Can an HOA board member also be the property manager?
Reviewed by the OurHOA team · Updated July 2026
Can an HOA board member also be the paid property manager? The self-dealing conflict, disclosure and recusal rules, and how to protect the community from insider deals.
The short answer
Usually it is not flatly illegal, but it is one of the clearest conflicts of interest an association can have, and it has to be handled with real care - or it can invalidate the arrangement and expose the community to trouble. A director who is also the paid manager, or who owns or works for the management company the association hires, sits on both sides of the table: the board negotiates and oversees the manager, and here that manager is one of the board's own. Some governing documents prohibit it outright; where they do not, it is generally allowed only with full disclosure, recusal from the vote, and a fair, arm's-length contract. Our guide on HOA conflict-of-interest rules covers the broader duty this sits inside.
The two versions of this situation
It is worth separating two things people mean by this question. One is a volunteer director who takes on manager-style tasks - collecting dues, coordinating vendors - and is paid for it. The other is a director whose own company holds, or is bidding for, the management contract. Both are interested-director transactions, but the second is bigger money and higher risk, because the association is signing a paying contract with a business its own board member controls. The related question of whether directors can be paid at all is covered in our guide on whether HOA board members are paid or volunteers; the default in most communities is that directors serve as unpaid volunteers, and turning one into a paid vendor changes that picture.
The conflict-of-interest rules that apply
Because most HOAs are nonprofit corporations, corporate self-dealing law governs. In California, Corporations Code section 7233 makes an interested-director transaction valid only if the material facts are fully disclosed and the contract is approved in good faith by a disinterested majority of the board (or the members), or is shown to have been just and reasonable to the association when approved. On top of that, Civil Code section 5350 bars a director from voting on a matter in which the director has a material financial interest, and treating a contract with the director's own company as anything less than that is asking for a challenge. The practical rule everywhere is the same: disclose the interest, recuse from the discussion and vote, and let disinterested directors decide on fair terms - a transaction pushed through by the interested director is voidable.
Why it also affects liability and oversight
There are two less-obvious problems. First, protection: a volunteer director generally enjoys immunity under laws like the federal Volunteer Protection Act and state volunteer-director statutes, but those protections are for uncompensated volunteers - once a director is paid as the manager, that shield can evaporate for the paid role, and the association's D&O policy may not treat a paid vendor the way it treats a volunteer. Second, oversight: the board's core job is to supervise the manager, and it cannot meaningfully supervise itself. When the same person prepares the financials, approves the vendors, and reports to the board on their own performance, the check that protects owners' money is gone - which is exactly how self-managed communities end up with unnoticed errors or worse.
How to protect the community
If a board is considering this, do it in the open and on the record. Get competitive bids from independent management companies so the members can see the insider deal is genuinely competitive and not just convenient - our guide on whether an HOA has to get competitive bids for contracts explains why bidding is best practice even when it is not required. Put the arrangement in a written contract with a defined scope and fee, keep the interested director out of the negotiation and the vote, and have disinterested directors (and, for a significant contract, the members) approve it. Document the disclosure and the recusal in the minutes. If you are an owner worried about an existing arrangement, request the contract and the financials as association records and raise it at an open meeting; our guide on what a management company does sets a baseline for what the role should cost and cover.
How OurHOA helps
The danger with a board member wearing the manager's hat is that oversight quietly disappears - one person holds the records, the money, and the story. OurHOA is built so a small self-managed community can run itself with the books, vendor contracts, and decisions visible to the whole board and, where appropriate, the owners, rather than sitting with one insider. That transparency is exactly what keeps an interested-director arrangement honest, or makes it unnecessary in the first place. OurHOA is software for keeping a community's records and decisions organized and open, not a law firm; for whether a specific arrangement is allowed, check your governing documents and your state's nonprofit and HOA statutes.
OurHOA is the friendly, affordable way self-managed communities keep dues, records, and reminders in one place. See how it works.
These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.