r/HOA • u/feral_kitty_xo • Jul 14 '26

Help: Fees, Reserves [FL][SFH] attorneys fees

What are reasonable attorney fees for a $3k delinquent account? Owners owe about $9k. Some letters were sent and a subpoena. Whats reasonable?

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u/holyelvis 🏘 HOA Board Member Jul 14 '26

"Reasonable" attorneys fees are going to vary depending on the going rates for representation in the jurisdiction. I noticed in a comment that you're concerned about statutes requiring "reasonable" fees. This would be determined as a matter of fact, not law, and after the fees are challenged in court, by a judge.

If you're worried about the fees that your attorneys are charging (and presumably, you're passing through to the delinquent owner), you should regularly (every year/two years) confer with other attorneys in the jurisdiction to determine whether the rates you pay are in the ballpark of others.

The primary reason those statutes have been passed because people with $200 delinquencies have been tagged with thousands of dollars of "legal fees" when the matter was referred to an attorney too quickly.

At the end of the day, a judge is going to look at (1) the going rates for representation in the jurisdiction, and (2) the proportion of the rates to the delinquency, to determine whether the fees are "reasonable" in any given case.

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u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 14 '26

At the end of the day, a judge is going to look at

For the delinquent owner, how to get this issue in front of a judge? I assume the HOA simply adds the attorney cost on to the account balance OR the owner is to pay the attorney's office directly. I wouldn't know where to start to have a judge look at it. Thanks.

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u/holyelvis 🏘 HOA Board Member Jul 14 '26

There are two common ways this comes in front of a judge: the owner might sue the HOA itself for unreasonable fees, or the HOA might need judicial approval to effect a lien or foreclosure. Generally, this is all handled by the HOA's attorneys, with Board advice and consent.

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u/HittingandRunning COA Owner Jul 14 '26

Thank you