Homeowner Associations
Homeowner Associations
Homeowners associations (HOAs) exist to administer subdivision, condominium and other community-owned residential property, taking over the responsibilities from the real estate developer. Created under a subdivision indenture, declaration of condominium or other recorded instrument, the rights and duties of HOAs are set forth with varying degrees of clarity.
Generally, but not always, HOAs are incorporated and governed by a Board of Directors, a Board of Trustees or a Board of Managers who are elected to make decisions on behalf of the association. These management boards consist of not less than 3 persons elected by the residents on an annual basis to terms of 1, 2 or 3 years.
As an operating entity, each association has bylaws, or indentures, that guide the trustees and residents. HOAs and their Boards are duty-bound to enforce the subdivision indenture, condominium declaration or other instrument fairly and collect and disburse funds in such amounts to provide for the necessities and amenities of the subdivision, condominium or other community-owned property.
Occasionally, a HOA runs afoul of its limitations or fails to enforce or impartially and fairly enforce the subdivision indenture or condo declaration. In such a case, after being notified of a purported situation in violation of its governing documents, the HOA either has to defend itself or make adjustments to its operating procedures. And after notice, if no correction occurs, appropriate action by the owners to enforce the indenture or declaration may be appropriate.
For trustees, homeowners, and property managers, the legal issues surrounding the association can run from traditional real estate questions involving buying or selling property to more complicated questions involving the nonprofit structure or management of the association itself.
Our attorneys work regularly in the areas of law that associations may need to address, including, for example:
- Administrative Law
- Bankruptcy & Collections
- Corporate Law
- Environmental Law
- Landlord/Tenant Law
- Municipal/Zoning Law
- Nonprofit Law
- Public Utilities Law
- Real Estate
Our experienced attorneys regularly represent all types of homeowner associations — condominium, subdivision, villa and road. We look forward to doing so in your situation if the need should so arise.
Additional HOA-related topics:
Homeowner Associations Articles
Texas Court Taps Brakes on Corporate Transparency Act and Year-End Filings
After months of getting the word out about the Corporate Transparency Act ("CTA"), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction against enforcement of the CTA and relieving reporting companies from filing the Beneficial...
Anti-Money Laundering Comes to Main Street
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was placed on the federal government’s books on January 1, 2021. The intent was to restrict, if not eliminate, those opportunities for criminals, Russian oligarchs, terrorists, and other bad actors to fund their illicit activity by hiding and moving money through anonymous shell companies and other corporate structures here in the United States.
Resources for Navigating the Impact of the Coronavirus
These are trying times for employees and employers alike in just about every industry imaginable. Disrupted work, adjusting to work from home (for the lucky ones!), uncertainty about how long stay-at-home and social distancing orders will last, outright business...
Overruling Van Deusen: Finally, “Amended” Means Just What the Dictionary Says
It has been well-settled law in Missouri that when it comes to indentures and restrictive covenants limiting the use of real property, the ability to amend such an instrument was to be restricted to only those amendments that lessened, alleviated or made such...
