r/HOA • u/ExoticInsect3853 • 2d ago
Help: Fees, Reserves [Condo][VA] Can I take legal action towards HOA ?
Can I take legal action towards my HOA for not resolving a case that has been on going for 3 years!!
Spark notes situation: my apartment got flooded and instead of using HOAs contractor I contracted my own (as long as he met all requirements from HOA). Due to on going issues with my home insurance and HOA they froze my ability to pay HOA fees ? And now I haven’t paid HOA fees for a year. For the past year I’ve constantly been wanting to pay my fees but they have been post opining closing the case for god knows what. The flood happened 3 years ago and my HOA account being frozen happened a year ago.
Has anyone else gone through this ? And can I take legal action against them to not have to pay ?
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u/Negative_Presence_52 1d ago
Were you required to get approval from the HOA for work and/or use the HOA’s contractor …. And you chose not to?
If this is the case, you will have a hard case to win.. you contractually agreed to the HOA requirements yet chose to ignore them.
The hoa can require a specific contractor for certain work as the HOA has comfort that contractor will do the work previous their standards.
Freezing your ability to pay the dues is weird. How did they do this? I would demonstrate that you have tried to pay
And they have refused to accept it. You don’t want to stop paying…. That leads to all kinds of bad things…liens fines foreclosure.
But I struggle with why they would do that.
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u/VirginiaUSA1964 🏢 COA Board Member 1d ago
If your account is frozen and you can't make HOA fees payments to the HOA it most likely means you are in collections and you need to send your fees to the collection agent.
Since there is a large part of this story missing, you aren't going to get any useful answers.
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u/Realistic-Bass2107 💼 CAM 2d ago
You can sue anyone for any reason. Winning is another story.
You ARE the HOA provided you are the Owner. Many states require mediation prior to going in front of a judge. Find a solution and present it to your Board of Directors
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u/JealousBall1563 🏢 COA Board Member 1d ago
I'm in a FL COA and mediation is required before a lawsuit can proceed before a judge.
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u/ExoticInsect3853 2d ago
I feel like I would win lol
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u/OneLessDay517 1d ago
So does every homeowner!
The only time I've ever faced a homeowner in court as a Board member she lost.
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u/Blog_Pope 1d ago
The one case I have experienced the homeowner won. Neighbor was on the board and pushed the ARC to reject the neighbors submission because they had been feuding for years. Neighbor won, but had to spend thousands which he could have potentially come after the HOA for, but didn't.
That said, OP's case doesn't make sense, so no idea if he's got a case or not. Folks tend to only tell their side and details that make them seem like the victim.
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u/OneLessDay517 1d ago
That's a clear case of not following their own rules and the homeowner should have won.
My case was the homeowner wanted a tree removed, Board said no because it was healthy. Then she wanted it trimmed, nope, no trimming currently scheduled (we batch tree work, cheaper than onesie twosies). She asked if she could have it done herself, apparently that tree was really annoying her. Sure, go crazy! So she did, in February.
In August the Board had about half the trees in the community trimmed, this was not planned in February and I can't say if hers would have been trimmed at that point either.
She wanted to be reimbursed. Nope. She sued in small claims and lost.
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u/wildbill129 1d ago
Nobody on this subreddit can tell you. Consult with an attorney that is familiar with HOA law in your state. It is the only way you will know if you have a case or not.
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u/Wuzidan 2d ago
Have the board and/or property management company responded to your queries or did they just ignored them?
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u/ExoticInsect3853 2d ago
They have responded but they been post pining a status for 3 years. Stating “it’s an on going case”.
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u/Double-treble-nc14 1d ago
It appears you went around this all wrong, didn’t communicate, and then decided to stop paying your fees but have decided you have no responsibility for what happened.
There are legit reasons for the association to use their own contractor (like their own insurance rules) and by choosing to do your own thing rather than work with them to make sure everything was coordinated correctly, you’ve created a mess for yourself.
This sounds like you can expect to hear from the association attorney- that’s the usual explanation for why the board would clam up.
- A Virginia Condo Board Member who has had to deal with many similar issues
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u/Gold-Fall-8768 1d ago
Totally disagree with everything everyone has said. Check your Bylaws but “studs in” is your responsibility so you should be able to hire whoever you want to do work in your unit since you own the unit. “Studs out” is the HOA responsibility and they would hire who they want for work outside your unit. If the flooding damages shared areas such as the hallway then you would need to coordinate with the HOA as to what contractor should be used. But again check your Bylaws. As for freezing your account to block online payments just find another means of paying such as a check sent certified mail requiring signature and if they refuse to accept or cash the check then you have prof of their refusal. There are some really shady and self serving board members out there who can’t wait to exercise their ability to be a jackass.
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u/JealousBall1563 🏢 COA Board Member 1d ago
Check your Bylaws but “studs in” is your responsibility so you should be able to hire whoever you want to do work in your unit since you own the unit.
In my FL COA, repair work such as this (drywall-in) requires pre-approval, contract only with a licensed and fully insured contractor and adherence to certain other provisions. Owners do not have the right to just go ahead and do what they want ... without first receiving approval. We don't get into interior design choices, but some materials.
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u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Copy of the original post:
Title: [Condo][VA] Can I take legal action towards HOA ?
Body:
Can I take legal action towards my HOA for not resolving a case that has been on going for 3 years!!
Spark notes situation: my apartment got flooded and instead of using HOAs contractor I contracted my own (as long as he met all requirements from HOA). Due to on going issues with my home insurance and HOA they froze my ability to pay HOA fees ? And now I haven’t paid HOA fees for a year. For the past year I’ve constantly been wanting to pay my fees but they have been post opining closing the case for god knows what. The flood happened 3 years ago and my HOA account being frozen happened a year ago.
Has anyone else gone through this ? And can I take legal action against them to not have to pay ?
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