What should our HOA board do when one of its own directors is behind on dues?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 26, 2026

When an HOA director falls behind on dues: run the normal collection steps, keep them out of their own file, and know Florida's 90-day seat rule and Texas limits.

Part of the HOA board handbook: treasurer and money.

Collect it like any other account

Run the director's account through the same collection policy, on the same dates, with the same letters and fees as every other owner. Take the director out of every discussion and vote about their own balance. Then check whether state law or your bylaws end the seat, because that part differs sharply by state. Florida ends it automatically: a director more than 90 days delinquent is deemed to have abandoned the seat. Texas goes the other way and voids most governing-document limits on who may run for the board. Colorado has no statute on the point, so your bylaws decide. Rules also vary with your declaration and bylaws, and this guide is general education, not legal advice. Have the association's attorney look at your documents before the board treats a seat as vacant.

Florida: the seat ends at 90 days

For homeowners' associations, Florida Statutes section 720.306(9)(b) does two things. An owner who is delinquent on any fee, fine or other monetary obligation on the last day to be nominated may not run, and their name stays off the ballot. A sitting director who becomes more than 90 days delinquent is deemed to have abandoned the seat, which creates a vacancy filled under the normal rules. The statute counts a delinquency on any parcel, so a director who is current on their home but behind on a rental lot in the same community is caught too. Condominiums have a parallel rule in section 718.112(2)(p), and it covers officers as well as directors. Section 718.112(2)(d) bars a condo owner who is delinquent in any assessment from being a candidate. The board does not vote anyone off. The seat ends by operation of law, so the secretary should write down the date the account passed 90 days and tell the director in writing. Unless the bylaws say otherwise, section 720.306(9)(c) lets a majority of the remaining directors fill the vacancy, even if they are fewer than a quorum. Section 720.306(9)(b) also says the board's past actions stay valid if a director later turns out to have been ineligible, so a vote cast on day 95 does not undo itself. Do not lean on that: stop counting the director's vote once day 90 passes. The statute does not say whether signing a payment plan stops the clock. If a director asks for a plan on day 80, get the attorney's answer before telling them the seat is safe.

Texas: you probably cannot keep them off the ballot

Texas Property Code section 209.00591(a) makes void any provision in a dedicatory instrument that restricts an owner's right to run for the board, except as that section allows. The exceptions cover residency for some seats, seats elected by section, two people living in the same home, and certain criminal convictions. Delinquency is not one of them. A bylaw that says only owners in good standing may run is likely unenforceable as written. Section 209.0059(a) also voids provisions that would bar an owner from voting in a board election. So in Texas the main tool is collection, not disqualification. Send the notices section 209.0064 requires before a collection agent's fees can be charged: certified mail, the amounts owed, the payment plan option and at least 45 days to cure. Offer the plan your section 209.0062 guidelines describe, on the same terms anyone else would get. If owners want the director gone, removal runs through the process in your bylaws. Ask your attorney before using a good-standing clause against a sitting director, because 209.00591 may reach it.

Colorado: the bylaws decide, and the referral vote matters

The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act has no provision like Florida's, so look for a good-standing clause in your bylaws and follow its exact wording. What the statute does control is the collection process. Under C.R.S. 38-33.3-209.5(1.7)(a)(I), the association must first contact the owner about the delinquency and keep a record of the contact. Under 209.5(1.7)(a)(II), an account goes to a collection agency or attorney only after a majority of the board votes to refer it in a recorded vote at a meeting held under 38-33.3-308(4)(e). That subsection lets the board take up a referral of delinquency in executive session, and the owner who is the subject may ask for the result of the vote. When the owner is a director, that director does not attend the session and does not vote. Section 38-33.3-310.5 applies the nonprofit conflict-of-interest rule in C.R.S. 7-128-501 to board members, and 209.5 requires a written conflict policy, so follow yours.

Keep the director out of their own file

Disclosure and recusal should be routine, not a confrontation. The director states the interest, leaves the room for the item, and the minutes say so. If a payment plan with a director needs approval, have the disinterested directors approve it. Texas Business Organizations Code section 22.230 treats a contract between the corporation and a director as valid when the facts are disclosed and a majority of the disinterested directors approve it in good faith, even if they are fewer than a quorum. Two practical moves matter more than the statutes. If the delinquent director is the treasurer, hand that one account to another officer: someone else posts the payments, sends the letters and answers the director's questions. And keep the board packet clean. List the account by lot number in the aging report, as you would any other. Where you discuss it depends on the state. Texas section 209.0051(c) allows executive session for enforcement actions and matters that would invade an owner's privacy, with the decision summarized in general terms in the minutes. Florida section 720.303(2) closes board meetings only for attorney meetings about litigation and personnel matters, so Florida boards handle the vote in open session, by account number. Texas section 209.005(k) also says the association need not release an owner's payment records to other owners, which is one more reason not to talk about it outside the meeting.

A sample timeline

Adjust the days to your collection policy and your state's notice periods. - Due date, then the grace period in your documents. - Day 30: the standard reminder and late fee, sent by whoever handles the account, not by the delinquent director. - Day 45: the president or another director calls privately, says the policy runs the same for everyone, and, in Florida, gives the date the seat will end. - Day 60: the formal notice your state requires, such as the Texas 209.0064 certified letter. - Next board meeting after the cure period: referral vote taken without the director, in executive session where the state allows it. - Florida, day 91: the secretary records the vacancy and sends the director a letter. The board fills the seat at its next meeting. - If the account is paid in full: the director returns to normal participation, except in Florida, where the seat is already gone and the owner can run again at the next election.

Wording the board can copy

A letter to the director: "Dear [name], The association's records show a balance of $[amount] on [lot or unit], past due since [date]. This is the same notice every owner receives at this stage under the collection policy the board adopted on [date]. Because you serve on the board, you will not take part in any discussion or vote about this account, and [officer] will handle it. [Florida only: Under Florida Statutes section 720.306(9)(b), a director who becomes more than 90 days delinquent is deemed to have abandoned the seat. For this account, that date is [date].] If you would like to set up a payment plan, please contact [officer] by [date]." A line for the minutes: "Director [name] disclosed a personal interest in agenda item 6 and left the meeting at 7:42 p.m. On a motion by [name], seconded by [name], the board voted 4 to 0 to refer the account for lot 112 to the association's attorney under the collection policy. Director [name] returned at 7:55 p.m."

Mistakes boards make

Waiving a director's late fees as a courtesy. Other owners eventually find out, and a board that gave a colleague a break it refuses everyone else has a selective enforcement problem in every later collection case. Our guide on handling owner requests to waive HOA late fees covers how to write criteria that apply to everyone. Letting the delinquent director keep the checkbook or the ledger. Even with good intentions, it puts the person with the overdue balance in charge of recording what they paid. Removing the director by board vote when the bylaws give removal to the owners. In Florida the statute does the work. Elsewhere, follow the bylaws or leave the seat alone. In Texas, striking a delinquent owner from the ballot under a good-standing clause that section 209.00591 likely voids. Talking about it in the community Facebook group or at the annual meeting. Report delinquency totals to owners. Keep names out. For the steps that apply to every account, see our guide on the past-due dues timeline for boards.

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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