Can fines be issued if none are listed in the CCRs?

A few years ago, the Texas legislature passed a bill requiring that HOAs include, in their governing documents, information about fines. They are required to include a list of all offenses which could incur fines, the amounts of the fines, and the procedures for contesting or appealing them.

Our lethargic, do-nothing HOA board has never implemented this legislation, despite the repeated requests of several of the more responsible residents. At this moment, our governing documents still contain NO mention of fines, fine-able violations, or anything of the sort, although it does contain typical restrictions on things like fence heights, yard maintenance, building materials, prohibited activities, etc.

That being the case, can the board legally fine someone for an offense, such as not keeping a yard up, parking a boat in the street, painting a house green with pink polka dots, or any other violation? To think about it, does the board have any authority at ALL?

Thanks

There isn't, except for the usual boilerplate language about collecting overdue annual assessments. So, for example, if chain link fences were disallowed, and a resident built one anyway, could the board issue a fine, or would they have to just eat it?

Ron,
We are left to take your word on your CC&Rs and By Laws. In most documents they have a very generic section on violations that just state the first offense is a warning letter and then another and after the third offense the fine is issued. Are you saying you see none of that mentioned?

How many Homes or Condos in your association?

Are you still under developer control?

How many members are on your board?

Ron,
Hate to say it but a for sale sign might be the best suggestion I could give you. It sounds to me like violations and fines are the least of the HOAs troubles. Do you have owners who are breaking that many rules, and this is why you bring this issue up?

Most HOA documents are mostly cut and pasted from developers last community with name changes. Have you looked into an HOA attorney that can create or get his hands on one of those documents?

Lots of work to make it right. I am not even close to being a lawyer, but it may be worth asking the question would it be easier to dissolve the HOA than try to rebuild it. We have a contributor named EllN who make be able to make some sense of your issues.

Can a hoa in texas fine members?

AI answer:
Yes, a homeowners' association (HOA) in Texas can fine a parcel owner who violates its regulations if the association's governing documents grant the board the authority to do so. Some governing documents explicitly state this authority, while others may only imply it. If the governing documents don't include provisions for fines, they can be amended.

Once the authority to fine is granted, the HOA must develop an enforcement policy and make it available to property owners. This policy should outline the fines that can be levied for each category of violation, and include a fine timetable. The HOA must make the policy available online or provide copies to property owners by mail, email, or hand delivery.

When deciding how much to fine someone, it's important to avoid setting the amount too low or too high. A good range is between $25 and $50 per violation.

This AI answer is pure applesauce (cr-p). Why?

Where does it say this in the posting rules?

ElleN's answer was clearly labeled as produced by AI, so the alert reader can judge whether or not to put any faith in the accuracy of the information. Unfortunately so much of what we see on the internet is AI-generated. I vaguely remember reading that Google's search results are now generated in part or in total by AI - which means that our consensus of "reality" is now in the hands of a private, for-profit entity that nobody has appointed to this position. We're doomed.

Back to the original question...

I've never seen CC&Rs that spell out fining offenses specifically and in detail. Instead CC&Rs will usually have sections that address two different things: covenants (you must do this) and restrictions (you must not do this). They also often give the board the right to impose fines for failures to abide by the terms of the CC&Rs, and then it's left up to the board to develop and adopt a fining schedule that fleshes things out.

Putting this level of detail in CC&Rs would be inadvisable. The amendment process would be onerous, and the level of detail would make approval less likely. Increasing complexity also increases the odds of ending up with inconsistent and mutually exclusive requirements. Communities also could find themselves handcuffed by CC&Rs that regulate everything they do.

Heaven save us from lawmakers with good intentions....

If it's not in writing, it cannot be legally enforced. The board should know that, too. So it could issues fines, but legally, the recipient would not have to pay the fine.

I agree.

I realize you have one foot out the door (understandably). But if you are going to stick around, consider amending the Declaration or maybe, Bylaws. Amending the Declaration is far better.

This particular Texas topic ("when can a HOA fine?") has some finer points. But in the interests of brevity, I am going to leave these alone until someone else starts probing more and maybe ends up at the wrong place.

-- I agree. We are doomed.

-- If enough people or even bots put up enough misinformation on topic XYZ on the internet, then the subsequent AI responses will include the misinformation.

-- I wish the HOATalk.com site rules would say "Posting of AI answers is not allowed, except to point out not to rely on AI." But this is not really all that enforceable. Who will stop someone from posting a well-written AI response, with blatant substantive errors even, where the poster does not indicate AI generated the response?

-- I do continue to feel that AI can help people improve their writing (though not fact finding).

Are you sure, Ron, tt your have all of your governing document?? These would include -- in order of their authority -- your CC&Rs, aka Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, or "Declaration," or "Deed Restrictions." Next, your Articles of Incorporation or Certificate of Formation. I don't. know TX.lingo.

Next your Bylaws, which I believe you must have if you are a corporation.

Yep, the sign was the proverbial stray.
However, it actually went back to making exterior changes without approval.

Unfortunately, as you saw in the article, it cost that Association dearly because a board thought they were right and their attorney (apparently) not telling them otherwise.

As Cathy wisely said:

Putting this level of detail in CC&Rs would be inadvisable. The amendment process would be onerous, and the level of detail would make approval less likely. Increasing complexity also increases the odds of ending up with inconsistent and mutually exclusive requirements. Communities also could find themselves handcuffed by CC&Rs that regulate everything they do.