) Provides that the person contracting to provide management services shall not
issue a check on behalf of the association or transfer moneys exceeding a specified
amount determined by the association without the written approval of an officer designated by the association; and
(3) Provides that the person contracting to provide management services shall not
enter into any contract binding the association exceeding a specified amount determined
by the association, except in the case of an emergency, without the written approval of
an officer designated by the association.
(b) No contract to provide management services may be sold or assigned to another
person without the approval of a majority of the executive board of the association.
(P.A. 90-306, S. 10, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 9, 19.)
History: P.A. 91-341 amended Subdiv. (1) of Subsec. (a) by adding provision requiring the person to "be registered as
provided in sections 20-450 to 20-462, inclusive" and amended Subdiv. (3) of Subsec. (a) by prohibiting the person from
entering into a contract binding the association "exceeding a specified amount determined by the association, except in
the case of an emergency".
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(b) A community association manager may not enter into or offer to enter into any
association management agreement which requires an association to obtain services
other than association management services from the community association manager.
(c) Any discounts, rebates, commissions or other consideration received by a community association manager on account of any goods or services furnished to an association or a unit owner or owners shall, except where prohibited by applicable law, ordinance or regulation, be credited to the association or a unit owner or owners, as
appropriate, and not retained by the community association manager.
(P.A. 90-306, S. 11, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 10, 19.)
History: P.A. 91-341 deleted references to "an affiliate of a community association manager" and amended Subsec.
(c) to add references to "a unit owner or owners".
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(b) The fidelity bond referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall: (1) Be written
by an insurance company authorized to write such bonds in this state; (2) except as
provided in subsection (c) of this section, cover the maximum funds that will be in the
custody of the community association manager at any time while the bond is in force,
and in no event be less than the sum of three months' assessments plus reserve funds;
(3) name the association as obligee; (4) cover the community association manager and
all partners, officers, employees of the manager and may cover other persons controlling,
collecting, having access to or disbursing association funds as well; (5) be conditioned
upon the persons covered by the bond truly and faithfully accounting for all funds received by them, under their care, custody or control, or to which they have access; (6)
provide that the insurance company issuing the bond may not cancel, substantially modify or refuse to renew the bond without giving thirty days' prior written notice to the
association and the department, except in the case of a nonpayment of premiums, in
which case ten days' prior written notice shall be given; (7) contain such other provisions
as the department may, by regulation, require.
(c) The fidelity bond of a person who is employed full-time by and provides association management services to an association of a common interest community, or to a
master association as defined in section 47-239 exercising the powers on behalf of one
or more common interest communities or for the benefit of the unit owners of one or
more common interest communities, which community or communities were established prior to July 3, 1991, and have more than two thousand four hundred residential
units, shall be in an amount which is not less than one-half the amount specified in
subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section.
(d) The community association manager shall furnish a certificate of each bond
required under this section, and every renewal or replacement thereof, on or before the
date on which he commences providing association management services requiring a
bond to any association or prior to the expiration of any prior bond furnished under this
section.
(e) Unless otherwise provided for in a written agreement between the community
association manager and the association pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the
cost of the bond shall be paid for by the community association manager.
(f) If, as of October 1, 1990, any community association manager is providing association management services, including the handling of funds, or has entered into an
agreement to provide association management services including the handling of funds,
and has no written agreement, concerning which party shall pay the cost of fidelity
bonds, the cost of the bond shall be paid for in accordance with the declaration and
bylaws of the association, and if the declaration and bylaws contain no such provision,
the cost of the bond shall be paid one-half by the community association manager and
one-half by the association unless the parties otherwise agree in writing.
(g) A separate bond shall be furnished for each association for which a community
association manager provides association management services including the handling
of funds.
(P.A. 90-306, S. 12, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 11, 19.)
History: P.A. 91-341 amended Subdivs. (1) and (6) of Subsec. (b) to replace "surety" with "insurance company",
amended Subdiv. (2) of Subsec. (b) to add "except as provided in subsection (c) of this section", amended Subdivs. (6)
and (7) of Subsec. (b) to replace "association management commission" with "department" and inserted a new Subsec.
(c) permitting a bond in a lesser amount when the person is employed full-time by and provides association management
services to certain associations, relettering the remaining Subsecs. accordingly.
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(P.A. 90-306, S. 13, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 12, 19.)
History: P.A. 91-341 transferred regulatory power from commission to department, retaining commission in an advisory
capacity.
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(P.A. 90-306, S. 14, 15; P.A. 91-341, S. 13, 19.)
History: P.A. 90-306, S. 14 effective July 1, 1991; P.A. 91-341 made no changes.
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