By unanimous consent, the Board adopted the first Fine and Enforcement Policy. This policy establishes the guidelines for the Board when enforcing the CC&Rs against homeowners who are out of compliance as well as the rights granted to homeowners under the law.
Article 7.15(a) of the CC&Rs establishes that fines assessed may not exceed the then in effect annual assessment, per violation. For homeowners, this means that beginning January 1, 2015, the maximum that any homeowner may be fined is $319 per violation, which is equal to the 2015 annual assessment. This does little to motive those who wish to disregard the restrictions and pay the penalty instead. This is why, the policy establishes that once the violator has reached the maximum allowable fine amount based on the set timetable, the immediate next step is for the Board to seek injunctive relief.
If successful, the non-compliant homeowner shall be accountable to the court from that point forward, for as long as they own the property. Therefore, the decision for the Board to file with the court now becomes the non-compliant homeowner’s to bear. Pursuant to the law, the homeowner will also be required to pay all legal costs associated with the case.
NOTE: Beginning January 1, 2012, the Texas Legislature enacted new laws governing HOAs in the Texas property Code, which requires all HOAs to adopt a Fine & Enforcement policy, among others. The Bylaws, under article 3.04, grant the Board the authority to adopt, publish and enforce rules and regulations (policies). The law firm of Horton & Archibald provided the Board with a set of draft-ready policies for the Board to adopt, which is the template that was used for this policy.