What can an HOA board do when an owner ignores fines and keeps violating the rules?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 8, 2026

What an HOA board does when an owner ignores fines: audit the file, collect the balance, suspend rights, send a demand, and vote on an injunction in TX, FL and CO.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Stop adding fines and make one decision: does the board want the money, or does it want the violation gone? Those are separate cases. An owner who has stopped answering has already shown that more fines won't change the outcome. The board has four tools left: suspend amenity rights where the law allows, send an attorney's demand letter, sue for the balance, or ask a court to order compliance, which is an injunction. Most of these cost more than the fines are worth, so choose by what the violation does to the community. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents. This guide is general education, not legal advice, and the association's attorney should review the file before anyone files anything.

Audit the file before you escalate

Read the file the way the owner's lawyer will. Check each of these: - The rule. Cite the exact section of the declaration or the adopted rule, and confirm the documents let the board fine. - The notice. Texas Property Code section 209.006 requires certified mail that describes the violation, gives a cure date and states the right to request a hearing by the 30th day after mailing. Florida section 720.305(2)(b) requires 14 days' notice of a hearing before a committee of at least three owners who are not directors, officers or employees. Colorado section 38-33.3-209.5(1.7)(b)(III) requires certified mail, return receipt requested, and a 30-day cure period. - The amount. Florida caps fines at $100 per violation and $1,000 in total for a continuing violation unless your documents say otherwise. Colorado bars daily fines and caps a violation that doesn't threaten health or safety at $500 in total. Take anything over the limit off the ledger now. - The neighbors. If three other homes have the same fence, expect a selective enforcement defense. Notice them all first. - The clock. Colorado section 38-33.3-123(2) gives one year to sue over a building restriction, starting when the association knew or should have known. Florida section 95.11(2)(b) sets five years for actions on a written instrument, and Texas has a residual four-year period in Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.051. Ask your attorney which deadline applies. If you find a defect, send a fresh notice and start over. That costs a few weeks, far less than losing on it in court.

If you only want the money

Sometimes the fence came down and $600 is still on the ledger. That is a debt, and little secures it. Texas section 209.009 and Colorado section 38-33.3-209.5(8)(c) bar foreclosing when the lien debt is only fines and the attorney fees tied to them. In Florida, a fine under $1,000 cannot become a lien under section 720.305(2). Texas section 209.0063 also applies payments to assessments before fines, so an owner can stay current on dues while the fines sit unpaid. That leaves three routes: - Small claims. Colorado small claims takes fine disputes up to $7,500 under section 13-6-403(1)(b)(I). Our guide on filing a small claims case for unpaid dues covers the filing and the other state limits, and the steps carry over to fines. - Waiting for the sale. Keep the fine on the owner's statement. A Texas resale certificate must state the total due under section 207.003(b)(4), and a Florida estoppel certificate under section 720.30851 asks about open violations. - Writing it off. A $75 fine on a cured violation may not justify a filing fee and a volunteer's day in court. Vote on it, record the reason and treat similar accounts the same way. Colorado also requires a recorded majority vote before a delinquent account goes to an attorney or collector, under 209.5(1.7)(a)(II).

Suspending rights

Florida. Section 720.305(3) allows suspending common area use when a fine or other debt is more than 90 days delinquent, and section 720.305(4) allows suspending voting rights on the same trigger. Neither needs another hearing, but section 720.305(5) requires approval at a properly noticed board meeting and written notice to the owner afterward. You cannot block access to the home or the right to park. Texas. Section 209.006(a) requires the same certified notice before suspending common area use. Section 209.007(d) allows a temporary suspension without it only for a common area violation involving significant and immediate risk of harm to others. Don't touch votes: section 209.0059 voids document provisions that disqualify an owner from voting. Colorado. The act sets no general suspension procedure, so the power has to come from your declaration, and your enforcement policy should spell out the process.

