From fines and fees to unexplained expenses we commonly hear your complaints about issues some of you are having with your homeowner’s association. Investigator Amy Davis is getting answers to your HOA related questions.
Part of the problem people have with their HOA is that homeowners often don’t know what the rules are so they can’t get answers. Attorney David Kahne represents homeowners in battles against their HOA’s. He joined Amy Davis for an episode of Ask Amy.
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Q: Are there any restrictions to how much an HOA can increase dues from one year to the next?
A: Maybe.
“So, the short answer to that is it depends. In general, the answer is no. There’s no statutory limit. And the reason is there may be an unusual expense that comes up in the homeowner’s association. If they need to fix the pool, fix the clubhouse. There may be additional costs that they need to pay. And the only people to pay that are the homeowners. In fact, my very first homeowner’s association case involved a situation where, the subdivision had a limit that said no more than either 10% or the cost-of-living increase in any given year. And your subdivision may have that,” said Kahne.
Q: How do I know what the rules are for my HOA?
A: Your subdivision has to make all records like the by-law’s public. Here’s how Kahne explains this -
“Those are the restrictions, or the bylaws are supposed to be readily available to homeowners. Sometimes they are. And in those subdivisions, I don’t hear from people. But if they’re not readily available, what do you do? You go to the county registry of deeds. And if it’s too difficult to navigate that, and it can be difficult to navigate that, then you can go to the Texas Real Estate Commission, where at least all the subdivisions are supposed to list all of their governing documents and where to find them.”
The Texas Real Estate Commission has an easy way to search for your subdivision. It should direct you to the records you need.
RELATED: New HOA laws in Texas
Q: What’s the best way to confront my HOA board if they won’t help with an issue?
A: Kahne explains why recruiting your neighbors in your battle with your HOA is a good idea.
“I do say that the problem is that if you’re by yourself several you run into several problems first. Lawsuits are expensive, but second, you might be retaliated against. And so, I very typically will recommend to homeowners that before they think about a lawsuit, think about getting together a group of people who share your views, or at least you have some overlap. So they may want something and you may want something. And how can you work together. And that has several good effects. The first is you’re more likely to win. You’re more likely to at least be able to get some people elected to the board. If you have to go to court, then a judge is much more likely to care about it. If it’s 25 or 50 people who say this is a problem,” he said.
Kahne says judges have a lot on their plate and to get their attention having a big group helps a lot. So, and of course, it’s much harder for a board to retaliate against 25 or 50 people than it is to retaliate against just you.
Q: Is it true you can go to small claims court or JP court to take on your HOA?
A: Yes, but it won’t be simple.
“You can go to justice court, what they now call it. But it is what I think of as JP court. A lot of people still call it that, the justices of the peace. And there was a relatively recent statute two sessions ago that stated that homeowners can go to JP court. The problem is the JP courts can’t do very much. They exist to sue for money. So, if the homeowner’s association owes you money, you can sue them. But they typically do not have authority to order the association to do something,” said Kahne.
Related HOA topics from Amy
Watch the full Ask Amy episode on HOA’s on KPRC 2 + right here.