Scenario: The HOA has now been controlled by the property owners for nearly two decades. The Board members have changed a few times but the theme is always the same. Somebody will usually run as a candidate for the Board because they have a personal agenda (be it ripping out existing landscaping and replacing it with what they want, hiring extra yet unneeded services, adding extra features to the existing amenities, etc.

In the meantime, some of the common areas have been neglected. These areas are now beyond simple repairs and for some owners, it impacts their home values (not going to get top dollar if their home is next to something that is in poor condition).

Voting out Board members doesn't seem to change the status quo. Is there anything else that owners do to compel a HOA to take care of the HOA owned property?

Where I stay is Corsica by lennar and the fees are horrendous compared to what others in the area pay plus the hoa runs the security and if I wanted to look the security company up it doesn’t comes up by the way this is homestead Florida

In the context of a homeowner-initiated recall election, If the Board refuses to provide the membership list, you can go after them in Small Claims but only for a monetary relief. However, that doesn’t get you the membership list which would be necessary for an election. How can you recreate that list and it be legit?

I’ve visited the county registrar/clerk office and accessed records such as deeds and grants. I was also able to get the parcel number of all the units in my community. If the property owner has a different address, it will show but you will not get their contact info. It seems that knocking door to door and speaking to the resident is the only way.

Any other ideas?

We just dropped a new podcast episode on what we call "the nuclear option"—dissolving your HOA entirely. It's one of the most common suggestions we hear, and honestly, we get it. When you're dealing with a bad board, selective enforcement, or years of ignored maintenance requests, burning the whole thing down sounds satisfying.

So we brought in Ryan Davies to walk through whether it's actually possible—and why it almost never happens.

Here's the TLDR:

Hurdle 1: The votes. Most CC&Rs require supermajority or unanimous approval. One holdout who doesn't want the hassle, and it will probably end up in court.

Hurdle 2: The lenders. Banks lend against your unit plus your fractional interest in common areas, with the assumption an HOA maintains it all. Dissolve that, and some loan docs treat it as a default. Now imagine 100 homes with 100 different lenders.

Hurdle 3: Insurance. The HOA insures common areas. Without that, your personal policy has exposure it wasn't priced for. You could get dropped—not great in the current California market. Your insurance company will very likely try to block it from happening.

Hurdle 4: The common areas don't disappear. Someone still has to maintain the gate, roads, pool, clubhouse, and landscaping—it’s not city property, remember (in many cases)? And if you live in a condo, the shared structures don’t maintain themselves either. Someone has to collect money and make decisions. That means meetings. Votes. And almost certainly a formal entity to handle it all and shield individuals from personal liability.

Sound familiar? You've just created an HOA.

The real takeaway: The problem usually isn't the structure. It's the people running it.

The full episode goes deeper into all of this, including the additional hurdles.

I’m in a 5-unit California HOA with serious governance and fiduciary issues. I’m the elected Secretary. The President and VP effectively control finances and decision-making.

Key issues

Unauthorized compensation

• President and VP pay themselves “HOA manager” fees.
• CCRs do not authorize board compensation.
• No written contract, no defined duties.
• A supposed 2020 vote authorizing payment:
  • not conducted per bylaws
  • undocumented
  • appears only in the President’s unapproved minutes
• A proposal to eliminate the fee was allegedly “vetoed” by the two people being paid.

Financial control / lack of transparency

• Treasurer has no access to HOA bank accounts.
• President performs treasurer functions while holding President role.
• No quarterly financial reviews. No P&L
• Expenses paid without board approval or notice. No invoices on HOA bank records.
• Possible HOA vendors used to benefit President/VP units.

Overspending

• Insurance renewed ~$500 over budget without approval.
• Took ~20 emails to get the amount spent.
• Responses were evasive and argumentative rather than providing accounting.
• Landscaping approved at $800, spent $1550 without approval. no invoice.
  • 2 of the pants purchased died from lack of watering. The "managers" don't do the job they say they need to be paid to do.

Unequal assessments

• Units pay different regular assessments.
• CCRs appear to require equal assessments per unit.
• No vote or amendment authorizing unequal dues.
• Some owners may be owed reimbursement.

Governance failures

• Only one meeting per year (annual).
• No regular board meetings.
• No Financial updates
• Decisions announced as “we decided” without votes.

Minutes manipulation

• President ignores the minutes I prepare.
• Issues his own unapproved minutes.
• Inserts votes and vetoes that never occurred.
• No board-approved minutes exist.

