How do we get the developer to deed the common area to the HOA when it was never conveyed?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 19, 2026

How an HOA board finds common area still titled to the developer, asks for a deed, handles a dissolved developer, and when quiet title is the last resort.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Many planned communities discover years after turnover that the pool lot, the detention pond or the entrance strip is still titled to the developer. The plat labels it common area and the declaration says the declarant will convey it, but nobody ever recorded a deed. Fix it in this order: confirm what the county records show, ask the developer for a deed and get it recorded, and if the developer is gone, use the state's winding-up rules for dissolved companies before you spend money on a lawsuit. Don't assume the turnover statutes solved this for you. Florida, Colorado and Texas all regulate when owners take over the board, but none of them has a general rule that forces a developer to deed common land to the association. The duty to convey usually comes from your own declaration and plat, which is why those documents matter more than any statute here. Rules vary by state and by the community's governing documents. This is general education, not legal advice, and title work should go through a real estate attorney or title company.

Find out what the association actually owns

Start with a parcel list. Look up every common parcel on the county appraisal district or property appraiser site and write down the owner of record, the parcel number and the taxable value. Then pull the recorded plat, the declaration and every amendment from the county clerk or recorder, and note each place they describe common area, open space, reserves or tracts, and what they say about conveyance. Declarations often say the declarant 'shall convey' common area by a stated date, at turnover, or before the last lot sells. Copy that sentence exactly. If the records disagree, or a parcel is missing from the appraisal roll, order an ownership and encumbrance report from a title company. It shows the current vesting deed and any mortgages, liens or easements on the parcel. That matters because a developer's construction loan often covered the whole subdivision, so the common lot may still sit under a lender's mortgage that needs a partial release before the association takes title. Our guide on how to hire a land surveyor to mark HOA common area boundaries helps when the plat and the ground don't match.

Why the board should not let it ride

Title in the developer's name causes problems that grow over time. Property tax is the first one. Texas Tax Code section 23.18 gives nominal value only to property owned by a qualifying homeowners' organization, so a common lot still in the developer's name can be appraised at market value, and an unpaid tax bill on a parcel owned by a defunct company can end in a tax sale. Florida section 193.0235 is kinder: it bars separate taxation of common elements regardless of ownership. Colorado folds common element value into each unit under C.R.S. 38-33.3-105(2), but in a planned community 38-33.3-103(5)(b) defines common elements as real estate owned or leased by the association, so land still titled to the declarant may not get that treatment. Our guide on how to protest the appraisal of HOA common area property covers the tax appeal itself. Beyond tax, the association cannot grant a utility easement, sell a strip to a neighbor or sign a cell tower lease on land it doesn't own, and its insurer may question coverage for property held by someone else. A developer's creditors can also reach land the developer still owns.

What the turnover statutes do and do not cover

Florida section 720.307(4) requires the developer, within no more than 90 days after members are entitled to elect a board majority and at the developer's expense, to deliver a list of records. The first item is 'all deeds to common property owned by the association.' That reaches deeds the association already holds. It does not, by its words, make the developer convey land it still owns. Section 720.307(1) sets the turnover triggers, including three months after 90 percent of the parcels are conveyed and the developer's abandonment of its duty to maintain or complete common areas. Colorado section 38-33.3-303(9) requires the declarant to hand over all property of the owners and the association within 60 days after owners elect a board majority, but only large planned communities must turn over copies of recorded deeds. Texas Property Code section 209.00591 governs owner seats on the board during declarant control, at least one-third elected by owners within 120 days after 75 percent of lots are conveyed, and chapter 209 has no list of turnover deliverables at all. So the board's strongest tool is the declaration's conveyance promise, read alongside these statutes.

Ask the developer for a deed

If the developer still exists, most of these cases end with a letter and a signature. Send a written request to the company's registered agent and to the principal you dealt with at turnover. Name each parcel by legal description and parcel number, quote the declaration's conveyance language, and ask for a special warranty deed, or a quitclaim deed if that is all they will sign, conveying the parcel to the association by its exact corporate name. Ask the developer to obtain any lender release, and offer to have the association's attorney prepare the deed and pay the recording fee, since that removes the usual excuse. Sample paragraph: 'Section [x] of the Declaration recorded at [book/page or instrument number] requires the Declarant to convey the Common Area to the Association. Our review of county records shows the parcels listed below remain titled to [developer]. Please sign and return the enclosed deed within 30 days. The Association will pay all recording costs.' Then adopt a board motion: 'I move that the board accept the deed from [developer] for the parcels listed in the attached exhibit, subject to the attorney's title review, and direct the secretary to record it and update the association's insurance and tax records.'

When the developer has dissolved or will not answer

A dissolved company can usually still sign a deed. In Florida, section 607.1405 lets a dissolved corporation dispose of its property while winding up and says dissolution does not transfer title, and section 605.0709(2)(b) lets a dissolved LLC transfer title to its real estate. Colorado's 7-114-105 and 7-80-803.3(3) say the same for corporations and LLCs. Texas Business Organizations Code section 11.356 keeps a terminated entity in existence for three years after termination to hold and liquidate property and settle unfinished affairs. Look up the entity on the Secretary of State site, find the last officers or managers, and ask one of them to sign as winding-up officer. Florida and Colorado also let a court appoint a receiver or supervise the winding up when nobody can be found. If no one will sign, the remaining route is a lawsuit: a quiet title action under Florida chapter 65, a trespass to try title suit under Texas Property Code section 22.001, or a quiet title action under Colorado's court rules, often paired with a claim to enforce the declaration. Those take months and cost real money, so get an attorney's estimate before the board votes to file.

A sample timeline and the mistakes to avoid

Month 1: build the parcel list and pull the plat and declaration. Month 2: order title reports on the problem parcels and check the developer's entity status. Month 3: send the deed request with a 30-day response date. Month 4: record the deed, or decide whether to pursue the winding-up officer or hire counsel. Month 5: send the recorded deed to the appraisal district and the insurer, and update the association's records. Common mistakes: assuming the plat label 'common area' means the association owns the land, when a plat shows intended use, not title; accepting a deed in a slightly wrong association name, which creates a new title problem; recording the deed without clearing the developer's mortgage; paying the developer's property taxes without counsel's advice; and waiting. Every year the developer's people get harder to find, and claims against a terminated Texas entity are generally barred unless brought within three years after termination under section 11.359. Our guide on what developer control is and how turnover works explains the handoff this problem usually comes out of.

Sources

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.

More on living with an hoa

Or browse all living with an hoa guides.