As a current or future homeowner, you might be curious about how an HOA can enforce its rules, and what it means for (potentially) you. We talked to experts to get you some answers!<\/p>\n Your HOA has a set of rules<\/a> outlined in documents called CC&Rs, or covenants, conditions and restrictions, which were created when the HOA was originally formed<\/a>.<\/p>\n These rules provide guidelines around everything from pets, fences, basketball hoops, and paint colors to garbage cans or whether your home can be used as a vacation rental. Basically, the clean and attractive look and feel that first charmed you comes from a set of predetermined rules<\/a> that were set in place when the community was first built by a developer.<\/p>\n Within these documents, you will find other information about how your neighborhood runs. There will be a section regarding how the fees and dues they collect<\/a> are used. There will also be a section outlining the ways in which homeowners can volunteer their time to work with the HOA, down to electing area representatives and board members<\/a>. In addition to that, you can find information about the liability and insurance needs<\/a> the community has, the exact description of all community areas and amenities, and so on. This set of documents also outlines how the HOA enforces its rules.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll usually have a chance to review your HOA documentation<\/a> as a homebuyer when you go under contract for a property. Many real estate agents recommend you read the CC&Rs to understand the responsibilities of owning a home within a specific HOA<\/a> before you close on your new house.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually the original set of rules for the HOA will come from the developer for the community,\u201d says Krista Baker, a certified Community Association Manager with Advanced Management of Colorado<\/a>. \u201cEach state has statewide rules they have to follow. In Colorado, we follow the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act<\/a>, which regulates all associations in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the property value<\/a> of your home has to do with its surroundings and atmosphere. The HOA regulations in your neighborhood set the minimum standards homeowners have to follow to help preserve that value.<\/p>\n Most of the rules that HOAs have to enforce wind up dealing with the following issues.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause the communal property is shared between all the homeowners, it\u2019s everybody\u2019s responsibility to maintain those,\u201d says Santiago Valdez<\/a>, a real estate agent in Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n So you can expect all pools, gyms, club rooms, and recreational facilities to have a strict schedule, a guest policy, an alcohol policy, and profanity policy to help keep the community spaces clean and safe for everyone.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s full-time rentals or vacation rentals like Airbnb<\/a>, most associations have regulations around the percentage of homes within the community that can be used as rentals and vacation rentals. In some of them, renting is not an option at all.<\/p>\n According to Valdez, rental restrictions are constantly evolving, and this is one area of regulation that can sometimes change within the CC&Rs.<\/p>\n These regulations deal with what kind of vehicles are allowed and not allowed within the community \u2014 for example, can recreational campers be parked or stored on the property? Vehicle regulations may also touch on how they need to be stored and how frequently they need to be moved; many HOAs won\u2019t allow you to park cars on the road in front of your home for more than a certain number of hours, for example.<\/p>\n Your choice of pets can be regulated: type of animal, breed, size, weight, or number of pets in total.<\/p>\n \u201cI always recommend my clients double-check on the allowed sizes for pets in an HOA-controlled community,\u201d says Valdez.<\/p>\n One of the biggest perks of living in an HOA is making sure your neighbor\u2019s beater car will never be an unsightly problem for you.<\/p>\n Similarly, most communities have rules around when trash bins can be put outside, and when you have to bring them back inside after trash day. Part of these rules can include paint colors for trim, fence height, and even how many political signs you can display leading up to an election.<\/p>\n As part of the CC&Rs, the association will have what is called a \u201ccovenant enforcement policy<\/a>,\u201d which spells out the exact process the community manager follows when sending violations to homeowners.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the state of Colorado, a covenant enforcement policy is required by law. Because the most important rule of HOAs is that every homeowner must be treated exactly the same,\u201d according to Baker.<\/p>\n In some places, the first notice is a warning sent by both email and postal mail.<\/p>\n In other parts of the country, associations opt to jump straight to fining violators, as is the case in Chicago, where Valdez says he\u2019s had clients being notified while moving in that their movers were working outside the three-hour block of time that had originally been reserved. In that case, the homeowner had to pay for additional moving time in the loading bay as well as a fine from the HOA for violating its policies.<\/p>\n Depending on the time period established in the CC&Rs, you will typically have a certain amount of time to comply before your violation incurs fines \u2014 though as noted above, some HOAs will start accruing your fines as soon as they hear about the violation. Usually, a second or third letter will be sent to escalate the situation and warn the homeowner of the fine being incurred.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Colorado, before we can assess a fine to the homeowner account, our letters have to offer the homeowner a chance to meet with the board of directors to find a resolution to the problem,\u201d explains Baker.<\/p>\n Most fines start at $25<\/a> and increase depending on whether they go unpaid or unresolved for an extended period of time. They can grow exponentially higher when some associations opt to increase the fine for every calendar day the violation is unresolved.<\/p>\n A hearing with the board of directors<\/a> is usually a meeting where the homeowner explains the reason behind the violation, and the board of directors has an opportunity to vote to take a certain action to help resolve the issue.<\/p>\n For example, a board of directors can choose to close an open violation regarding drainage water if the homeowner can prove the water draining is not coming from their home.