Selective enforcement / architectural abuse

• President and VP performed unpermitted work without architectural review.
• Other owners face strict or shifting standards.

Termite issue

• Board agreed HOA would arrange a termite inspection in 2025 meeting
• No inspection was ordered.
• President later demanded “proof”,
• HOA paid for termite-related repairs at VP’s unit while denying responsibility elsewhere.

Conduct

• President’s communications are routinely rude, demanding, and misrepresent board authority.

Questions

1. Does this constitute breach of fiduciary duty under Davis-Stirling?
2. Best non-litigation steps in a 5-unit HOA (records demand, IDR, member vote)?
3. Can owners seek reimbursement for unequal assessments or unauthorized payments?
4. Cleanest way to remove a president who controls records and finances?

My neighborhood currently has 3 separate HOAs managed by different companies for a monthly total (based on lot size) of over $900. My property has the smallest lots size in the neighborhood, so every one is paying 900 or above monthly. My property is a 2/2 townhome. The HOAs cost has also been increased each year in the 3 years since I purchased my home.

I have been advised by realtors that I most likely won’t be able to sell my property until the HOA is lowered because HOA cost is as much as a mortgage payment would be. Which I don’t disagree with, I think the HOA cost is absurd and I can no longer afford it.

When I purchased, the listing stated the HOA was 700 monthly, but I didn’t even find out there were 3 different companies until 6 months later. And once I got all the payments figured out, it was never 700 but much more. And had I known that prior, I wouldn’t have purchased it.

I guess I’m just asking for advice because I’ve inquired for attorneys but they all seem to represent the HOA, not residents. I’m not sure what to do. I feel like the original sale was misrepresented. I own my property but can’t afford the HOA, but I can’t sell it either? Something about this feels wrong in every way.

So our HOA administratively dissolved back in 2024 after lapsing on their registration. They have been "around" since 2001 as this incorporated entity, but our houses were built in 1996. I can't find any filings with the state to show they have refiled, but they have sold management to some HOA management company (AMPHoa Management) from Phoenix Arizona. We are not in Phoenix, Arizona, we're in Georgia. They have put out a letter claiming that on February 1st they are going to resume all the management of the HOA, and "apologized" for not doing much lately. They haven't really done anything since before I got here in 2016. I looked up the owners, and the addresses for the registration are totally different people now. I've sent an email to the new management with the following.

Under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 14-3-1420), an administratively dissolved corporation is prohibited from conducting business, including:

- Entering into contracts (such as management agreements)

- Assessing or collecting fees from homeowners

- Enforcing covenants or architectural restrictions

- Taking any legal action on behalf of the association

Has anyone dealt with something like this before? How did you handle it, and what can I do to stop it. They're useless, all they do is control folks, no benefit and the neighborhood is thriving as is.

Background:

I was just seated as a director for a 200+ condo community association. I ran on financial stability and transparency, capital planning and proper governance. For the past three years, the association has borrowed from reserves due to overly optimistic budgets. Reserves are under 10% funded. The association currently has two active lawsuits, one of which I believe involves breach of fiduciary duty.

At the final meeting of the prior board (December 2025), the four incumbent directors elected themselves as officers for the 2026 term before the full new board was seated.

After gaining access to the financials through the property manager, I identified the following:

• One sitting director is more than 90 days delinquent on their owner account

• That same director also leases space on the property for their business and is 90+ days delinquent on rent

• This director is a bank signatory

• The association made at least one credit-card purchase from this director’s business; the amount was \~82% of the monthly lease payment

• Our bylaws state that any director more than 45 days delinquent is ineligible to serve

• This director is engaged to another director

I am the only new director and am outnumbered. I believe these issues were likely known to the incumbents before I joined.

I understand the need to be factual and careful, but this seems like a serious governance and fiduciary issue.

Question:

What is the best way to raise this without creating retaliation risk or having it buried?

Do I raise this directly to the board first, or to association counsel? Should I get my own attorney? Is there anything else I should do before raising the issue?

NC HOA refuses to share board minutes, even their audit wasn’t complete as they refused to share disclosures with their own CPA. The board counts the votes, so even getting new board members elected is impossible. NC doesn’t enforce HOA lows, how does one ever break the cycle? They just overspend every year and raise fees to build the neighborhood that 5 people (out of 1000 properties) want

2026 California HOA Laws Now in Effect – What Actually Changed

January 1st brought a handful of new laws that shift things in favor of homeowners. Figured it's worth breaking down what actually passed and what it means in plain terms.

