Our HOA management company stopped responding to the board. What do we do?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 11, 2026

What an HOA board does when its management company stops answering: secure bank access, escalate in writing, use TX, FL and CO rules, then fix it or fire them.

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

The short answer

Treat silence from a manager as a risk to the association's money first and a service problem second. In the first week, confirm that two officers can see every bank account and every owner payment portal without going through the company. Then read the management agreement for the response times, the named manager and the default clause, and escalate in writing past the assigned manager to whoever runs the firm. Give one deadline. If nothing changes by then, send the notice the contract requires and line up a replacement. A quiet manager does not pause the association's own duties. Owner records requests, vendor bills and insurance renewals keep their deadlines, and the board answers for them. Rules vary by state and by the community's governing documents, so use this as education, not legal advice, and bring in the association's attorney before you terminate.

Lock down money and logins this week

Before anyone writes an angry email, the treasurer should answer five questions. Which accounts exist, at which banks, under which tax ID? Who can move money out of each one? Can a board officer log in and see balances today? Where do owner payments land, and who controls that portal? Are the reserve accounts held by the association or swept into a company account? Call each bank and ask for a list of authorized signers and online users. If no officer has online access, ask each bank what it needs to add view-only access for the treasurer and president. Do not remove the manager's access yet. Pulling it in a panic can leave payroll for the landscaper or the insurance premium unpaid. You want visibility now and control later, on the day you decide. Pull the last three months of bank statements directly from the bank and compare them with the last financial report the company sent. A gap between the two is a different and more urgent problem. Call the association's attorney and the bank that day.

Find out what the contract promises

Get the signed management agreement and any amendments. If the company holds the only copy, that is the first thing to ask for in writing. Read it for five things: the person named as the community's manager, any promised response time for board email or phone calls, the list of meetings the manager must attend, the reporting schedule for monthly financials, and the default or termination clause, including the notice method and cure period. Mark each promise the company has missed, with dates. 'Board email of March 3 about the pool contract, no reply as of March 24' is useful. 'They never answer' is not. A short log kept by one director, usually the president or secretary, turns a frustration into a record the board can act on and an attorney can use.

Escalate in writing, one level at a time

The cause may be a manager carrying too many communities, or one who left the firm without anyone telling the board. Skip past the assigned manager and write to the firm's owner, president or regional director. Copy the assigned manager. Send it by email and by the notice method the contract names. Wording the board can adapt: 'The board of [association] has not received responses to the requests listed below, sent between [date] and [date]. Section [X] of our management agreement requires [the promised service]. Please confirm by [date, 7 to 10 days out] who our assigned manager is, how to reach that person, and when each listed item will be completed. If we do not receive that confirmation, the board will consider its options under section [default clause].' Attach the log. One letter, one deadline, one list. Firms respond to that faster than to a stream of messages from five different directors. Agree that only the president sends it.

What Texas, Florida and Colorado law requires of a manager

Florida is the most detailed. Section 468.431(2) of the Florida Statutes requires a license for paid community association management once the association has more than 10 units or a budget over $100,000. Section 468.4334(1)(a) says the manager or firm acts as the association's agent and must perform 'loyally, skillfully, and diligently' and account for all funds. Section 468.4334(3) requires the manager or firm to attend at least one member or board meeting in person each year, to give members each assigned manager's name, contact information, hours of availability and duties, and to update that information within 14 business days of a change. Section 468.4334(4) requires the return of all official records within 20 business days after the contract ends or after the firm receives a written request for them, whichever comes first, so a board can demand its records without firing anyone. If the firm ignores you, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation takes complaints. Under section 468.436 it must acknowledge a complaint within 30 days and can fine a manager up to $5,000 per count or suspend a license. In Texas, the Property Code puts the duties on the association. Section 209.004 requires a recorded management certificate naming the person who manages the association, and an amended certificate within 30 days after the association has notice of a change. If your manager has quietly left the firm, that clock may already be running. In Colorado, the manager licensing section of the common interest ownership act, C.R.S. 38-33.3-402, is repealed. HB 26-1099, effective August 12, 2026, added section 38-33.3-317(9): when an association that uses a management company ends or does not renew the contract, the former company must deliver all money, records, account information, passwords and keys within 45 days at no charge, or pay $250 for each business day it is late. Section 38-33.3-209.4 gives the association 90 days to update owners after the management company changes. The steps for that handover are in our guide on getting HOA records back from a former management company.

Owner deadlines keep running while the manager is silent

Owners send requests to whatever address the association publishes, which is usually the manager's. The clock often starts there. Florida section 720.303(5)(a) gives the association 10 business days after receipt 'by the board or its designee' to make official records available, so a request sitting in an unanswered company inbox still counts against the association. Texas section 209.005(f) requires production within 10 business days of the request, or a written notice by then that sets a date no later than 15 business days after the notice. Colorado section 38-33.3-317(4.5) makes the association liable for $50 a day, starting on the 11th business day, up to $500 or the owner's actual damages, if it fails to allow inspection within 30 days of a certified-mail request. Ask the company in your escalation letter for a list of every open owner request, architectural application and violation file, with the date each arrived. Until the problem is fixed, have the secretary check the published association email every few days and answer anything with a deadline.

A 30-day plan and a motion the board can use

Day 1: treasurer confirms bank and portal access and pulls statements. Days 1 to 3: president starts the log and gets the contract. Day 5: escalation letter to the firm's principal, with a 7 to 10 day deadline. Days 5 to 15: the board asks two other firms for proposals so it has a real alternative. Day 15: board meeting. Either the firm has fixed it, with a named manager and a schedule, or the board votes on the contract's default notice. Days 15 to 30: cure period runs as the contract states. Sample motion: 'I move that the board authorize the president to send [firm] written notice of default under section [X] of the management agreement, listing the missed obligations in the attached log, giving the cure period the agreement requires, and that the board solicit at least two replacement proposals for review at the next meeting.' Record the vote in the minutes. A notice sent by the wrong method or without the cure period can put the association in breach, which our guide on dealing with an HOA vendor who is not doing the work covers in more detail.

Mistakes boards make with a silent manager

Changing bank access before deciding to leave. It can bounce vendor payments the company still handles, and the board ends up running the books by accident. Letting every director email the firm. Five conflicting messages give the company an excuse and muddy the record. Pick one sender. Forgetting the auto-renewal date. Many agreements renew unless notice arrives a set number of days before the term ends. Put that date on the board calendar the day you find it. Announcing the dispute to owners too early. A post calling the firm incompetent invites a defamation threat and hurts the handover. Tell owners only what they need, such as a temporary address for records requests. Firing without a replacement. A gap of even a month means missed bills, no one answering the after-hours line and a pile of owner payments with nowhere to go.

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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