Mailbox Special Assessment

We live in a single family home development governed by an HOA. We received a letter regarding a special assessment being used to replace all the homeowners mailboxes at the expense of the homeowners. Our mailboxes are on our property and considered our responsibility to maintain as well as the land it sits on.

Now as I am all for new mailboxes, I am against the way the HOA is handling this. So let me set this up.

During our yearly meetings with the board last Nov there was nothing brought up about any special assessments and nothing regarding mailboxes.

Fast forward to March of this year there was a small blurb in our 8 page newsletter about the board wanting to move forward with new mailboxes in May. No info on style, cost to homeowners or payment terms were mentioned.

Now on April 19th we receive an email stating that starting May 1 the association will be installing new mailboxes on each homeowners lot and that each mailbox would cost $250 each with full payment due on May 1 or you have the option to break it up into 5 mo payments of $50. Unless you set up your HOA dues to be on auto withdrawal, in which case you will be billed 100% on May 1. And threats in the letter that if payment is not fulfilled by Oct there will be late fees and liens on your home. In the letter they refer to the special assessment section of our Covenants to validate their decision.

Under Article V section 2 it states that the board can levy assessments for capital improvement. But this does not state whether or not such capital improvements are for the common areas or for personal property. And since the upkeep of the mailboxes are the responsibilities of each homeowner then these cannot be considered part of the common area.

Under Article V Section 3 it states that prior to the commencement of each fiscal year the Board shall estimate the total amount of the Annual Expenses which are to be anticipated to be incurred by the association during such fiscal year. Once again this was not brought up last year.

Article V section 5 - under the terms of a special assessment in this section it state that Special Assessments can only be use to cover improvements of the common grounds or areas maintained by the association.

There is a section about voting but it does not state that homeowners are needed to cast a vote on special assessments.

So my question is does the HOA have the right to force the homeowners to change their mailboxes, pay for the expenses - especially in the time frame given - and should we fight it? I know a few of us are unhappy with them and how they have handled this. For most, it is not about the cost, but the principle of the matter.

- Craig

IMO, the answer would be no. They don't have the right to charge an special assessment for something outside the authority of the CCRs. As you stated, and I am sure it would be somewhere in your CCRs, either the mailboxes are the homeowners respectability or it would say they are the responsibility of the Association. As you posted the capital improvement is authorized for common area expenses. Is where your mailboxes sit considered common area?

The other consideration is the amount being spent and the limitation a Board might have without membership[ approval.

It sounds like the HOA is doing this out of consistency. They want the same/similar design/size for all residents. Which is nearly impossible if you allow owners to purchase their own mailboxes. The easiest solution is to pool everyone's money together in a special assessment to make that happen. May even offer a cheaper solution if bought in mass. Plus installation expenses. Mailboxes do have to be installed at a certain height.

We have light posts in our front yards. However, over the years they break or need replacement. There is an approved type and supplier. It is up to the owner to comply to those recommendations. Which over the years has become somewhat of a variance. Including the wattage of bulb put in them. The HOA isn't responsible for paying or replacing for these lights in the common area. It is responsible for the approval and consistency. It may be cheaper in the future as time goes by for the HOA just to do a special assessment for an entire overhaul of all the mismatched light posts. Sounds like your HOA is doing something similar.

The mailboxes are not part of any common area and they are listed under the architectural section of home owners responsibilities.

Sorry, it is the 1120 or 1120 H

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1120h.pdf

Just as an update. I emailed our board, the management company and posted on Nextdoor.com a breakdown of the covenants. Particularly the parts that cover Special Assessments, questioning the board authority to force the homeowners to purchase the new mailboxes and the two week notice of payments being due. The management company apparently ran my comments by their lawyers and is not putting this on hold for now and called a special meeting in three weeks to discuss the project. They did state that no voting will take place at this meeting but they wanted to open it up to all homeowners for questions and to see the mailbox they are proposing.

I don't know if I am in the minority of homeowners that is against this so I am not sure what push back I will get from those that are not on the board but we will see. I plan to go into this well prepared with a breakdown of the covenants and my list of questions. So I hope they are prepared to have solid answers.