When you buy a house in a community with a homeowners association (HOA), you are bound by its covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). Some of these that you agreed to in order to purchase the home of your dreams can later turn out to be more onerous than you anticipated.
What are a frustrated homeowner’s options in these cases? Can they fight back against an aggressively hostile HOA? Learn more below.
Pore over your HOA bylaws and CC&Rs
Just because something is written into the bylaws does not mean that it is 100% legal — or even enforceable. Three examples of potentially unenforceable HOA rules are:
- Anything that doesn’t comply with municipal, state or federal laws
- Rules put into place outside of the proper procedures
- Any inconsistent or selective enforcement of the rules
These are not the only situations where you might have a legal option to fight back against overly restrictive rules that prevent your full enjoyment of the property you own in the HOA community, however.
Could discrimination be involved in your dispute?
If you are a minority or member of another protected group whose status has protections under the umbrella of the Fair Housing Act, that opens up another avenue of defense for you. You may be eligible for assistance from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
What if the enforceability is less clear?
Real estate problems, which is typically the category into which HOA disputes fall, can be complex matters. In fact, most laypersons are ill-equipped to do battle against a lawyered-up HOA board. Learning more about the Texas laws affecting HOAs and property owners is always advisable.
