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Living in a community governed by a homeowners association comes with benefits, well-maintained common areas, protected property values, shared amenities, but it also comes with rules, and sometimes with confusion about who has the authority to do what. Many homeowners are unclear about what their HOA board can and cannot do, and about their own rights as members of the association. This uncertainty can lead to conflict, frustration, and disputes that better understanding would prevent. A clear grasp of the scope and limits of HOA board authority, and of homeowner rights, helps everyone in a community coexist more smoothly. Here is a primer on what HOA boards can and cannot do.
The Basics of HOA Authority
To understand what an HOA board can and cannot do, it helps to understand where its authority comes from. An HOA board derives its authority from the association’s governing documents, the declaration, bylaws, and rules, and from applicable law. These documents establish what the association governs, how the board operates, and the rules that homeowners agree to when they buy into the community. The board’s authority is defined and bounded by these sources, not unlimited.
This is a crucial point that clears up much confusion: an HOA board can act within the authority granted by the governing documents and law, but not beyond it. The Community Associations Institute, a leading authority on community association governance, emphasizes that boards are meant to operate within their governing documents and applicable law and to serve their communities responsibly. The board is not free to do whatever it wishes; it must operate within the framework established by the governing documents and comply with applicable legal requirements. Understanding that HOA authority is both granted and limited by these sources is the foundation for understanding what a board can and cannot do. Homeowners who grasp this understand that the board’s powers have defined boundaries, and that their own rights exist within the same framework.
What HOA Boards Can Do
Within their granted authority, HOA boards have legitimate powers that serve the community, and understanding these helps homeowners know what to expect. Boards can generally enforce the community’s rules and restrictions as established in the governing documents, maintain common areas, and manage the association’s finances, including collecting dues and assessments used to fund the community’s upkeep and services. These are core functions that keep a community running and protect the shared interests of its members.
Boards can also typically make decisions within their authority about the operation of the association, establish and enforce reasonable rules consistent with the governing documents, and take action to address violations of the rules. These powers exist to serve the community as a whole, maintaining the standards, common areas, and shared value that HOA living is meant to provide. When a board acts within its proper authority to enforce rules fairly, maintain the community, and manage its affairs responsibly, it is doing what it is empowered and expected to do. Understanding the legitimate scope of board authority helps homeowners recognize when the board is acting properly within its role.
What HOA Boards Cannot Do
Just as important as understanding what boards can do is understanding their limits, since boards cannot act beyond their authority or in violation of homeowners’ rights. Boards generally cannot act outside the authority granted by the governing documents, enforce rules selectively or discriminatorily, or disregard the procedures and requirements the governing documents and law establish. They cannot simply do as they please; their actions must stay within their defined authority and comply with applicable law.
Boards also generally cannot violate homeowners’ rights as established by the governing documents and law, ignore required procedures for decisions and enforcement, or act arbitrarily or in bad faith. Understanding your rights as an HOA homeowner is essential to recognizing when a board may be overstepping its authority, and proper management helps ensure boards act within their proper limits. When a board exceeds its authority, enforces rules unfairly, or disregards required procedures, it is acting improperly, and homeowners have rights in such situations. Understanding the limits on board authority is what allows homeowners to recognize overreach and to understand that the board’s power, while real, is bounded.
Homeowner Rights Within the Association
Homeowners have rights as members of the association, and understanding them is central to navigating HOA living. While the specifics depend on the governing documents and applicable law, homeowners generally have rights related to fair treatment, proper procedures, access to certain information about the association, and participation in the association as provided for in the governing documents. These rights exist alongside the obligations homeowners take on, forming a two-sided relationship.
Understanding one’s rights helps a homeowner engage constructively with the association and recognize when those rights may not be being respected. Homeowners generally have the right to expect the board to act within its authority, follow proper procedures, enforce rules fairly and consistently, and comply with the governing documents and law. When homeowners understand their rights, they are better equipped to participate in their community, address concerns appropriately, and hold the board to its proper conduct. This understanding is empowering, allowing homeowners to navigate HOA living from a position of knowledge rather than confusion, and to engage with the association constructively when questions or disputes arise.
The Value of Good Governance and Management
Much conflict in HOA communities arises from confusion about authority and rights, or from boards acting improperly, and good governance and professional management help prevent these problems. When an association is well governed, with boards acting within their authority, following proper procedures, and respecting homeowner rights, the community functions more smoothly and disputes are less frequent. Proper management supports this good governance.
Professional HOA management helps ensure that an association operates properly, that boards act within their authority and follow correct procedures, and that the association complies with its governing documents and applicable law. This professional support benefits both boards, by helping them govern correctly, and homeowners, by helping ensure their rights are respected and the community is well run. Good governance and management create a community where the roles, powers, and rights are clear and respected, reducing the confusion and conflict that arise otherwise. For HOA communities, investing in proper governance and professional management is a way to ensure that boards do what they can and should, refrain from what they cannot, and respect homeowner rights throughout.
Understanding the Framework
Navigating HOA living successfully depends on understanding the framework of authority and rights that governs it: what boards can do within their granted authority, what they cannot do beyond it or in violation of homeowner rights, and what rights homeowners hold as members of the association. This understanding clears up the confusion that leads to conflict and empowers homeowners to engage with their community from a position of knowledge.
For homeowners, grasping this framework, the scope and limits of board authority and their own rights, is the key to coexisting smoothly in an HOA community and addressing any concerns appropriately. And for communities, good governance and professional management help ensure the framework is respected, with boards acting properly and homeowner rights honored. Understanding what HOA boards can and cannot do, and knowing one’s rights, transforms HOA living from a source of potential confusion and conflict into a clear, well-understood arrangement that serves the whole community.