A resident says a neighbor is harassing them. What should our HOA board do?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 8, 2026

What an HOA board does when a resident reports neighbor harassment: safety first, intake, fair housing duties, enforcement steps, and TX, FL and CO rules.

Part of the HOA board handbook: residents and communication.

The short answer

Do not answer "that's a private matter" by reflex. Plenty of neighbor fights are private. Some are not, and the board can't tell which until it has written down what happened. Within two days, get the report in writing, send anything involving a threat or violence to the police, and sort the report into one of three groups: a safety problem, harassment tied to a protected class, or an ordinary feud. The board can't arrest anyone or issue a protective order. It can enforce its own documents, and it should not sit on a report of harassment aimed at someone's race, religion, disability or children. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents. This guide is education, not legal advice.

The first 48 hours

Name one director to handle the report. Pick someone who is not a friend of either household, and have any director who is a friend step out. - Ask for a written account: dates, times, places, what was said or done, who saw it, and what the resident wants to happen. Ask for texts, photos and doorbell video. - Ask whether anyone is in danger and whether police were called. Write down any report number. - If someone was threatened or hurt, tell the resident to call 911. Do not send a director to the neighbor's door. - Keep the report among directors. Nothing goes in the community Facebook group or a newsletter. - Keep every email, photo and note. If the report mentions a lawsuit or a protected class, call the attorney and ask whether to notify the D&O insurer. Then reply in writing, even if you have no answer yet. Copy this: "We received your report on [date]. The board is reviewing it and will tell you by [date] what steps it can take under the governing documents. If you feel unsafe, call 911. Please send any new incidents to this address so we keep one record." Give a date you can meet. A week is reasonable.

Sort the report into one of three groups

Safety. Threats, following someone, physical contact, damaged property, or a stream of messages. Police come first, and any board enforcement runs alongside the police report, not in place of it. Protected class. Conduct tied to race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability. Examples are a slur left on a door, notes about a family's kids, or mocking someone's wheelchair at the pool. Those are the federal categories, and state and local laws can add more. Call the attorney that week. Ordinary feud. Noise, a barking dog, a parking grudge, a property line argument, or two people who can't stand each other. Use the nuisance clause or offer mediation. Reports move between groups. A parking fight can turn into a racial slur on the third incident, so sort again each time a new report comes in. Do not ask the resident to prove what the neighbor was thinking. Write down what they saw and heard.

Why a fair housing report changes the board's job

HUD's rule at 24 C.F.R. 100.600 defines hostile environment harassment as unwelcome conduct severe or pervasive enough to interfere with the use or enjoyment of a home. Under paragraph (c), one incident can be enough if it is severe. 42 U.S.C. 3617 separately bars coercing, intimidating or threatening someone over their fair housing rights. The part aimed at boards is 24 C.F.R. 100.7(a)(1)(iii). A person is directly liable for failing to take prompt action to end a discriminatory practice by a third party when the person knew or should have known about it and had the power to correct it. That power depends on the person's control or other legal responsibility over the third party. Paragraph (a)(2) adds that prompt action cannot include anything that penalizes or harms the person targeted. Courts split on this. In Wetzel v. Glen St. Andrew Living Community (2018), the Seventh Circuit said a landlord with actual notice of tenant harassment based on protected status can be liable if it chooses not to take any reasonable steps within its control. In Francis v. Kings Park Manor (2021), the Second Circuit held that a landlord cannot be presumed to have enough control over tenants to be liable for tenant-on-tenant harassment. Both cases involved landlords, not HOAs. Texas, Florida and Colorado sit in other federal circuits, so ask your attorney how courts there treat it. Our practical read: a board that fines over trash cans and holds a nuisance clause will struggle to explain why it did nothing about slurs. Watch for retaliation too. 24 C.F.R. 100.400(c)(6) prohibits retaliating against someone who reported a discriminatory practice to a housing provider, so a sudden run of violation letters to the person who complained is a serious mistake.

