Non-Compliance Fines

We have several residents in our community that have boats and trailers parked in their driveways. It is a direct violation clearly stated in the covenants. Everyone in the community received a two page letter two months ago asking for help in following the covenants, especially the items that weren't subject to speculation or "gray areas" in interpretation. One residents has chosen to ignore our requests, others have complied. I am composing one last letter to send to this resident (to be sent certified via the USPS) asking him to comply with the covenants or face a fine for failure to abide by the covenants. Our covenants grant the board the right to fine but doesn't offer guidelines on what the fines could/should be. For those who have had to levy fines for non-compliance, what kind of fines did you levy? Daily/weekly/monthly???????

I can't speak for Georgia, but I would advise you to also check your state statutes regarding HOAs. I know that my state's statutes do have some things about fines (maximum allowed by law). As an example from my state:

The association may levy reasonable fines of up to $100 per violation against any member or any member’s tenant, guest, or invitee for the failure of the owner of the parcel or its occupant, licensee, or invitee to comply with any provision of the declaration, the association bylaws, or reasonable rules of the association. A fine may be levied for each day of a continuing violation, with a single notice and opportunity for hearing, except that the fine may not exceed $1,000 in the aggregate unless otherwise provided in the governing documents. A fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien against a parcel. In any action to recover a fine, the prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs from the nonprevailing party as determined by the court.

Michael,
Do you have a violation escalation procedure? If so, follow it (or change it to be useful if it isn't), and if not, create one.

Ours goes something like this:
1) Friendly letter requesting compliance within some time period, noting penalties for failure to comply
2) Official notice of a violation with set amount of time to comply, noting penalties for failure to comply
3) Notice that they're in default of the violation notice

At that point we can do any/all of the following (supported directly by our governing documents):
Seek a court order
Fine them
Enter upon their property to correct the violation

For repeat violations, we can skip past the first 3.

The more I deal with these things, the more I'm inclined to go the legal route.
Why?
A fine can turn into an unpaid lien. i.e. it has no teeth unless the HOA wants to eventually foreclose
I'm not willing to have a violation corrected by the HOA without a court order supporting it.
Plus, the delinquent unit pays court costs & attorney fees (here anyhow) so it costs the HOA nothing.

I agree with Ann - "Personally, I don't agree with fines for violations. The last headache I would want would be the obligation to try to collect on fines. I also think it opens up too much possibility for abuse, if not by a current Board then by a future Board." I've seen cases of abuse and Boards inconsistently go after certain residents while bypassing others. And that opened up a whole new case.

Additionally, I don't think that a fine can become a lien on the property. HOA fees and fines are separate issues. If the resident wasn't paying the HOA fees then there could be a lien placed on the property. But I'm not sure about fines.

Victor,
Whether or not fines can become liens is a state by state matter. Some states permit it while others do not, which is why so many answers to questions are dependent on where the HOA is located.

Yes, absolutely agree. I've been a HOA resident in three states, and the laws varied state by state.