House Bill 1279 requires a majority of condo owners to approve any legal action against developers, increasing the current standard that only requires a majority of homeowners association board members to agree to move any complaint forward.

Developers and business leaders who’d backed HB 1279 said the law was likely to help developers be willing to put up condominium projects, which now comprise less than 3 percent of the new housing market, a minuscule percentage as compared to other major cities. However, they said the fear that a large number of residents could push a costly legal action in the court system rather than through arbitration was likely to keep most developers out of the market for the foreseeable future.