Homeowners Association (HOA)

Question

Libby Guthrie · Accepted Answer

What is a Homeowners Association (HOA)?

A homeowners association (HOA) is an organization that makes and enforces rules and guidelines for a subdivision, planned community, or condominium building.

Like many relationships, it's complicated.

A homeowners association (HOA) is a non-profit organization that takes care of the common areas in a planned community.

HOA fees pay for things like landscaping, snow removal, and repairs to common areas.

A Homeowners Association is an organization made up of homeowners who live in a specific neighborhood or development. The HOA is responsible for maintaining common areas and enforcing rules and regulations.

When you buy a home in a development that has an HOA, you agree to the terms and conditions (rules) of the HOA. CC&Rs.

A homeowners association (HOA) is a private organization that manages and governs a residential community, such as a planned neighborhood, condominium building, or townhouse complex. HOAs are responsible for:

Creating and enforcing rules

HOAs establish rules and guidelines to maintain uniformity and protect property values. These rules can include requirements for yard items, door colors, and car storage.

Collecting fees

HOAs collect monthly or annual dues from residents to pay for common area maintenance and services.

Providing amenities

HOAs can offer amenities like swimming pools, gyms, snow removal, and security.

Running the community

HOAs are typically run by a board of directors made up of elected volunteers.

HOAs can be beneficial because they help maintain the neighborhood and preserve property values. However, some people find the rules to be overly restrictive. HOAs can impose fines on homeowners who don’t comply with the rules, and in extreme cases, they can even force foreclosure.
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Cornell Law

Many HOAs have very particular guidelines like preventing any items being in the yard, requiring doors to be a specific color, requiring cars to always be in the garage, or even requiring flower beds to have specific flower colors. As such, it is very important that homeowners look at the CC&Rs for the property they potentially buy.

When homeowners break a restriction or do not pay fees, the HOA will have specific remedies set in the CC&Rs such as fines or even forcing the home to be foreclosed on in extreme circumstances, ranging widely among different HOAs. Some laws limit how HOAs can punish homeowners such as limiting foreclosure actions to when the homeowner acts unruly, but these laws vary greatly from state to state and city to city. Further, some federal and state laws may prevent the enforcement of restrictions by HOAs that become unconscionable or against public policy. For example, federal laws prohibit HOAs from banning homeowners from having a service animal. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/homeowners%27_associations_%28hoas%29#:~:text=Many%20HOAs%20have%20very%20particular,unconscionable%20or%20against%20public%20policy.