Is assessing fines without hearing legal ?

Started by BillF5 • 5 replies • 1338 views

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BillF5 (Georgia)
Posts: 25

Posted:

Hi everyone,
I live in CA and I'm on the board for my HOA. Our current violation enforcement policy is:
1) First violation: letter sent citing violation
2) Second violation: letter sent to attend a hearing to discuss with the board, if not resolved at this time then a $50 fine is imposed and mailed out to homeowner
3) Continuing violation: letters sent to attend additional hearings to discuss with the board, if not resolved then a $75 fine is imposed
4) Repeat step 3) until violation is resolved

One of the board members wants to change things so that we fine in step 1). In other words he wants to be able to fine without giving the homeowner a courtesy letter or the chance to appear and discuss with the board. Needless to say I'm appalled by this, but there is nothing in the CC&Rs that seem to prohibit this and I'm concerned if other board members agree with him, in which case I'd have to resign from the board as I think that this seems to be completely illegal to me.

I was wondering what others thought about this, and if anyone is aware of any legal precedent or maybe something in the Davis-Stirling act that would make this kind of ruthless enforcement of rules and regulations illegal.

Thanks,
Bill Fleites

BillF5 (Georgia)
Posts: 25

Posted:

Oops, sorry for the double post (I guess I clicked the mouse twice).
Please respond to the other thread.

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Bill,
What can one say, when you pose the question like you did, It is now, if someone disagrees with you, they will be responsible for you resigning from the board. Not quite that bad , but close.
From where I sit, I would have to go with what your documents say. Now, if there is state law forbidding this, it should have been considered before the restrictions were put in there. Maybe this part of the covenants don't fit your association, then tweak the covenants. But my opinion has to be, it sounds alright to me. As far as being illegal, not even close, from my point of view. You get fines for parking tickets, speeding, not paying your bills, calling your doctor a "Quack", well that's a little to far out, but it is rare that, you get a hearing and then get fined. On our Island HOA, you get fined for speeding or trashing the neighborhood, or what ever, you want to appeal, you have to go before a Board of your peers, and your peers can be tough.

You sound like a nice enough guy Bill, may I suggest you spend a year learning the job, then see how you feel. First off, you don't serve you, you don't serve the people, you serve your association. That's the truth.

Most important.......................
Look the discussion page over, there is a post on there from JonD, I believe, if I am wrong, I will post and correct. He has today posted what his association sends out to new Board members or those aspiring to be Board Members. A great read.

BillF5 (Georgia)
Posts: 25

Posted:

Robert,
That's an interesting take. I just wanted to know if someone on the forum could state with certainty whether this is legal or not. From my point of view, if it is legal and my board approves it, my personal beliefs would not allow me to serve on a board that thinks this is a good way to treat your community. There's a fine line between enforcing rules and acting like a police state.

I've researched this quite a bit and every single HOA Rules and Regulations document that I've read online says that you cannot fine without first a courtesy letter, and secondly a hearing. Only after these two steps are taken can fees be assesed by the HOA. So far I've downloaded 20 such HOA documents.

On the Davis-Stirling website they even address this as follows.
https://www.davis-stirling.com/MainMenu/MainIndex/ParkingFines/tabid/1530/Default.aspx

QUESTION. Can the association fine an owner without a hearing for repeated parking in a fire lane? Our board has not had time to arrange for towing and wants to fine the owner.

ANSWER. Hearings are required before fines are levied. You can schedule hearings at your regular board meetings or for special meetings. If the person fails to appear, the board may impose penalties based on the evidence presented, i.e., testimony by the manager that the car was parked in the fire lane or a photo of the illegally parked car.

Another website that I use to educate myself on HOA issues listed below also states the same steps for enforcing rules and assessing fines.
http://www.hoaservices.com/fines.htm

If you'd like to respond please do so on the other thread I accidentally started since I'd like to hear what anyone has to say.

Thanks for your response,
Bill Fleites

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Bill,
My apologies.

The posting I suggested above is wrong, it was written some time ago, I will see if I can find it. You might want to search the search feature on this page for something like Board responsibility or Board duties or New Board Members.

BillF5 (Georgia)
Posts: 25

Posted:

No problem, thanks for the input. I'll try the search also.

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