What is an HOA, and what can a homeowners association make you do?

What is an HOA?

Florida’s law gives the usual definition: a homeowners’ association is a corporation responsible for running a community, in which the voting members are the owners, membership is a mandatory condition of owning a parcel, and the association can impose assessments that, if unpaid, may become a lien on the parcel. Fla. Stat. § 720.301(9)

• The governing documents. The recorded declaration of covenants (the CC&Rs) and its amendments, and the articles of incorporation and bylaws. The board can add rules within them.Fla. Stat. § 720.301(8)
• Assessments. The dues and other charges the documents allow. If an owner does not pay, they can lead to a lien on the home.Fla. Stat. § 720.301(1)
• The board. The board of directors adopts and enforces rules for the common areas and the other matters the declaration gives it. In Virginia a majority of the votes cast at a special meeting of the members can repeal or amend a board rule.Va. Code § 55.1-1819(A)

Before you buy, ask for the declaration, the rules, the budget and the current dues: they bind you from the day you close.

What an HOA can and cannot do

It can adopt and enforce rules for the common areas and your lot as the documents allow, collect assessments, fine owners after notice and a chance to be heard, suspend use of amenities, and place a lien for unpaid assessments. Va. Code § 55.1-1819 · Fla. Stat. §§ 720.305, 720.3085

It cannot, under federal law:

• Stop you from flying the U.S. flag. An association may not adopt or enforce a policy that restricts or prevents a member from displaying the flag of the United States on property the member owns or has the right to use. Reasonable rules on the time, place or manner of display are allowed.Pub. L. 109-243, §§ 3, 4 (4 U.S.C. § 5 note)
• Ban most satellite dishes and antennas. A rule may not impair installing or using a satellite dish or antenna 1 meter or less across on property you own or lease and control, unless it is needed for a clear safety reason or a historic site.47 C.F.R. § 1.4000(a)(1), (b)
• Refuse a reasonable accommodation. Refusing reasonable changes in rules, policies or services that a person with a disability needs to use and enjoy a home, including common areas, is unlawful under the Fair Housing Act.24 C.F.R. § 100.204(a)

States add more. In Florida, for example, an association may not fine you for putting the trash cans at the curb within 24 hours of collection day, or for holiday lights left up unless they stay more than 1 week after written notice, and a suspension may never block access to your home or your parking. Fla. Stat. § 720.305(2)(a), (7)

HOA fees: dues, special assessments and increases

HOA fees (dues, or regular assessments) pay for what the association maintains: common areas, amenities, insurance, management and reserves for repairs. A special assessment is an extra charge for a particular cost. How much and how often is set by the governing documents and the budget the board adopts.

• Arizona: a 20% cap. Unless the documents set a lower limit, a regular assessment may not rise more than twenty percent (20%) over the previous fiscal year’s without a majority of the members. A late charge is limited to the greater of $15 or 10% of the unpaid assessment, after notice that it is overdue.A.R.S. § 33-1803(A)
• Florida: notice first. An assessment may be levied at a board meeting only if the notice says assessments will be considered; a meeting on special assessments needs written notice at least 14 days before. Late fees, if the documents allow them, are limited to the greater of $25 or 5% of the installment.Fla. Stat. § 720.303(2), § 720.3085(3)(a)
• South Carolina: 48 hours. An HOA must give at least forty-eight hours’ (48 hours) notice of the meeting at which it decides to raise the annual budget, unless it is incorporated under the state nonprofit corporation act.S.C. Code § 27-30-140

HOA fines, violation notices and your hearing

An HOA usually has to tell you in writing what rule it says you broke and give you a chance to be heard before it fines you. The details are state law:

• Florida. A fine may not exceed $100 per violation, or $1,000 in total for a continuing violation, unless the governing documents allow more; a fine under $1,000 cannot become a lien. The board must give at least 14 days’ written notice of your right to a hearing, held within 90 days before a committee of at least 3 members who are not on the board. No fine may be imposed if you cure the violation before the hearing; the committee sends its findings within 7 days, and payment cannot be due less than 30 days after that.Fla. Stat. § 720.305(2)
• Virginia. You get written notice and a reasonable chance to correct the violation, then a hearing before the board with at least 14 days’ notice by hand or certified mail, and the result within 7 days. Charges may not exceed $50 for a single offense or $10 a day for a continuing one, for at most 90 days.Va. Code § 55.1-1819(C), (D)
• Arizona. Penalties are allowed only after notice and an opportunity to be heard. You can answer a violation notice by certified mail within 21 calendar days; the association must then reply within 10 business days with the rule, the date, who saw it and how to contest it, and tell you that you can petition the state Department of Real Estate for a hearing.A.R.S. § 33-1803(B)-(E)

Liens and foreclosure: can an HOA take your home?

