What should our HOA board do about vandalism or graffiti on common property?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 28, 2026

What an HOA board does after vandalism or graffiti on common area: photos, police report, fast removal, insurance math, restitution and TX, FL, CO parent liability.

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

The short answer

Photograph everything, file a police report the same day, and get the damage cleaned or boarded up within 48 hours. Then decide whether the repair is big enough for an insurance claim, and ask the prosecutor for restitution if anyone is charged. If the vandal turns out to be a minor, Texas, Florida and Colorado all let the association go after the parents for some or all of the cost. Most of what goes wrong after vandalism is delay. Footage gets recorded over, the repair estimate never reaches the police, and a tag left up for two weeks invites three more. State law and your governing documents control the details, and this guide is general education, not legal advice.

Day one: document, report, secure

Before anyone scrubs a wall or sweeps up glass, take wide photos that show where the damage is, then close-ups with a tape measure or a coin for scale. Photograph every tag separately. Graffiti writers repeat their marks, so a photo of each one helps police tie separate incidents to the same person. Note the date and time you found it and when someone last saw the area clean, because that window is what you'll ask neighbors about. Pull clips from the association's own cameras right away and save them to a board folder with the camera name and time. Then call the police non-emergency line and file a report, even for a single spray-painted sign. Ask for the report number and the officer's name. Your insurer will want the number, and a record of repeat reports is what you show the department when you ask for extra patrols. Secure what's left. Board a broken clubhouse window, shut off water to a smashed fountain line, tape off a damaged playground piece until someone inspects it. That temporary work is fine to do before the insurer or police see the site, as long as the photos come first.

Give the police a dollar figure

In all three states, the dollar amount of the damage decides how serious the charge is, so get a written repair estimate to the officer or the case detective within a few days. A vague 'some paint on the wall' report gets filed and forgotten. Texas grades graffiti under Penal Code section 28.08 and other property damage as criminal mischief under section 28.03, both by the amount of loss. Under $100 is a Class C misdemeanor, and $2,500 or more is a state jail felony. In Florida, criminal mischief under section 806.13 is a second-degree misdemeanor at $200 or less, a first-degree misdemeanor above $200 and under $1,000, and a third-degree felony at $1,000 or more. A graffiti conviction there also carries a minimum fine of $250 for a first offense and at least 40 hours of community service, or where possible at least 100 hours that include removing graffiti. Colorado treats graffiti as criminal mischief under C.R.S. 18-4-501: a petty offense under $300, a class 2 misdemeanor from $300 to $999, and a felony starting at $2,000. Damage from one episode counts together, which is one more reason to photograph every tag. Tell the officer in writing that the association owns the property and is the victim, and name one contact. Otherwise the victim notices go to whoever called 911.

Claim it or pay it

Most association property policies cover vandalism, but the deductible decides whether a claim is worth filing. Get a removal or repair bid first, then compare. A $1,200 repainting job against a $2,500 deductible is an operating expense, not a claim. Twelve broken clubhouse windows and a burned bench at $14,000 against the same deductible is a claim. Pay small jobs out of the operating budget under a line such as 'common area repairs', and track each incident in one log with the date, location, cost and report number. If the log shows the same wall tagged five times in a year, that's the case for spending money on prevention instead of paint. For larger losses, notify the carrier promptly, send the police report number, photos and bids, and keep receipts for the boarding and cleanup. If the carrier pays and a vandal is later identified, the carrier may pursue that person for what it paid, so ask the carrier to include your deductible in that recovery.

Getting the money back from an identified vandal

When someone is charged, restitution through the criminal case is usually cheaper than suing. In Texas, Code of Criminal Procedure article 42.037 lets the sentencing court order the defendant to pay the value of damaged property, and a judge who orders none or only part must say why on the record. Florida section 775.089 goes further. The court generally must order restitution for damage or loss caused by the offense, and an unpaid order can be enforced like a civil judgment. In Colorado, C.R.S. 18-1.3-603 says every conviction order must consider restitution, and the prosecutor builds the amount from victim statements and other records. So contact the prosecutor's victim services office as soon as you learn a case was filed. Send the estimate or paid invoices, the deductible amount, and the photos, and ask to be listed as the victim. If nobody is charged but you know who did it, send a written demand with the invoices and a 30-day deadline, then consider small claims. Our guide on recovering repair costs when a driver damages common property has demand-letter wording and the small claims limits for Texas, Florida and Colorado.

When the vandal is a minor

Each of these states lets a property owner, including an association, recover from the parents of a minor who damages property. Texas Family Code section 41.001 makes a parent liable for property damage caused by a child's negligent conduct when it traces to the parent's failure to supervise, and for willful and malicious conduct by a child who is at least 10 and under 18. Section 41.002 caps recovery for willful and malicious damage at actual damages up to $25,000 per occurrence, plus reasonable attorney's fees, court costs and expenses. Florida section 741.24 lets an association recover actual damages and court costs from the parents of a minor under 18, living with them, who maliciously or willfully destroys or steals property. It has no dollar cap. Colorado C.R.S. 13-21-107 allows actual damages up to $3,500 from the parents of a minor under 18 who lives with them, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees. If the minor lives in the community, check whether your declaration makes owners responsible for damage by household members. That may let the board charge the repair to the owner's account after the notice and hearing your documents require. Call it a reimbursement, not a fine, and send the parents a copy of the invoice before anything posts to the account.

Making the next tag less likely

Speed matters more than anything else. Arizona State University's Center for Problem-Oriented Policing reports that rapid identification and removal reduces graffiti, because it takes away the display that many taggers want. Set a 48-hour removal target and keep a gallon of each common-area paint color, labeled with the color code, in the maintenance closet so a volunteer or vendor can match it the same day. For walls that get hit often, ask a painter to price an anti-graffiti coating. Sacrificial wax-based coatings let tags wash off with hot water, and harder polyurethane coatings suit steel and concrete that get tagged over and over. Then work on the spot itself. Motion-activated lights near the mailbox kiosk or the back of the pool house, thorny shrubs or vines against a blank wall, and trimmed hedges that no longer hide someone standing there all cost less than a year of repainting. Cameras help most when they cover a known problem spot and the board can pull footage quickly. Our guide on setting up common area security cameras covers where to point them, what the camera policy should say and how to hold a clip for police.

Wording the board can use

Notice to owners: "Sometime between the evening of [date] and the morning of [date], someone spray-painted the [pool house / entry wall] and broke [item]. We have filed a report with [agency], report no. [ ], and the area will be cleaned by [date]. If you saw anything or have camera footage from that window, please send it to [name] at [email]. We will share footage only with police and our insurer. Please don't post it on social media or confront anyone yourself." Standing motion: "I move that the board authorize the [treasurer / maintenance director] to approve graffiti removal and emergency repairs after vandalism up to $[1,500] per incident without a vote, to file police reports and restitution requests for the association, and to report each incident and its cost at the next board meeting."

Mistakes boards make

Cleaning first and photographing never, which leaves the police and the insurer with nothing. Filing no report because 'the police won't do anything', then finding the insurer wants a report number. Leaving a tag up for weeks while three bids come in, when a painter could cover it the next morning. Naming a suspect teenager in an email to the whole community, which invites a defamation claim and doesn't get the wall painted any faster. Forgetting to tell the prosecutor about the loss, so the restitution order says zero. Paying the same $400 cleanup ten times a year instead of spending $2,000 once on lighting and a coating.

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.

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