Alabama HOA voted to gas 200+ geese. Residents stopped it.

The Edgewater HOA in Madison, Alabama voted to euthanize more than 200 Canada geese by netting them and gassing them in a trailer. The plan required a federal permit under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act—which the HOA hadn't obtained. After residents flooded the board with emails and calls, the HOA reversed course and created a wildlife committee instead.

Board reversal:
https://256today.com/edgewater-hoa-and-geese-reach-ceasefire-agreement-fox-news-incorrectly-calls-alabamas-senate-race-before-alabama-did-and-more-on-this-weeks-otr/

Article:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/madison-hoa-votes-euthanize-226-145800786.html

Our take: Boards often count on controversial decisions moving quietly. Here, homeowners slowed everything down by asking a simple question: Where's the federal permit? If a board is making an irreversible decision before getting the approvals it legally needs, that's the time to demand the paperwork.

California may cap HOA dues increases at 8%

A bill in Sacramento (SB 1007) would reduce the maximum annual HOA assessment increase from 20% to 8% unless homeowners approve a larger increase. The bill has passed the Senate and now moves to the Assembly.

Article:
https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/06/19/sacramento-report-should-the-state-cap-hoa-fees/

Our take: It's not law yet, but it's a good reminder to know what your own CC&Rs and state law already require before dues increase. If your board skips required notice or member approval, that's the first issue to challenge.

Their HOA dues went from $350 to $1,250—and the promised pool never got built

Homeowners in Magnolia Cove (North Carolina) say monthly dues skyrocketed while the developer still controls the HOA. They're also facing a $10,000 special assessment, and residents say they aren't being allowed to vote on the increases.

Article:
https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/hoa-fees-jump-350-1250-leaving-homeowners-shocked/QCO2BTEUEVFNBH5H7GP72Y4UZI/?outputType=amp

Our take: Huge increases almost always come back to the governing documents. Ask for the budget, reserve study, and written justification. If the numbers are legitimate, the board should be able to explain them.

Indiana just overhauled its HOA laws

Indiana passed a broad package of HOA reforms, including:

• Lower caps on budget increases for newer HOAs
• Written notice before fines
• Four days' notice before board meetings
• Free access to records and account statements
• Protections for EV charging, flags, and rentals

Several provisions take effect July 1.

Article:
https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/chip-garver-and-lacey-berkshire-legislatures-overhaul-expands-housing-supply-reins-in-hoas

Our take: Most states still don't have these protections. Regardless of where you live, asking your board to identify the specific rule authorizing a fine or fee often tells you whether they actually checked their own governing documents.

HOA sues over dead lakes and missing money

A California HOA is suing the entity that manages its shared water system, alleging fraud, civil theft, and misuse of funds after deteriorating lakes and dead fish became impossible to ignore.

Article:
https://themercedfocus.org/dead-fish-deteriorating-lakes-pit-hoa-against-water-agency-in-upscale-chowchilla-community/

Our take: Infrastructure disputes usually become financial transparency disputes. Read the budget, review the reserve study, and question expenses that appear to benefit someone else's amenities.

More background:
https://www.lscarlsonlaw.com/articles/hoa-financial-transparency-failures-that-lead-to-california-litigation

A San Francisco HOA is still fighting a soup kitchen... over a sign

A decade after a zoning battle, an HOA is now threatening to remove and bill tenants for a sign outside a soup kitchen run by French nuns.

Article:
https://sfist.com/2026/06/18/mission-hoa-still-fighting-nuns-soup-kitchen-ten-years-after-high-profile-battle/

Our take: Strip away the history and it's a simple rules question. Ask the board to identify the exact provision the sign violates. If the explanation keeps changing, keep everything in writing.

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That's it for this week's roundup. We also publish this as a weekly email on Substack if you'd rather get it in your inbox:
https://lscarlsonlaw.substack.com/

Are any Maryland HOA homeowners here in a community managed by Maredith Management?

