Understanding the importance of competent professional
community association management, a number of states have taken steps to regulate the
profession, including:
Under Chapter 88 of the Alaska Real Estate Commission's
regulation entitled "Real Estate Statutes and Regulations' Real Estate
Brokers and Other Licensees," a person may not collect fees for community
association management or practice or negotiate for a contract to practice
community association management unless licensed as a real estate broker,
association real estate broker, or real estate salesperson in this state. View
the statutes and regulations document (PDF).
California has additional education requirements for community manager
certification. If you live in or practice in California, please refer to the
information below for your certification and recertification requirements.
California has developed detailed and unique
laws relating to community associations. Community association managers who
practice in California must be familiar with a broad range of state-specific
laws and regulations pertaining to community associations in order to serve
their client associations effectively.
To ensure that CMCA
certificants have the requisite experience, NBC-CAM has created additional
qualification requirements for California CMCA certificants. By their first
recertification, all California CMCA certificants must demonstrate that they
have completed 30 hours of coursework relating to California community
association operations at some point in their career. This coursework may be
offered by accredited colleges or universities, or organizations approved by
the California Department of Real Estate or NBC-CAM. Having the CCAM (Certified
Community Association Manager) designation offered by the California
Association of Community Managers (CACM) will qualify under this provision.
Subsequently, managers must have at least taken a California law class as
defined in the Manager Certification every five years.
California CMCA
certificants will be required to complete Part G of the CMCA recertification
application (PDF, 156 KB) for approval. CMCA certificants should retain all
course information, as some CMCA certificants will be audited.
The Real Estate Board of the District of Columbia Department
of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs regulates community association managers as
commercial "property managers." The examination utilized for
licensure of "property managers" does not measure the core
competencies of community association managers.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional
Regulation regulates the licensure of community association managers in the
state. Under most circumstances, community association managers in Florida are required to be licensed in order to
carry out their duties as a manager. For more information on the specific requirements, visit the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation online.
Community association managers must be licensed under the
Georgia Real Estate Commission in order to function as a community association
manager in the state (www.grec.state.ga.us; ). NBC-CAM supports the
regulation of community association managers but advocates that managers be
tested and regulated on the core functions associated with managing community
associations, and not as property managers, brokers, or real estate licensees.
The Nevada Real Estate
Division regulates the certification of
community association managers in this state. Title 10 Property Rights and
Transactions, Chapter 116.700, prohibits a person from acting as a community
manager without a permit or certificate.
Virginia General
Assembly Passes Manager Licensing Bill
On Tuesday, March 4, 2008, the Virginia General
Assembly passed HB 516, requiring the Commonwealth's professional
community association managers to be licensed. The law is scheduled to become
effective July 1, 2008.
Summary
If you hold an active CMCA, you will already
comply with the requirements to apply for the license. First, you must apply
for your provisional license between July 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. The
provisional license is valid until June 2011 at which time all active CMCAs
will qualify to apply for the community association management license.
Additional Details
Under the law, individuals and entities offering
management services to community associations in the Commonwealth must be
licensed with the Common Interest Community Board (the Board). The Board, to be
appointed by the Governor, will be comprised of representatives of the
management industry and community associations.
Under the law, employees of community
association management firms who have principal or supervisory responsibility
for persons providing management services must be certified according to
standards established by regulations adopted by the Common Interest Community
Board. Specific language in the statute allows those standards to be met by any
manager holding a Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA), an
Association Management Specialist (AMS), a Professional Community Associations
Manager (PCAM), or a company holding an Accredited Association Management
Company designation.
Provisional Licenses; Future Board
Actions
The Board will issue provisional licenses to
individuals and entities after July 1, 2008, until December 31, 2008. After
that time, applicants will have to meet all licensing requirements. The
provisional licenses will be valid until June, 2011.
Over the course of this summer, the appointed
Board will begin the process of developing regulations to implement the
requirements of the legislation—which include substantial other provisions
that will affect community associations: establishing an office of community
association ombudsman, and substantial modifications to resale disclosure
requirements.
Many questions that need to be answered will
depend on the regulations the newly established Board will develop over the
coming months. NBC-CAM will keep you updated as that information becomes
available. For additional information, you may download a FAQ (PDF) document.
Note: Given the changes that states may make in this area,
contact NBC-CAM or individual state regulators for the most current licensing
or registration requirements.
