How do we hire an attorney for our HOA?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 5, 2026

How an HOA board hires an attorney: general vs collections counsel, vetting, fee terms, the engagement letter, who may call the lawyer, and TX, FL and CO rules.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Hire before you need one. Pick a firm whose lawyers spend most of their time on community associations, check each candidate's license and discipline record, ask three boards they work for how it goes, and get the fee terms and the scope in a signed engagement letter. Then pass a resolution that names the one or two people allowed to call the lawyer and caps what they can spend without a board vote. A board that shops for counsel the week a lawsuit lands ends up with whoever calls back first, at whatever rate they quote. Most self-managed associations with 26 to 150 homes need a general counsel relationship and a collections arrangement, often with the same firm, and little else until something goes wrong. Rules differ by state and by your declaration and bylaws, and this guide is general education for board members, not legal advice.

Decide which kind of lawyer you are hiring

General counsel answers the board's questions: reading the declaration, reviewing a vendor contract, drafting a rule or an amendment, and telling you whether a planned fine follows the statute. Collections counsel sends demand letters, records liens and files suit on delinquent accounts, and usually works on a fee menu. Litigation counsel defends the association when it is sued, and in many cases the directors and officers insurer picks or approves that lawyer, so read the policy before you promise the work to anyone. Specialty work, such as a construction defect claim against a builder, often goes to a separate firm, sometimes on a contingent fee. Write down which of these you are hiring for now. It keeps the interview focused and stops a general counsel search from turning into a debate about a lawsuit you do not have.

Find candidates and check them

Ask nearby self-managed boards and your insurance agent who they use, and look for lawyers who write or speak on association law in your state. In Florida, The Florida Bar certifies lawyers in condominium and planned development law. Certification requires at least five years of practice, 40 percent or more of the lawyer's practice in that field over the three years before applying, 50 hours of continuing education, peer review and a written exam, and it lasts five years. Texas and Colorado have no equivalent certification for this field, so rely on experience and references. For every candidate, look up the license on the state bar or supreme court attorney search and read any public discipline. Then ask the conflict question directly: does the firm represent the developer, the management company, a director personally, or an owner who is in a dispute with you? A firm that represents the builder you may someday sue over the retaining walls is the wrong general counsel.

Questions to ask in the interview

How many associations does the firm represent, and how many are self-managed like yours? Who will do the work day to day, and what are the hourly rates for the partner, the associate and the paralegal? Does the firm bill in tenth-of-an-hour increments, and does it charge for short emails and calls? Which tasks come at a flat fee, such as a demand letter, a lien, a resale review or a one-page opinion on a rule? For collections, which fees are charged to the delinquent owner's account, and what does the association pay if the owner never pays? How fast does the firm return a board call, and who covers when the lawyer is in trial? Will it attend the annual meeting, and at what cost? Ask each firm for the same written fee schedule so you compare like with like. Invite two or three firms, give each 30 minutes, and have the treasurer keep a one-page score sheet.

Put the terms in the engagement letter

The engagement letter is the contract, so read it the way you would read a landscaping bid. It should state the client, which is the association and not any director. It should give the scope, the hourly rates and flat fees, how and when rates change, any retainer and whether it is refundable, how invoices are itemized, who may give instructions, who owns the file, and how either side ends the relationship. The professional conduct rules set the floor. Texas Disciplinary Rule 1.04(c) requires a lawyer who has not regularly represented the client to communicate the basis or rate of the fee, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after starting the work, and Rule 1.04(d) requires a contingent fee agreement to be in writing. Colorado Rule 1.5(b) goes further and requires the fee basis and the scope of the representation to be communicated in writing, along with any later change in the rate. Do not accept a verbal quote. Keep the signed letter with the association's contracts.