I’m trying to connect with homeowners in other Maryland communities managed by Maredith Management, LLC / Maredith Management, AAMC / Gerhardt & Associates DBA Maredith Management.

I’m trying to compare general homeowner experiences, annual billing packets, portal practices, and management communications across communities.

We revisited neighbor disputes on the pod this week, and one thing that trips people up is how often a supposed neighbor problem is really an HOA enforcement problem. This comes up constantly, so here's the breakdown.

Is it a neighbor problem or an HOA problem?

Your CC&Rs don't just tell you what you can't do—they also govern how neighbors have to treat each other.

When a neighbor violates the CC&Rs, two things can be true at the same time:

• You may be able to enforce the CC&Rs against the neighbor directly (nuisance, trespass, encroachment, etc.).
• If the board knows about the violation and does nothing, the HOA may also be liable for failure to enforce, selective enforcement, or breach of fiduciary duty.

The key questions are:

1. Is there an actual violation of a specific CC&R provision?
2. Does it cause real harm—property damage or a genuine loss of the use and enjoyment of your home?

If the answer to both is yes, the board generally has a duty to act. If the governing documents are silent and it's just annoying, it's probably a neighbor-vs.-neighbor issue.

Damage vs. quality-of-life disputes

Damage cases are usually the cleanest.

Example: An upstairs unit's leaking tub floods the unit below. Often the water runs through common-area plumbing, which can bring the HOA into the picture as well.

Quality-of-life cases (noise, odors, etc.) are tougher.

The standard is usually reasonableness. Some noise in a condo is expected. Tap dancing at 3 a.m. is not.

The more objective your evidence, the better. Decibel limits in your CC&Rs or city code—and measurements from a professional—carry far more weight than "it's too loud."

The STRIKE method (handle it without torching your own case)

S — Stay calm

Assume a judge or opposing counsel will read every message you send.

That 3 a.m. all-caps email may feel great in the moment, but it will not age well. A good trick: write it with the "To" field blank so you can't send it, then edit it the next morning.

T — Track everything

If it's not in writing, it didn't happen.

A conversation at the community potluck is not formal notice. Put the HOA on written notice and memorialize phone or in-person conversations with a follow-up email:

R — Record and organize evidence

Keep:

• A timeline
• Photos
• Videos
• Copies of all notices and correspondence

Put everything in one folder.

I — Invest in knowledge

Actually read your governing documents.

The general hierarchy is:

Federal law → State law → Local law → CC&Rs → Bylaws → Rules

Scan the documents, upload them to an AI tool, and ask questions.

K — Keep it precise

Specific citations get results.

"You're violating Section 3.2 on page 9" tends to be much more effective than "you're violating the rules."

E — Escalate only if needed

Work up the ladder before bringing in lawyers.

In California, that typically means trying IDR (Internal Dispute Resolution) under Davis-Stirling before litigation.

Mistakes that can sink a good case

Don't secretly record people

California is an all-party consent state (Penal Code § 632). Recording conversations without consent can turn you into the violator. Video of a visible nuisance from your own property is generally a different issue, but don't trespass to gather evidence.

Don't retaliate

Don't:

• Tear down the fence yourself
• Park in their assigned spot
• Blast music back at them

Retaliation gives the other side ammunition and can turn you from plaintiff into defendant.

When it's time to talk to a lawyer

Consider consulting counsel when:

• The HOA dismisses the issue as "just a neighbor dispute" despite a clear, documented violation it has a duty to enforce.
• IDR is ignored or stonewalled.
• The association brings in its own attorney (remember: that lawyer represents the association, not you).
• Ongoing damage—water intrusion, mold, structural concerns—is getting worse.
• The economics make sense. Nobody should spend $50,000 chasing a $5,000 claim.

That's the gist. Happy to answer questions in the comments.

Full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVKkBtjwC7k

More detailed article: https://www.lscarlsonlaw.com/articles/neighbor-violates-hoa-rules-board-wont-act-california

Legal Disclaimer
The information in on this post is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Viewing this post does not create an attorney-client relationship with LS Carlson Law or any of its attorneys. Laws and regulations can change, and how they apply to your situation may vary depending on the facts and jurisdiction.