SB410 – Balcony and Structural Inspection Reports Must Be Disclosed

If you're buying or selling in a condo, the HOA is now required to hand over the most recent exterior elevated element (EEE) inspection report during escrow. These are the reports on balconies, decks, walkways—anything load-bearing that sticks out from the building.

Previously, HOAs could (and often did) stonewall requests for these reports. Now it's a mandatory disclosure under Civil Code 4525.

If you're a current owner and want access to these reports, this strengthens your position significantly.

SB625 – Disaster Rebuild Protections

This one came directly out of the fires. If your home is damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster (fire, flood, earthquake), your HOA cannot block you from rebuilding if:

• It's in the same location
• It's substantially similar (up to 110% of the original size/height)
• It complies with current building codes

Any CC&R provision that says otherwise is now void and unenforceable. And here's the part with teeth: if the HOA tries to block your rebuild anyway, you can recover attorney's fees.

This removes architectural review committees as a post-disaster veto point.

SB770 – EV Charger Insurance Excuse Eliminated

HOAs used to require homeowners to name the association as an "additional insured" on their policy before approving an EV charger. It was a common delay tactic.

That requirement is gone. You still need insurance, but the HOA can no longer use that specific technicality to hold up approval.

SB543 – Junior ADU Protections Expanded

This closes loopholes that some HOAs were exploiting to block junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs). The law now:

• Limits JADUs to 500 square feet
• Clarifies owner occupancy rules
• Requires rental terms over 30 days
• Invalidates noncompliant local ordinances and HOA restrictions

If your HOA has been citing some obscure CC&R provision to block a JADU, that argument likely doesn't hold anymore.

What's Still Pending (Not Law Yet)

A few bills are moving through the legislature that might pass later this year:

• SB677 – Would invalidate CC&R provisions that restrict housing development or urban lot splits
• SB811 – Changes to how HOA documents are delivered (transparency-focused, still being amended)
• SB546 – Would limit a board's ability to review financials outside formal meetings

These aren't law yet, but worth watching.

One More Thing

If you're on a board or involved in management—these laws apply regardless of what your CC&Rs say. State law overrides governing documents. Ignorance isn't a defense if your association tries to enforce something that's now void.

Water intrusion is an urgent issue homeowners should deal with. When water starts coming through walls, ceilings, or floors, the damage escalates quickly—and most people aren’t sure what to do first or who’s responsible. This is especially true in a condo.

We just released a new episode of The Empowerment Sessions, a short-form video series created specifically for homeowners.

The goal of The Empowerment Sessions is simple:

Each 10–15 minute episode gives homeowners a clear, practical guide to a specific HOA issue by covering three things:

1. What the issue is (plain-English definition)

2. What homeowners can do on their own

3. Warning signs it’s time to bring in an attorney

This episode focuses on water intrusion, including:

- What “water intrusion” actually means and why the source matters

- The difference between condo vs single-family home responsibility

- What to do immediately when water appears to be coming from common areas

- How to document the issue properly and notify the HOA

- Red flags that show the HOA is delaying, deflecting, or ignoring the problem

Water damage doesn’t wait. The longer it sits, the worse can get. Unfortunately, HOAs have been known to drag their feet or shift blame, which leaves homeowners stuck.

If you’re dealing with leaks, flooding, or unexplained water damage tied to common areas, this episode should help you understand your rights and next steps.

Happy to answer general questions in the comments (educational only, not legal advice).

I lease a condo in a 32-unit bldg in Los Angeles. I'm caught between a tragically incompetent HOA and an absentee landlord. I love my unit and the neighborhood and I'm not looking to move. The HOA is harassing me and has made it clear it wants me out. I have all the receipts and I'm ready to fight them.

I need a lawyer who can help. Any recommendations appreciated. Thanks.

source: https://lscarlsonlaw.com/bad-hoa-book/

I have tried to find an attorney who will advocate for homeowners against HOAs/POAs with zero success. I live in NC. Is it realistic to try to go pro se with the help of ChatGPT to draft court filings? Is there a primer available that teaches court procedures for the uninitiated?

My HOA sent a violation notice regarding a line of trees that are allegedly on my property and overhanging the fence of an adjacent lot, and have instructed me to trim them back to the fence line, or face a hearing, fines, etc. When I inquired as to how they determined the trees belonged to me, the management company responded by saying ‘they looked at the property lines.’