Send a demand that sets up attorney fees

Ask the attorney to send one final letter. It costs far less than a filing and sets up fee recovery, which has its own rules: - Texas. Section 209.008(a) lets the association recover fees only if the owner got written notice that fees will be charged if the violation continues after a set date. Under section 209.008(b), fees incurred before the hearing ends, or before the hearing request deadline passes, can't be charged to the owner. - Florida. Under section 720.305(2)(g), fees can't begin to accrue until after the date noticed for payment and the time for an appeal has expired. - Colorado. Section 38-33.3-123(1)(b) limits recoverable fees for a non-payment violation to the lesser of $5,000 or 50 percent of the association's actual costs from the failure to comply. Wording to give your attorney as a starting point: "The violation described in the notice dated [date] remains uncured. If [specific action] is not completed by [date], the board has authorized its attorney to seek a court order requiring compliance. Attorney fees and costs will be charged to your account as allowed by [section] and Article [__] if the violation continues after that date."

What each state requires before suit

Texas. Section 209.006 notice comes before most suits against an owner, other than suits to collect assessments or foreclose. Section 209.007(d) drops the notice and hearing steps if the association files for a temporary restraining order or temporary injunction. Florida. Section 720.311(2)(a) requires a demand for presuit mediation in the statutory form before suing over a covenant dispute. The parties split the mediator's fee, and an owner who refuses to take part gives up attorney fees even if they win. The requirement does not cover collecting a fine, and it lets you ask for emergency temporary relief first. Colorado. Section 209.5(1.7)(b)(III)(B) requires two consecutive 30-day cure periods before legal action, with an inspection within seven days after each one if the owner has not reported a cure. A violation that threatens health or safety gets 72 hours instead. Small claims can also hear restrictive covenant cases when compliance would cost $7,500 or less, under section 13-6-403(1)(b)(II). Your dispute policy under section 38-33.3-124 may add a step. California. Civil Code section 5930 requires an attempt at alternative dispute resolution before most suits for an injunction in superior court.

Decide whether an injunction is worth it

Sue when the violation creates a safety problem, blocks an easement, damages common property, or will spread if it stands. A faded mailbox doesn't qualify. If a crew could fix it in an afternoon and the declaration allows entry, use self-help, as our guide on cleaning up a neglected lot and billing the owner explains. If it also breaks a city code, call the code office. Know who pays if you lose. Florida section 720.305(1), California section 5975(c) and Colorado section 38-33.3-123(1)(c) award fees to the prevailing party, which can be the owner. Texas Property Code section 5.006 awards fees to a prevailing party who brought the covenant claim, and section 202.004(c) lets a court assess up to $200 a day in civil damages. Before the vote, get answers in writing from the attorney: - What will this cost through a temporary injunction hearing, and through trial? - What is the owner's best defense on this file? - How much of the cost can we realistically recover? A motion the secretary can record: "Moved that the board authorize [attorney] to seek a court order requiring the owner of [lot or account number] to comply with Article [__], at a cost not to exceed $[amount] without further board approval."

A sample timeline for a Texas fence

A fence over the height limit, which the owner can cure: - Day 0: Certified 209.006 notice with a 30-day cure date. - Day 30: Hearing request window closes. No request and no cure. - Day 37: The board levies the fine under its schedule. - Day 67: Reinspection, no change, fine unpaid. The file goes to the attorney. - Day 80: Demand letter with the 209.008(a) fee notice and a 21-day deadline. - Day 101: No response. The attorney's written budget goes in the board packet. - Day 110: Board votes on the motion above. - Day 120 on: Suit, then settlement talks or a hearing. Colorado's second cure period adds about a month. A Florida file adds the committee hearing before any fine and a mediation demand before suit.

Mistakes that lose these cases

- Stacking fines past the state cap or the fine schedule, then asking a judge to enforce the total. - Letting a director negotiate with the owner by text while the attorney works the file. - Waiving a fine for a friend of the board, then suing someone else over the same rule. - Waiting a season to see what happens, then missing Colorado's one-year limit.

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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