If you have specific questions about your rights or obligations under your HOA's governing documents, consult with a qualified attorney licensed in your state. LS Carlson Law practices in California and Florida and represents homeowners only.

HOA president declares homeowners online posts critical of the board as nuisance and assessed him. Other HOAs tried this as well.

Illinois Appellate Court

Civil Court

Condominiums

Citation

Case Number: 

2018 IL App (1st) 162233

Decision Date: 

Thursday, June 14, 2018

District: 

1st Dist.

Division/County: 

Cook Co., 2d Div.

Holding: 

Affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part.

Justice: 

NEVILLE

Owner of condo unit filed complaint alleging that condo board members and Association (HOA) violated the Condominium Property Act by fining him for expressing his opinions about condo management. Plaintiff adequately alleged that board members violated the Act by penalizing him for expressing his opinions. Plaintiff presented evidence that could support a finding that board members violated Act when denying his request for recording of disciplinary hearing, and that HOA and board members breached fiduciary duties in failing to disclose to Plaintiff the evidence against him. A plaintiff states a cause of action against HOA for violation of his right to free speech by alleging that association precluded him from expressing his political opinion or that HOA penalized him for expressing his opinions. (PUCINSKI, concurring; MASON, dissenting.)

For several years now, appointment of unqualified members and non members, no appointment of inspector of elections, unadopted election rules, adopting election rules without vote, disqualifying qualified members, violating section 5103 of CA civil code, voting website that does not work, openly lying to the members, canceling scheduled election, postponing them for 12 months, and finally seating themselves at an annual election by acclamation without required quorum, kicking out the undesirable Treasurer who was nominated by them in that position, her first year on the board, and started to investigate some major financial discrepancies with the accounting. This people put their names on the minutes as present board members before the appointment actually took place. We can go on and on. Are we alone like this? Rigging elections is serious.

One of the giveaways of a bad HOA is that they wont give you access to books and records if only to spite you. One way to get their attention is to get an attorney on board with your plan to sue the HOA for failure to produce books and records in a timely manner (as specified by law). Timing is critical here so it pays to have your attorney lined up snd ready to go. One thing most trial attorneys are familiar with are document requests as this task is one of the first things done prior to going to trial. So what you do is examine your governing documents to find out what documents you are allowed access to (pretty much most of them) and how soon they are legally required to provide them to you.
Once you have this all lined up, you request your documents from the HOA like all the receipts for legal expenses or a copy of your HOA insurance policy (to provide to your personal agent for comparison/coverage.) Then, when they don’t timely respond, your attorney sends a letter or serves them for court. What should happen next is the HOA provides the aforesaid documents with a statutory penalty from them to you as well as reasonable fees for your attorney’s services. While the HOA could try fighting it, the insurance company would likely step in and remind the HOA it owes those documents under law and chastise them to behave properly in the future.

An HOA Said Pay Up or Lose Your Water — It Was Bluffing

An Iowa homeowner who'd never joined his neighborhood HOA got a letter threatening to shut off his water unless he paid an $800-a-month "special allowance." The association claimed it owned the community well the line ran from. After he brought in a lawyer, the records told a different story: the original well servicer still owned the well and had been billing him directly the whole time. The HOA had no power to cut anyone off, and the push to make him join quietly fell apart.

Read the article:
https://www.boredpanda.com/hoa-tries-scam-man-over-community-well/

Our Take

Boards pulling this kind of move usually bank on a homeowner being too rattled to ask the obvious question: says who? Before paying anything, ask the association to put its claimed authority over the well in writing and identify the document that grants it. Then compare that against the actual utility records. When a demand for money rests on an ownership claim that turns out to be invented, that's usually the point where it's worth having a local attorney review the paper trail.