Decide who may call the lawyer

Under Texas Disciplinary Rule 1.13(a), a lawyer retained by an organization represents the entity, and Florida and Colorado apply the same organization-as-client rule. The board acting as a board is the client, which is why a director who calls counsel on their own about a neighbor's fence is running up the association's bill for advice the board never asked for. Adopt a short resolution that names the president and one backup as the only contacts, requires a board vote for any single matter expected to cost more than a set amount, and has the contact report every call at the next meeting. Keep legal advice inside the board. Forwarding counsel's opinion to the membership can waive the privilege, and our guide on whether the HOA attorney represents you too explains who holds that privilege. Put a legal line in the budget based on the last two years of invoices, and have the treasurer report spending against it each quarter.

State rules that shape a collections arrangement

Collections counsel works inside statutes that the board, not the lawyer, must follow first. In Colorado, section 38-33.3-209.5(1.7)(a)(II) lets the association refer a delinquent account to a collection agency or an attorney only if a majority of the executive board votes to refer it in a recorded vote at a meeting, and a manager cannot make the referral without that vote. Section 38-33.3-316(11)(a)(II) requires a recorded board vote to authorize a foreclosure action against a specific unit and bars the board from delegating that decision to an attorney, insurer or manager. Colorado also caps what the association can pass on to the owner. Section 38-33.3-123(1)(a)(II) limits the attorney fees charged to a delinquent account to $5,000 or 50 percent of the amount owed, whichever is less, and (1)(c)(II) applies the same limit to a court award in a collection suit unless the court finds the owner was able to pay and willfully did not. Under (1)(g), the dollar figure has been adjusted every August 1 since 2025 for Denver-area consumer prices. On a $1,200 delinquency, half is $600, so most of a $2,000 demand-and-lien bill stays with the association. Ask a Colorado firm for flat collection fees that fit under the cap, and budget for the rest. In Texas, section 209.0064(b) bars the association from charging the owner for a collection agent's fees until it sends a certified-mail notice listing each delinquent amount and the total due, describing the owner's options to avoid referral, including any payment plan the association must offer, and giving at least 45 days to cure. Read section 209.0064(c) before you sign a collections deal: the owner is not liable for those fees if the association's duty to pay the collector depends on what gets recovered, or if the agreement does not require the association to pay all of the collector's fees. A law firm that regularly collects consumer debts can be a collection agent under the statute's federal definition, so a "we only get paid when the owner pays" arrangement can leave the fees uncollectible. Section 209.0064(d) also bars an agreement that stops the owner from contacting the board about the delinquency. In Florida, section 720.3085(3)(d) requires a written notice of late assessment by first-class mail, in the statute's form with 30 days to pay, before the association can charge the owner attorney fees on a past-due assessment. Ask each firm how it builds these steps into its process. Our guide on the past-due dues timeline for boards walks through the full sequence.

A sample timeline and motion

Month 1: the board agrees on the scope and names two directors to run the search. Weeks 2 to 4: they collect names, check licenses and conflicts, and request fee schedules. Weeks 5 and 6: short interviews with two or three firms and reference calls to boards each firm represents. Week 7: the board votes in open session and the president signs the engagement letter. Week 8: the board adopts the contact resolution and sends counsel the declaration, bylaws, rules, the last audit or review and a list of open issues. A motion the board can adapt: "Motion to engage [firm] as general counsel to the association under the engagement letter dated [date], at the rates stated in that letter; to designate [president] and [vice president] as the only persons authorized to request legal services; and to require board approval before any single matter exceeds $[amount] in fees."

Mistakes boards make

Hiring a friend who does wills and real estate closings because they gave a discount. Hiring the developer's lawyer after turnover, which leaves the association with a lawyer who cannot bring claims against the developer. Letting five directors email the firm separately and paying for five answers. Signing an engagement letter without reading the collections fee terms, then learning the association owes fees the owner never paid. Treating the management company's preferred firm as the association's firm without asking who that firm owes loyalty to. Skipping the budget line, so the first real dispute forces a special assessment. And waiting until a lawsuit is served, when the insurer, the answer deadline and the owner's lawyer are all moving faster than the board. For what to do in that first week, see our guide on what to do when an owner threatens to sue the HOA.

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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