Romance Loves a Missed Message. HOAs Do Not.

In You’ve Got Mail, a missed message is the beginning of a love story. In the world of homeowners associations, a missed message is usually the beginning of a problem. 

While many owners may not eagerly check their mailboxes for notices from their homeowners association, a recent change in how the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) processes mail gives associations reason to pause and reconsider how—and when—they send required notices. For HOAs, “you’ve got mail” isn’t about romance. It’s about timing, proof, and record-keeping. This applies to notices for annual meetings, special assessments, budget ratification, covenant violations, and any other notices required by an association’s governing documents or Colorado law. 

While notice requirements in governing documents vary from association to association and by the type of notice being sent, Colorado law establishes minimum notice periods. Under the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, required notice must generally be provided no fewer than 10 days and no more than 50 days before the applicable meeting or action. The statute provides that notice must be hand delivered or sent prepaid by U.S. mail not less than ten nor more than fifty days before any meeting of the owners. There is no case interpreting whether this means that the notice has to be deposited in the mail ten days before the meeting, or if additional days need to be added to account for the mailing time. A good practice is to err on the side of giving more notice, not only to avoid potential arguments about timing, but to give owners more time to properly schedule their attendance. 

As for establishing the date of mailing, associations have historically relied on the USPS postmark to prove when a notice was sent. In the past, the USPS postmarked mail on the same day it was deposited. That is no longer always the case. 

This is because the USPS has changed how it processes mail. Instead of postmarking mail on the day it is deposited, mail is now postmarked on the day it is processed by the USPS. According to the USPS, this may occur one or more days after the mail is deposited. As a result, a postmark no longer reliably reflects the date an association actually placed its notices in the mail.  

Unlike the movie—where a delayed email eventually leads to love—in the homeowners association context, a delayed or undocumented notice can lead to disputes, invalid actions, or legal challenges. Associations may not be able to ensure that owners read every notice, but they can control how notices are sent and how those efforts are documented. In light of USPS processing changes, relying on a postmark alone is no longer enough.  

We recommend consulting with your legal counsel to discuss whether adjustments to your practices based on these new changes by the USPS would be helpful. With good timing and careful documentation, your notices may not lead to a love match, but they can help ensure the message is delivered in the right way, at the right time.