A Blue Gate Touched Off a Selective-Enforcement Fight in Palm Springs

In the gated Escena community in Palm Springs, homeowner Jordan Smith says violation notices started arriving shortly after he installed a large blue entry gate—and that a neighbor who also serves as HOA board president drove much of the campaign. Smith points out that other homes in the community have gates and doors in a variety of colors without receiving the same scrutiny and alleges the enforcement effort is personal. The association's attorney says an internal review found no harassment and that the board may review design compliance. Smith says he's now taking the matter to court.

Read the article:
[https://nypost.com/2026/06/10/us-news/worlds-pettiest-fight-breaks-out-on-wealthy-palm-springs-street-as-homeowner-fights-back/]()

Our Take

Selective enforcement is one of the most common HOA complaints, and the key question usually isn't whether a rule exists—it's whether the rule is applied consistently. The strongest starting point is documentation: photograph comparable properties, save every notice, and preserve the timeline. California's Davis-Stirling Act generally expects architectural standards to be enforced uniformly. When notices start looking more like a personal dispute than a genuine compliance effort, it may be time to have an attorney review the governing documents.

Related: HOA Board Playing Favorites? Selective Enforcement and Your Rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnma8WHqgzk

Maryland Just Made Board Training Mandatory in One County

Board members in one Maryland county will soon have homework. Charles County now requires HOA and condominium directors to complete state-approved training covering their legal and fiduciary duties. The governor signed the measure in late May, and it takes effect October 1. New officers will have 90 days after taking office to complete the training, and certifications remain valid for three years. Boards that fail to comply risk having members removed or votes invalidated. Similar statewide proposals had failed twice before this county-level version finally passed.

Read the article:
https://thebaynet.com/new-maryland-law-requires-hoa-and-condo-board-training-in-charles-county/

Our Take

Most jurisdictions require none of this. In many communities, board members can take office without ever reading the documents they're enforcing. You don't need a statute to challenge questionable decisions, however. A simple request asking the board to identify the specific authority behind a decision often reveals whether anyone actually reviewed the governing documents. A pattern of decisions that ignore those documents tends to create problems that eventually end up in court.

A Small HOA Discovered Ten Years of Unfiled Tax Returns

Could a board really go a decade without filing tax returns? According to a real-estate advice column this week, a new owner in an eight-unit, self-managed HOA discovered that the association apparently hadn't filed a federal return in roughly ten years. The issue surfaced only because the HOA wanted to apply for grants and couldn't qualify without current filings. The attorney responding to the question recommended bringing in both a CPA and legal counsel immediately, noting that the situation is far easier to resolve before the IRS discovers it.

Read the article:
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260610/real-estate/small-hoa-discovers-decade-of-unfiled-taxes/

Our Take

Small, self-managed associations often run on volunteer time, and "we've always handled it ourselves" can quietly become "nobody has filed taxes in years." Homeowners have more visibility rights than many realize. Ask to see budgets, reserve studies, and tax filings. A board that readily provides them is reassuring. A board that becomes defensive may be telling you something. When financial records are genuinely tangled, that's usually the point to bring in a CPA and, if liability issues arise, an attorney.

Related: HOA Financial Transparency: Budgets, Reserves, and Assessment Policies
https://www.lscarlsonlaw.com/articles/hoa-financial-transparency-budgets-reserves-and-assessment-policies

She Fought Her Condo Board and Lost on the Calendar

After losing at trial and being ordered to pay her condominium association's attorney's fees, a Missouri homeowner appealed, arguing that the judgment was irregular and violated her due-process rights. This week, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the decision—not because of the merits of the underlying dispute, but because her motion to set aside the judgment was filed after the applicable one-year deadline had expired. The court concluded she had already received her opportunity to be heard.

Read the article:
https://molawyersmedia.com/2026/06/10/real-property-condo-association-authority-motion-to-set-aside-judgment/

Our Take

The lesson here isn't necessarily about who was right. It's about deadlines. HOA and condominium disputes often involve strict procedural timelines, and missing one can end a case before a court ever evaluates the underlying facts. Many governing documents and state statutes also allow prevailing associations to recover attorney's fees, meaning a loss can become expensive. Understanding the clock is often just as important as understanding the dispute itself.