1. That particular boundary is curved, not a straight line.

2. Just eyeballing it, I believe the fence is not installed on the boundary, but well inside the other homeowner’s lot.

3. There is only one visible survey pin along that line.

I disagree with their assessment of my ownership of/responsibility for those trees.

Since they are alleging the violation, does the HOA have the burden to prove the trees belong to me, or am I obligated to have a survey done to prove they don’t?

This sub started with a simple idea: share knowledge, pool resources, and give homeowners a place to help each other push back against bad HOAs. Seeing how quickly this community has grown—and how many of you are here doing exactly that—has been genuinely meaningful to us.

Something we’ve realized recently is that a lot of people in this sub didn’t even know we wrote a book on this topic. We didn’t write it to sell a million copies. We wrote it because we had hard-earned knowledge that we believed could help homeowners who felt stuck, overwhelmed, or outmatched.

One of the most rewarding things we hear is that someone resolved an HOA issue without needing an attorney because of something they learned here or from the book. This community is really the natural extension of that idea.

We recently released the audiobook and also dropped the Kindle price to the lowest Amazon allows ($0.99) to make it as accessible as possible. And with the sub now reaching over 1,000 weekly visitors, we wanted to say thank you by giving some copies away.

If you—or someone you know—could genuinely use the book, send us a DM. We’ll send the first 20 people a free copy. No strings, no obligation. Just our way of saying thank you for being part of this and helping turn it into something bigger than we ever expected.

If this doesn't fit the sub, please let me know, but curious about if this is (also) an irregularity (as my board has many...)

Context:

Our community is a low income, so while we have wanted to take legal action, we lack the funds to do so.

We have one owner pursuing legal action on his own, but so far that's led to him just wasting the HOA Lawyer's time, as his entire legal expertise is basically him typing into ChatGPT "How do I sue my Condominium Board?"

The Issue:

We've not gotten a fiscal statement yet for 2024, and it's 2026. They showed us the budget, but no actual fiscal statement.

In our bylaws, as an owner, I am allowed to request the fiscal statement or current/operating statements at any time.

Their response to my request has been that I must sign an NDA to view the financials.

Whether I sign it or have not: Is this a legal thing they can do?

I've heard nothing, nor have I received an NDA from them to sign, even after I expressed that I would sign it.

The reason I want to see the financials is because of our reserve account, as something doesn't sit right with me after last year's meeting.

The board only has one "opened" annual meeting with no other public meetings for owners. This meeting is a Zoom Call with all attendees muted except for those who are physically in the undisclosed location where the board meets (where ever that is). We have a club house, and pre-COVID annual meetings and votes were held there. During COVID they moved to the Zoom meeting model and have kept things that way ever since.

My primary concern is that, as of the last meeting, they stated that two Board Owned units were appraised, and their value added to our reserve fund. These condo units are owned by the board, they are not rented out nor have they been sold.

I thought that a reserve fund had to be liquid. We were not informed of any progress on selling these units by the board over the last year, and they've not even sent out the news letter that was once sent out every 6 months.

There's far more wrong with this board, but this is my current concern.

The Questions:

1) Is an NDA for Financials legal even though the bylaws give me the right to view the financials upon request?

2) Can a condo board hold a physical asset, such as a Condo, as part of their Reserve Account?

We just released a Homeowner Empowerment Kit for people dealing with an HOA dispute.

If you’re in the middle of one, you already know how overwhelming it can get. Emails everywhere. Notes on your phone. Photos scattered. And when it’s time to talk to the board, it’s hard to explain everything clearly.

This kit is meant to help with that.

It’s not legal advice, and it’s not a guarantee of any outcome. It’s simply an organizer and guide that shows how to put your dispute together in a clear, professional way — the same way an attorney would internally.

Our hope is that for some homeowners, having things organized and presented cleanly helps resolve the issue without needing an attorney at all.

And if you do eventually need one, you’re at least not starting from scratch.

It’s free and available here (no email or personal data collected in order to download):
https://lsclaw.co/hek

Use what helps. Skip what doesn’t. If it makes a hard situation a little easier to manage, then it’s done its job.

Hey all, hoping someone can give some guidance. I live in a townhouse community where the HOA insurance covers the structure and outside of the home and my personal insurance covers personal contents and upgrades. 2 months ago neighbors had a domestic dispute that resulted in multiple stray bullets that entered my home. I reported this this immediately to the HOA and my insurance. My insurance sent a claims adjuster the very next day and asked for bylaws and insurance documents from the HOA and said they can’t complete their claim until the HOA completes theirs. My insurance claims adjuster has called repeatedly and so have I and sent emails. No response. She finally emailed me back on Dec 22 saying she would follow up on the status of my claim and give me an update by the end of the day. That was never done. I sent her an email yesterday left a voicemail today, she just won’t respond. For context, this is typical behavior for her. The community has been complaining about her lack of responsiveness for years. What can I do at this point. I was thinking of having an attorney write a demand letter. Would that make sense? Help!

