Homeowners Association

An organization comprising neighbors concerned with managing the common areas of a subdivision or condominium complex. These associations take on issues such as salting and sanding a subdivision when it snows and collecting dues from residents.

The homeowners' association is also responsible for enforcing any covenants, conditions & restrictions that apply to the property.

A homeowners' association (abbrev. HOA) is a legal entity created by a real estate developer for the purpose of developing, managing and selling a development of homes.

It allows the developer to exit financial and legal responsibility of the community, typically by transferring ownership of the association to the homeowners after selling off a predetermined number of lots.

It allows the municipality to increase its tax base, but reduce the amount of services it would ordinarily have to provide to non-homeowners association developments. This article covers this type of HOA.

Most homeowners' associations are non-profit corporations, and are subject to state statutes that govern non-profit corporations and homeowners' associations. State oversight of homeowners associations is inconsistent from state to state.

Some states have a strong body of homeowner association law such as Florida and California, and some states have virtually no homeowner association law such as Massachusetts.