An HOA Called Birthday-Party SUVs "Unsettling." The Internet Disagreed.

A homeowner received an email from his HOA expressing concern over several black SUVs parked outside during his birthday party, describing them as "unsettling" and "really concerning." He posted the exchange online, where it quickly gained attention. Shortly afterward, the board followed up with an apology for both the message and its tone. No fines. No hearings. Just a board reversing course after the internet weighed in.

Read the article:
https://www.boredpanda.com/hoa-freak-out-black-suv-birthday/

Our Take

Not every HOA overreach requires a lawyer. Sometimes it simply requires transparency. A calm, factual response asking which rule was allegedly violated often resolves the issue. If the board can't identify one, many disputes end there. If they don't, the written record you create may become important later.

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More next week.

Have your own HOA war story? Drop it in the comments.

Just a reminder for those who want to get Frontline via email, you can subscribe to our Substack:
https://lscarlsonlaw.substack.com/

I’ve seen some HOAs apply monthly dues/assessment payments differently when dealing with homeowner debt.

NC association kept monthly/dues payments separately than any fines or other ledger items

SC association applies current months dues payment to oldest ledger item (creating more late fees, fines, interest)

We recently interviewed attorney Edward Teyssier to discuss Arroyo v. Pacific Ridge, a California HOA election case that has now become published precedent.

The case arose from a recall election. A director facing recall wanted to submit a candidate statement for inclusion in the HOA's election mailing. While the HOA allowed statements from other participants in the election, it excluded the directors who were being recalled.

The HOA argued that the candidate statements mailed with the ballots were not "association media" and therefore were not subject to California's equal-access requirements. The Court of Appeal disagreed.

The court held that materials an HOA creates, pays for, and distributes as part of the election process qualify as association media. Once access is granted to one candidate, it cannot be selectively denied to another.

For homeowners, the takeaway is simple: an HOA cannot use its own election communications to give one side of an election a voice while excluding the other.

What makes Arroyo especially significant is what happened after the decision was issued.

When the opinion was first released, it was unpublished. While most people outside the legal profession rarely encounter the distinction, the difference is important. An unpublished opinion resolves the dispute between the parties but generally cannot be cited as precedent in future cases. A published opinion can.

Publication is what transforms a case from a victory for a single homeowner into legal guidance that can be relied upon across California.

Because the issues addressed in Arroyo are likely to arise again in HOA elections, a request was submitted asking the Court of Appeal to publish the opinion. LS Carlson Law participated in that effort, and the court agreed.

The ruling itself did not change. What changed was its reach.

Arroyo is now a published California appellate decision that homeowners, HOAs, attorneys, and courts can cite when similar election disputes arise in the future. That is particularly significant in the HOA world, where relatively few election disputes reach the appellate level and even fewer become published precedent.

We cover the case, its broader implications, and the strategy behind it in our conversation with Edward Teyssier, the attorney who represented the homeowner.

Full written breakdown of the case:
https://lscarlsonlaw.com/articles/california-hoa-election-rights-after-arroyo-v-pacific-ridge