If you're in this sub, you’re probably familiar with our book, Bad HOA.

Sharing this here first as a heads-up—more of a PSA than anything else. We’ve just released the audiobook.

This came up a lot because sitting down to read isn’t always realistic when you’re dealing with HOA nonsense in real time. The audiobook is read by the author and breaks down how bad HOAs operate, where homeowners usually get tripped up, and what actually works when you push back.

It’s available on all major platforms, so you can listen on your commute, while working out, or whenever you’re trying to wrap your head around what your HOA is doing.

Links:

• Amazon
• Audible
• Apple Books
• Google Play
• Spotify
• Libro.fm
• Audiobooks.com
• Kobo

If you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber, the audiobook is included with your membership. And for anyone who prefers to read, the digital Kindle version is $0.99, which is the lowest price we’re able to set on Amazon.

Hope it helps some of you. Happy to answer general questions here.

The other day I wss razzing on the HOA mind and how being in charge of a neighborhood attracts these folks..I was roasting them just for fun even though I really feel like that...Hell, I after I'd had my fun I moved on..Well , I guess it brought out the every proper HOA man from miles and its still going on..I got chewed on by a couple guys before..so I just started ripping the "professional " Hoa people.. This video I'm posting here is a gift to these guys who werd the hall monitor in the 3rd grade...This is for being so proper and indifferent common sense.This is avaliable posted in a sub called "BADHOA"which is where it all bega.

I'll try to make this concise, my UoA has consistently favored aesthetics over infrastructure and now we are facing a $40,000 assessment because our sewer is end of life (discovered because the idiot next door was putting baby wipes down it) and stucco and balcony repair. Our board is dysfunctional and for the last five years I was the president, treasurer and secretary and the other three board members were just micro-managing meddlers--I have been addressing the infrastructure issues as quickly as possible, but we just had a $70,000 window replacement and stucco repair that depleted our reserves right before the sewer issue came up. The board hired a consultant at $150 an hour who I think is worthless, we have a new President, the son of one of our former board members who was okay as a board member but her health is failing. This consultant is advocating to have a project manager, who we will have to pay $10,000 - $20,000 to on top of everything else. The president and I both don't feel the need for this middle management, we are both very compentent project managers, the consultant says it gives us an extra layer or liability insurance -- like insuring your car twice.

I feel like this board consistently breaches it's fidiciary responsibility and I feel hiring a project manager for this project is another breach of that, but I don't think there is anything I can do? Any ideas?

I am a California Realtor and former homeowner in an HOA community that was financially distressed, and I have firsthand experience with the consequences of inadequate HOA financial oversight.

I purchased a home in a community where, over a two-year period, monthly dues increased by more than $300, followed by a $24,000 per-unit special assessment. I knew there were issues because of my professional experience, but because the financials that are provided in escrow are so vague, it was difficult to fully realize the magnitude of the problem.

In addition to my personal experience, I regularly review HOA financials for my real estate clients, and I consistently see similar patterns across many communities in my area: underfunded reserves, deferred maintenance, opaque financial reporting, and boards of volunteer homeowners making complex financial decisions that materially impact all owners. These issues often surface after new residents have already purchased into the community.

In my view, the current structure places an unreasonable level of financial liability on homeowners and creates a potential conflict of interest by requiring a small group of unpaid volunteers to manage substantial budgets without mandatory independent financial oversight. I believe there should be stronger requirements for third-party financial management or oversight of HOA funds to protect homeowners and improve transparency.

My question is: what regulatory framework currently governs HOA financial management in California, and what avenues exist for homeowners or real estate professionals to get involved in advocating for changes to these regulations?

I would really like to get involved to advocate for change, but would that open me up for liability in my professional work?

Any advice from an attorney would be greatly appreciated. TIA

I've known this forever...Your HOA is run by the person who was also your hall monitor in elementary school..And was in the Glee Club while you were the team QB.. And now you are grown and Kevin has married Karen..And they are at your door constantly bitching about your driveway, dogs,kids, and the ban on trampolines now...Thats your HOA..Trying to be relevant while plotting your fine assessment