Holiday Party /Social Event

Started by WillieJ • 5 replies • 243 views

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WillieJ (Illinois)
Posts: 1

Posted:

Our HOA has 70 homes and we pay HOA dues yearly. We only have maintenance on common areas, no major projects or repairs because the development is fairly new. Homeowners are responsible for taking care of their own properties (grass cutting and snow removal).

My question is can a HOA pay for a one-time holiday party/social event free of charge for its residents? Lawful or unlawful?

AugustinD
Posts: 1,027

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By WillieJ on 09/19/2022 12:24 PM
My question is can a HOA pay for a one-time holiday party/social event free of charge for its residents? Lawful or unlawful?

Many HOAs/COAs do, justifying the value of this and rationalizing IMO that certain parts of the governing documents (CC&Rs and Bylaws) do permit spending money on a holiday part or other social events.

This topic comes up a lot here. I believe this forum's members are pretty evenly split on the subject.

If the Board authorizes the expense, don't go overboard dollar-wise. Don't serve booze, and I say, no BYOB either (though I think some HOAs/COAs do). Don't disallow children (and invite a Fair Housing complaint). Have a clean-up crew. You know.

MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 462

Posted:

Wille,

Our HOA has a small social budget that we could use for things like this. It's only a small amount of money, and designed to get the community together and put on something fun. It is nice that the HOA does something that makes people smile, since compliance letters and delinquency notices don't do that at all.

As Augustin said, keep it small, low budget, and focus on bringing neighbors together.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

This is something should be a majority vote of the neighbors. If they agree to use their HOA funds for a holiday party, maybe limit it to like "Will bring the meats you bring the sides" potluck. We had ours at our clubhouse for Halloween but we did not provide anything. Just the venue to use.

I don't see any harm for or against it except when it's not in accordance to the operation of the HOA. Some people may not believe their money should go to social events. Since your HOA is new it may set a precedence. So be careful as budgets will get tighter over the years just like buttholes...

Former HOA President

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

What do your CCRs say about how HOA funds are to be used?

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

As Augustin mentioned, opinions around here are divided on social events. My own opinion is divided: I think it's hard to justify spending the money if the CC&Rs don't mention social events specifically, but I recognize the benefits of having them.

If your CC&Rs don't justify such spending, you can always hold self-funded events such as a potluck. That seems to be the best of both worlds.

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