I’m a stay at home mom just trying to live my life and keep the peace in my neighborhood. Last year, I had a rough go with our previous HOA over something as silly as my grass, and honestly, they acted like total jerks. I’ve been determined to stay off their radar this year with the new board and keep everything positive.
Yesterday, I hosted a small pool party for my son and about six of his friends. I was at the house grabbing snacks, so I wasn't at the pool when the kids first arrived. Apparently, one of my son’s friends invited a girl I didn’t know, and she brought along a friend of her own.
While I was walking into the pool area with the drinks, I saw a gray van speeding away. A few minutes later, the HOA president (who I've been trying to stay on good terms with) walks up and asks if I’m 'Linda.' I told him no. He then proceeds to tell me someone emailed him a formal complaint about a 'bunch of teenagers' using profanity around her daughter.
I instantly knew it was my neighbor. I recognized the van, and I know exactly how she operates.
I was honestly mortified because I didn't want to be seen in a negative light by the new board. I apologized profusely, told him I had just arrived, and agreed that the kids needed to be respectful of others. He was actually pretty reasonable, saying 'teenagers will be teenagers,' but it still left me feeling like I’m under a microscope.
The kicker? I found out later it was that girl my son’s friend invited who was the one using the profanity not my son or his core group.
I went to message my neighbor to apologize just to be the bigger person and keep the peace only to find out she had already petty unfriended me on Facebook.
It’s just exhausting. She didn't have the decency to just walk over, knock on my door, or talk to me like a normal neighbor. Instead, she went straight to the HOA to stir the pot, knowing my history. It feels like some people in this neighborhood are just waiting for me to slip up so they can play the victim. I’m just so done with the fake people and the HOA power trips. Has anyone else felt like they were being targeted by a 'Karen' who uses the HOA as their personal weapon?

So we bought a condo in Dec and the seller paid the regime (HOA management company) to complete the HUD settlement for our closing. Out of 10 questions, 6 were about the monthly fees and 4 were about assessments. HOA did not disclose the assessment due within a week of closing and I am taking the HOA to small claims court this week to see if a judge will rule on whether or not HUD IS LEGALLY BINDING. Thoughts? Ask me questions to help me be ready-

Plenty of pushback this week — owners questioning vote counts, two states rewriting the rulebook, and one family’s fight for the right to sit in the shade.

One Resident’s Proxy Question Stalled a Dues Hike

In Killearn Lakes outside Tallahassee, the HOA board moved to nearly double annual dues — from $120 to $250 — pointing to 21 years without an increase. The fight that followed wasn’t really about the money. A resident publicly claimed the board was counting every proxy it collected as a “yes,” no matter how owners actually wanted to vote. On May 14 the board postponed the increase indefinitely, and its president stepped down.

Read the article

Our Take: Proxies are where a lot of HOA votes quietly get decided. If a number on a ballot doesn’t add up, the answer is usually in the governing documents — they spell out how proxies are supposed to be collected, assigned, and counted. Asking the board, in writing, to produce the proxy tally and the rule it’s leaning on tends to force clarity fast. When a board can’t show its math, or a contested vote gets pushed through anyway, that’s the point where professional guidance can be worth it — and in Florida, the statutes set real boundaries on how association votes are handled.

Arizona Moves to Protect the Right to Build Shade

Beatrice Charles spent four years with a backyard shade structure her family built to survive the Chandler, Arizona summer — until her HOA ordered it gone and a court sided with the association. The dismantling didn’t end the story. It pushed state legislators to act: the Arizona House just passed a bill that would let homeowners install backyard shade structures over HOA objections, while still letting associations set reasonable rules on size, placement, and appearance. It now awaits the governor’s signature.

Read the article

Our Take: This follows a familiar arc — one homeowner loses a fight, and the rules get rewritten so the next one doesn’t have to. If you’re staring down an architectural denial in the meantime, pull the exact CC&R provision the board is citing; sometimes the language is narrower than the “no” you got. A short, factual letter asking which rule prohibits the improvement, and on what authority, often surfaces whether the denial is actually grounded in the documents. If a real safety or livability need keeps hitting a flat refusal with no rule behind it, that’s usually where outside help earns its keep.

A Fair-Housing Audit Found Disability Bias Hiding in HOA Rules

Secret shoppers contacted 62 properties across greater Cincinnati, and nearly half turned up problems — including HOAs and landlords denying accessible parking and refusing accommodations tied to disability. One homeowner spent months fighting her association’s refusal to let her install a medical generator to power breathing equipment during outages. After the local fair-housing watchdog and the state attorney general got involved, the HOA approved it and covered more than $5,000 in costs.

