TONS OF QUESTIONS!! Posting delinquent website & property managers (renters) pay monthly, yearly or monthly dues?

Hi Todd,

It sounds like you are a bit frustrated with delinquent accounts in your Association.
Are you on the Board or just a concerned member?
I ask because the advice may be different.

Also, what State are you in? There may or may not be laws that apply and it appears that this forum isn't showing State information for everyone.


This has been the topic of discussion many times on this forum. It's going to depend on State laws and your governing documents. Until we know the State you are in, I wouldn't want to provide a specific yes or no answer.

Do you think posting the names will help or hurt?
It may cause animosity amongst the membership and, if the person can't pay because they are out of work, then the only thing the posting of this information might do is cause an uproar in the Association.


The Association must deal with the member for non-payment and not the property manager unless you have been instructed by the member to deal with them for payment of assessments.

It's possible that the member thinks the assessments are being paid and the property manager is not forwarding any issues to them. We actually had this happen in our Association. Once we started making the member aware, then things were corrected very quickly (and that property manager lost was fired).

If your in Florida, the Association may legally collect the rent to pay assessments. However, this is not the case in other States.


This depends on your State laws and if it conflicts with any other document.

One thing you must understand is that the Association is not involved with the rental process. There is no contract between the Association and the tenant or the Association and the property manager. The only contract you have is with the member (the contract being the CC&Rs).

Typically, you must treat each member equally. If one member can pay monthly than all members are allowed to pay monthly.

What is your process for nonpayment (interest, late fees, etc.)?
How long does the Association wait before filing a lien ?


My Association does an annual assessment. Members are given the option to pay annually, quarterly or monthly. Some pay annually, some quarterly and some monthly.

We also encourage members to use bill pay through their bank. The member has to set it up, but once it's done, the bank automatically sends a check each month to the Association. Most banks provide this service for free.

Some Associations have set up the ability to accept credit cards and even do monthly charges on the card. What options does your Association provide?

Tim

We only ever offered a discount for paying everything in full at the beginning of the year. This was when the Association needed the cash flow to meet bills. Now that we have a contingency fund in place, we no longer offer the discount.

Since you are the administrator of the site, you know that any changes (like listing delinquent members) should be approved by the Board first.

Todd,

Legally there is a big difference in making the names of delinquent members known to other members, and making that information public.

In the first case, it is very likely permitted or even required. Members have a right to know details of the financials of an Association.

In the second case, you will likely be in violation of the tort that prohibits public disclosure of private facts about a person (even if the facts are true). You could be sued.

If your web site is public, then posting scofflaw's names to the web site is probably a bad idea. If it requires a log-in that is restricted to members it is probably okay.

A derogatory sign visible in a public area or from a public street is also a bad idea.

When it comes to living in a HOA, apply the "Golden rule". How would you feel if someone posted your information if you were behind in payments? There are various reasons one may be behind. Those can be from protest to hardship. To post the information in hopes of embarassing or pressuring a person into paying is wrong.

Our HOA ONLY the board members were privy to the collections reports. Plus we ONLY discussed the lot number and NOT the person when referencing what member owed what. Granite that others could probably figure it out on their own who we were talking about BUT it was a professional way of referencing the debt. A HOA doesn't need to subject itself to vigilantism.

Some states like Florida do allow for the tenant to pay the back dues on the behalf of the owner. However, many states don't allow this. You have to collect from the owner only. To find the owner may take some additional research but they can be found. Plus the correspondence such as official notices have to go to the HOA's members address in the HOA. They may live somewhere else, but an official notice needs to be delivered to the actual address in the HOA. That doesn't mean a copy can't go to their other address. It means you must make sure delivery has been attempted to the address in the HOA as it is their official address as a HOA member. This will help in court. Many people try the old "I was never notified...It was sent to my other address" excuse. Proof you sent it to the HOA address whether or not they live there usually shows proper notice.

Todd:

as much as i sometimes want to "call out" folks who don't pay their dues I would not recommend going throught the process of posting said information. HOA's have a hard enough time of bridging the gap between the board and homeowners on an every day basis so the introduction of something where the benefits (money) are severely outweighed by the negative isn't a road i would travel down.

I am sure you have heard the wise adage of pick your battle carefully, this isn't a battle I would start.

Lincoln,

Welcome to the forum.

It's best not to reactivate old threads as laws change.
This means that what may have been good advice in 2012 is bad advice in 2017

Tim