In many states, yes, for unpaid assessments. A lien attaches the debt to your home, and the association can foreclose the lien in court like a mortgage. State law sets the steps first:

• Florida. Before charging you attorney fees for a late assessment, the association must send a notice of late assessment giving you 30 days to pay. Before recording a claim of lien, it must give you 45 days to pay by written notice, and before suing to foreclose, another 45 days’ notice of intent to foreclose. Payments go first to interest, then late fees, then collection costs, then the assessment.Fla. Stat. § 720.3085(3)(d), § 720.3085(4), § 720.3085(5)
• Arizona. The association can foreclose its lien only if the owner has been delinquent for eighteen months (18 months) or owes $10,000 or more, whichever comes first, and the board must try to offer a reasonable payment plan before filing. Charges for fines and other member expenses cannot be foreclosed.A.R.S. § 33-1807(A), (B)

Your right to see the HOA’s records

Owners can usually inspect and copy the association’s books and records: budgets, financial statements, minutes, contracts and the governing documents. Some records may be withheld, such as privileged legal advice, pending litigation and other owners’ personal or financial records. Ask in writing and keep proof of when the association received it.

• Florida. Official records must be available within 10 business days after the board receives your written request. If you send it by certified mail, return receipt requested, and get no access in time, the law presumes the failure was willful; minimum damages are $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, starting on the 11th business day.Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)
• Arizona. Records must be made reasonably available; the association has ten business days (10 business days) to fulfill a request to examine them, cannot charge for making them available for review, and may charge no more than fifteen cents (15 cents) a page for copies.A.R.S. § 33-1805(A)
• Virginia. A member in good standing may examine and copy the books and records for a proper purpose, on five business days’ (5 business days) written notice to an association with a professional manager and 10 business days’ notice to a self-managed one; the notice must identify the purpose and the records.Va. Code § 55.1-1815(B)
• Maryland. Books and records are open on reasonable notice during business hours. Financial statements and minutes asked for in writing must be sent within 21 days if they were prepared in the last 3 years, and within 45 days if older.Md. Code, Real Prop. § 11B-112(a)

How to resolve an HOA dispute

1. 1Read the documents. Find the exact rule in the declaration, bylaws or rules, and any procedure they set for disputes.
2. 2Write to the board. Say what you dispute and what you ask for; ask for the records that matter, using the letter below.
3. 3Use the hearing and any mediation. In Florida, most disputes over rules, the use of your home or the common areas, meetings and records must go to presuit mediation before court, but not the collection of assessments or fines. In Arizona, you can petition the state Department of Real Estate for a hearing on many HOA disputes.
4. 4Court as a last step. South Carolina gives magistrates courts power over money disputes under its HOA act; in other states small claims court can hear many money disputes. Florida lets the winner in an HOA lawsuit recover reasonable attorney fees.

Fla. Stat. §§ 720.311(2)(a), 720.305(1) · A.R.S. § 33-1803(E) · S.C. Code § 27-30-160

When an HOA dispute or a foreclosure needs a lawyer, and how to check one, is on Do I need a real estate lawyer?.

HOA laws by state

For a state marked Not checked, read the HOA statute on the legislature’s own site, and your community’s documents.

Getting help

Common questions about HOAs

Official sources

1. The 2026 Florida Statutes, chapter 720, Homeowners’ Associations (§ 720.301 definitions; § 720.303 records and meetings; § 720.305 fines, hearings and suspensions; § 720.3085 liens and foreclosure notices; § 720.311 dispute resolution) leg.state.fl.us
2. A.R.S. § 33-1803: assessment limitation (20%), late charges, penalties after notice and hearing, response to a violation notice azleg.gov
3. A.R.S. § 33-1805: association financial and other records (ten business days; fifteen cents a page) azleg.gov
4. A.R.S. § 33-1807: common expense liens; foreclosure only after eighteen months or $10,000 azleg.gov
5. Va. Code § 55.1-1815: access to association records (five or 10 business days’ written notice) law.lis.virginia.gov
6. Va. Code § 55.1-1819: adoption and enforcement of rules ($50 / $10 a day for 90 days; 14 days’ hearing notice) law.lis.virginia.gov
7. Md. Code, Real Property § 11B-112: books and records (21 and 45 days) mgaleg.maryland.gov
8. S.C. Code title 27, ch. 30, Homeowners Association Act (§ 27-30-140 budget notice; § 27-30-160 magistrates court) scstatehouse.gov
9. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-243 (4 U.S.C. § 5 note) govinfo.gov
10. 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000: restrictions impairing reception of television, satellite and fixed wireless signals (antennas one meter or less) ecfr.gov
11. 24 C.F.R. § 100.204: reasonable accommodations under the Fair Housing Act ecfr.gov

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