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re facing a meeting with your HOA board of directors to address an open violation, you should prepare by following these steps.<\/p>\n Become familiar with your HOA CC&Rs, including any design guidelines and other documents. Make sure you understand the violation and which rules were broken.<\/p>\n Odds are good that your board members are also your neighbors, and they are working as volunteers. Setting a respectful tone helps you be heard.<\/p>\n Make sure you keep written notes of your meeting, and if necessary, follow up in writing. A paper trail is helpful if the issue is not resolved, or if things need to escalate.<\/p>\n While you might disagree with how the rule was written, the HOA is simply enforcing what was outlined in the documents. The personal opinion of each board member doesn\u2019t have a lot of bearing on the outcome, and there are other ways to address rules that you don\u2019t like (more on that later).<\/p>\n If you\u2019re unclear on what\u2019s at stake, ask questions about how the penalties, fines, and fees work.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t allow yourself to fall behind on your monthly or quarterly payments, as well as any late charges that might be lurking. While you go through the steps of scheduling a hearing and waiting for a decision, other penalties might accrue, which would mean you have even more problems to resolve.<\/p>\n Sometimes the violation can be resolved with a direct action from the HOA. If you want to know whether your HOA has a right to enter your property<\/a> in order to assess or resolve a violation, you should check your CC&Rs and your covenant enforcement policy.<\/p>\n For example, the HOA could decide to have a front yard mowed to immediately resolve an unsightly front yard violation. In Colorado, that step would never happen without having a consultation with an attorney<\/a>, Baker explains. Most associations will be very wary of accidentally trespassing on private property.<\/p>\n In some instances, the HOA can revoke privileges \u2014 restricting or suspending access to amenities, stopping any community news and updates to the violator, or preventing access to certain community-paid services (such as trash pickup for homeowners who consistently dump more garbage than the contract allows).<\/p>\n In other instances, the HOA will continue assessing fines until the account is assigned to a collection agency for payment; at this point, the violation becomes detrimental to the homeowner by affecting their credit rating<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps surprisingly, HOAs are not very interested in going to court. Most associations will try to resolve problems amicably and ask a homeowner to sit in for arbitration in order to resolve disputes.<\/p>\n However, if the amount accrued in fines is large enough, the state and CC&Rs allow for the HOA to sue the homeowner to obtain a judgement resolution to the problem.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most drastic resolution I have seen to unpaid fines is with an HOA taking ownership of the unit and forcing a foreclosure<\/a>, or enacting a lien on the property<\/a> so they can recoup their fees and assessments.\u201d<\/p>\n As long as the HOA is evenly enforcing the rules for all homeowners, there\u2019s nothing an individual homeowner can do to have the rules changed.<\/p>\n However, there are ways written into the CC&Rs through which a single homeowner can either get in front of the board of directors to communicate the issue and seek a resolution; scheduling a hearing is always a great first step to have your voice heard.<\/p>\n If after a hearing, you feel the board of directors doesn\u2019t understand your issue, or doesn\u2019t feel inclined to vote on a rule change, you can always organize with other homeowners in the community to lobby for someone to be voted into the board of directors to represent your interests.<\/p>\n \u201cThe quickest way to enact change into the HOA is to volunteer your time and learn how the community runs, so you can enact change from within,\u201d says Baker. You will get to know your neighbors and their problems, but it can also be very satisfying to spend time making your community better for everyone.<\/p>\n When asked about this, Baker says that any homeowner who feels unfairly targeted by the HOA should attend a board meeting or hearing to discuss the matter with the board of directors.<\/p>\n One of the most important responsibilities of board members within an HOA is that rules must be enforced uniformly<\/a> across the entire community.<\/p>\n If you feel that the rules are being unfairly applied to you, and you have had the opportunity to discuss the issues with the board of directors with no change in the situation, then you can consider contacting an attorney with experience in dealing with HOAs to review your complaint.<\/p>\n In any case, keeping pristine records of all your exchanges and communications with your community manager and board of directors will help your case.<\/p>\n Together with treating all homeowners equally, the HOA is also responsible for making informed decisions when voting in community matters, always acting in the best interest of the association as a whole, and fulfilling its functions within the authority that has been outlined in the CC&Rs.<\/p>\n If you have an instance where you and your neighbors can document how your HOA is falling short of fulfilling its obligations and responsibilities, you should do the following:<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/how-can-hoa-enforce-rules-reading-666x381.png\")
<\/a>Time to do some reading<\/h2>\n
The most common rules in an HOA<\/h2>\n
How you behave in common areas<\/h3>\n
Rentals<\/h3>\n
Vehicles<\/h3>\n
Pets<\/h3>\n
Upkeep and appearance<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/how-can-hoa-enforce-rules-mailbox-666x381.png\")
<\/a>How does the HOA notify homeowners of broken rules?<\/h2>\n
The violation leads to a fine<\/h2>\n
Conduct an official hearing with the HOA board of directors<\/h2>\n
Know the rules<\/h3>\n
Be pleasant and professional<\/h3>\n
Take notes<\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t argue about the rule itself<\/h3>\n
Understand the penalties<\/h3>\n
Keep paying your dues<\/h3>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/how-can-hoa-enforce-rules-attorney-666x381.png\")
<\/a>Can the HOA take matters into their own hands?<\/h2>\n
What happens after fines are accrued?<\/h2>\n
Can the HOA take legal action against a homeowner?<\/h2>\n
What happens if I disagree with the rules?<\/h2>\n
What if the HOA rules are being unfairly applied to me?<\/h2>\n
![\"Homeowners](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/how-can-hoa-enforce-rules-meeting-666x381.png\")
<\/a>What if the association isn\u2019t fulfilling its obligations?<\/h2>\n
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Can you dissolve an HOA?<\/h2>\n