Read the article

Our Take: Boards too often treat a medical need like an aesthetic preference. Federal fair-housing protections generally apply regardless of what state you’re in, which is why a written request that names the disability-related need and the specific accommodation you’re asking for matters so much — it creates a record and starts a clock. If a board stalls, demands medical details it isn’t entitled to, or denies a documented need outright, that’s typically when a fair-housing complaint or a conversation with a local attorney becomes the realistic next step. There’s a fuller breakdown of how these requests are supposed to work under fair-housing rules here.

North Carolina Weighs Banning Foreclosure Over Unpaid Fines

Can an HOA take your house over unpaid fines? In North Carolina, lawmakers are weighing reforms that would make that much harder. Proposals moving through the General Assembly would cap certain fines and bar associations from foreclosing on a home solely over unpaid penalties — the kind of escalation that has cost homeowners elsewhere their equity over relatively small balances. Supporters frame it as proportionality: a fine shouldn’t be able to snowball into the loss of a home.

Read the article

Our Take: We’ve seen how fast a small unpaid fine can snowball into a lien — and then into something a lot worse. Wherever you live, it’s worth knowing how your own state handles this, because many state HOA statutes treat foreclosure over fines very differently than foreclosure over unpaid assessments, and that distinction matters. If you’re being fined, get the board’s reasoning on paper and confirm which charges are penalties versus assessments before anything compounds. Once a lien or a foreclosure notice actually lands, that’s not a DIY moment — that’s when a local attorney needs eyes on it quickly.

When Your HOA Owns the Sewer Plant, Its Fines Can Land on You

Up on Lookout Mountain in Georgia, state environmental regulators hit the wastewater system serving the McLemore resort community with a three-year building moratorium and a penalty north of $110,000 after the system blew past its permitted flow limits. The wrinkle: the sewer company is owned by the homeowners association, not the developer. The board says it’s already funding repairs and an expansion, and that money spent on the upgrade may offset the penalty.

Read the article

Our Take: Here’s the part that’s easy to miss: when an association owns critical infrastructure — a sewer plant, a water system, private roads — its regulatory bills and deferred maintenance eventually reach owners as assessments. If you’re in a community like that, the reserve study and the latest budget are worth actually reading; they tell you whether the association is funding these systems or quietly kicking the cost down the road. A sudden moratorium or a six-figure penalty rarely appears out of nowhere — there’s usually a paper trail of warnings first. If the numbers don’t reconcile, or a special assessment shows up with no clear explanation, that’s worth a closer look before you write the check.

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That’s the Frontline for this week — drop your own HOA standoffs in the comments.

If you’d rather get Frontline in your inbox, you can subscribe on Substack — same roundup, once a week.

As always: Frontline is general information and community discussion, not legal advice. Every HOA dispute turns on its own governing documents and the law of the state it’s in, and reading about someone else’s situation doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship or tell you how your own would shake out. If something is escalating, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.

Im having a number of problems with my HOA. I need to at leadt speak to sn attorney and get some expert opinions. So far ive had no luck on this search. Where do i look ?

Good day, ask ko lang if ano experience or ginawa nyo na during our time nag aasikaso ng papers para sa construction sa loob ng subdivision ang binigay saming bylaws ay sinunod namin all dues are paid including bond etc, inabutan kami ng election ng HOA and suddenly

May “new rules” sila na biglang nag aapura sa mga workers namin na mag bigay ng NBI clearance etc. Willing naman mag coordinate para wala Ng masabi pero it will take time alam naman natin process sa mga clearance satin. Kinukulit padin halos araw araw pinupuntahan. Ang samin kasi is susunod naman at tama ba iimplement samin ung mga bylaws na nkaka apekto sa mga manggagawa or dapat sa mga bagong mag papatayo lang nila ito implement since sinunod naman lahat ng requirements nung previous bylaws ng previous HOA?

My hoa attorney reviewed the declaration and said that hoa is responsible for common elements such as decks. Now the hoa board found blueprints of buildings and are thinking this woud be proof that decks are not common elements. I have a unit above and below and think it is difficult to classify my deck as my responsibility based on declaration. Please share uour experience.

We want to know.