Find your authority, then follow your state's steps

Read the declaration for a nuisance or offensive conduct clause, any conduct rules for the common areas, and the clause making owners answer for tenants and guests. If the documents give the board nothing, tell the resident so in plain words. If you do enforce, use your state's process: - Texas. Before a fine, a common area suspension, or most suits against an owner, Property Code 209.006 requires written notice by certified mail. The notice describes the violation, offers a reasonable period to cure if the violation is curable and poses no threat to public health or safety, and tells the owner a hearing can be requested on or before the 30th day after mailing. - Florida. Section 720.305(1) binds members, tenants, guests and invitees, and allows suits against each, with attorney fees to the prevailing party. Under 720.305(2), fines run up to $100 per violation unless the documents say otherwise, and the board must give 14 days' written notice and a hearing opportunity before a fine or suspension. A suspension cannot block access to the home or parking. - Colorado. C.R.S. 38-33.3-209.5(1.7)(b) bars daily fines. A violation the association reasonably determines threatens public safety or health gets written notice and 72 hours to cure. Other violations get certified mail and 30 days. Follow your enforcement policy under 209.5(1)(b)(IV) too. Our guide on suspending an owner's amenity access walks through that step. If conduct continues after fines, ask the attorney about an injunction. When a tenant is the problem, notify the owner and the tenant.

What to send the neighbor

Ask the resident before you send anything, since the details may reveal who complained. Then send a short letter that states the report and reaches no conclusion: "The association received a report that on [date] at [place], [describe the conduct in neutral words]. Section [number] of the declaration prohibits [quote the clause]. The board has not reached a conclusion. If this occurred, it must stop. You may respond in writing by [date]. Any fine would follow the notice and hearing process in the governing documents." This is a warning letter. It does not replace the certified notice Texas or Colorado requires before a fine. In a fair housing report, have the attorney review it, and add a line that retaliating against anyone who reports a concern is prohibited. Keep names out of open meetings. Texas Property Code 209.0051(c) allows executive session on enforcement actions and owner privacy, with a general summary in the minutes. Colorado's 38-33.3-308(4)(e) allows closed discussion of matters that would invade individual privacy, including disciplinary hearings. Florida's 720.303(2) exemptions are narrower: attorney meetings about proposed or pending litigation, and personnel matters. Keep Florida agendas general and ask counsel before closing a meeting.

What to tell the resident about police and courts

The board should not guess in writing whether conduct is a crime. It can point the resident to the right place. - Texas. Penal Code 42.07 covers harassment, including threats and repeated electronic messages. Code of Criminal Procedure article 7B.001 lets a stalking victim apply for a protective order regardless of their relationship to the other person. - Florida. Section 784.048 defines harassment and stalking. Under 784.0485, the clerk may not charge a filing fee for a stalking injunction petition, must help petitioners, and must provide simplified forms. - Colorado. C.R.S. 18-9-111 covers harassment. Under 13-14-104.5, courts can issue civil protection orders to prevent threatened bodily harm and stalking, and the person seeking one does not have to show a police report was made. Never discourage a resident from going to the police, HUD or a state agency, and never make board help depend on them staying quiet.

A sample timeline, and the mistakes to avoid

- Day 0 to 2: one director takes the written report, checks safety and sends the acknowledgment. - Day 3 to 7: sort the report, read the documents, call the attorney if needed, and send the warning letter once the resident agrees. - Day 7: tell the resident what steps the board will take. Details of any discipline can stay private. - Day 14 to 30: check in. If it continued, start formal notice. If it is a true feud, offer both households one mediation session, and say the board won't pick a side on facts it can't prove. The mistakes that hurt boards most: - Telling the person targeted to avoid the pool or move out. Section 100.7(a)(2) speaks directly to that. - Sending a director to confront the neighbor. - Closing the file without replying. - Fining without the notice your state requires. If the anger turns on directors, our guide on handling a hostile homeowner covers threats against volunteers.

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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