HOA Laws in Virginia: Assessments, Fines, and Owner Rights

HOA laws in Virginia are set primarily by two state statutes — the Property Owners’ Association Act for subdivisions and planned communities, and the Condominium Act for shared-ownership buildings — plus federal fair housing rules that apply on top. Together they define what your board can require, what it cannot restrict, and what procedures it has to follow before it fines you, records a lien, or forecloses.

The Two Statutes That Govern Your Community

The Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act begins at Va. Code § 55.1-1800 and covers subdivisions and planned developments where the recorded declaration requires lot owners to belong to an association and pay assessments for common area upkeep.¹ The Condominium Act begins at Va. Code § 55.1-1900 and applies to multi-unit buildings and other developments where owners hold undivided interests in common elements.²

Both give boards broad authority to run shared spaces and enforce community standards, and both cap that authority. A rule that contradicts the recorded declaration or state law is unenforceable no matter how many board members vote for it.

Meetings, Notice, and How You Vote

Your association has to hold at least one membership meeting each year. Notice must go to every member at least 14 days before an annual or regularly scheduled meeting, and at least seven days before a special meeting, and it must state the time, place, and purpose.³ If a scheduled annual meeting where directors were supposed to be elected is canceled, the make-up notice has to say the meeting is for that election.

Unless your governing documents prohibit it, you can vote in person, by proxy, or by absentee ballot. Electronic voting is allowed when the board has adopted guidelines for it. Proxy and absentee voters count as present for quorum purposes.³

Board meetings are subject to their own transparency rule. All meetings of the board and its committees where association business is discussed must be open to members. The board cannot use informal work sessions to sidestep that. It may enter executive session only after voting to do so in open session, and only to handle personnel matters, consult with an attorney, discuss contracts or pending litigation, address rule violations, or consider a member’s personal liability to the association. Anything discussed in closed session takes effect only if the board reconvenes in open session and votes on it there.⁴

Your Right to See the Association’s Records

Any member in good standing can inspect and copy the association’s books and records, including financial statements, tax returns, and board meeting minutes. Written notice runs five business days if the association uses a professional community manager, and 10 business days if it is self-managed.³ Your request has to identify the specific records you want and state a purpose tied to your membership.

The association can charge a reasonable fee for the materials and labor involved. Personnel files, records related to pending or probable litigation, and confidential contract negotiations stay off-limits. If the association refuses access to records that aren’t exempt, you can pursue legal remedies to force production.

The reserve study is one document worth requesting if you’re evaluating your community’s financial health. Virginia requires boards to conduct one at least every five years to determine what the association will need to repair and replace major shared components, and to review the results annually.⁵

Assessments, Liens, and Foreclosure

Regular and special assessments fund shared infrastructure and services. Boards can levy additional assessments beyond what the declaration requires when they determine it serves the association’s best interests and the funds go primarily toward maintaining common area.⁶ Virginia does not cap those amounts by statute, so check your declaration for internal limits.

If you fall behind, the association can file a memorandum of lien against your property. To perfect the lien, it has to file the memorandum in the circuit court clerk’s office for the county or city where the property sits, and it has to do so within 12 months of the date the first unpaid assessment became due. At least 10 days before filing, the association must send you a certified-mail notice stating the amount owed and its intent to record.⁷

Virginia does not give HOA liens super-lien priority. Once perfected, the lien ranks ahead of later-recorded liens but falls behind real estate tax liens and any earlier-recorded mortgage or deed of trust.⁷ In practice, a bank’s first mortgage almost always takes priority.

The $5,000 Foreclosure Floor

An association cannot foreclose unless the total unpaid amount exceeds $5,000, excluding attorney fees and costs. The association may proceed judicially through circuit court or nonjudicially under the statutory process.⁷

For nonjudicial foreclosure, the association first has to send you a notice identifying the debt, explaining what you must do to resolve it, and giving you a deadline at least 60 days out. That notice must warn that failure to pay could result in a sale of the property. After the 60 days run, the association appoints a trustee and files the appointment with the circuit court. You retain the right to stop the process at any point before the sale by paying the full debt plus all costs, including advertising and reasonable attorney fees.⁷

Fines, Hearings, and the $50 / $10 Caps

Before an association can fine you for a rule violation, it has to follow a specific sequence. The board sends written notice of the alleged violation. You get a reasonable opportunity to fix it. If the violation continues, you must be offered a hearing, where you can bring an attorney. Notice of the hearing has to arrive by hand delivery or certified mail at least 14 days beforehand, and it has to spell out the actions the association may take.⁸

The board must deliver its decision within seven days, again by hand or certified mail. Fines are capped at $50 for a one-time violation and $10 per day for an ongoing violation, and daily fines cannot run longer than 90 days. The association can only impose fines at all if the declaration or duly adopted rules specifically grant that power.⁸ Unpaid fines are treated the same as unpaid assessments for lien purposes, so letting them accumulate can eventually put your property at risk.

What Your HOA Cannot Restrict

Virginia overrides association restrictions in several specific areas.

The U.S. Flag

No association can prohibit you from displaying the United States flag on property you own or have exclusive use of, as long as the display follows the federal flag code. The association may set reasonable rules about size, location, and manner, but an outright ban is unenforceable.⁹

Solar Panels

An association cannot ban solar panels on your property unless the recorded declaration specifically establishes that prohibition. Reasonable restrictions on size, placement, and installation method are allowed, but Virginia defines “reasonable” with numbers: a restriction is unreasonable if it would raise your installation cost by more than 5% or reduce the system’s energy production by more than 10% compared to your original proposal. You’ll need documentation from a certified solar design specialist to invoke that protection. The association keeps full control over solar on common areas.¹⁰

EV Charging Stations (Condominiums)

For condominium owners, Virginia law generally prevents the unit owners’ association from prohibiting installation of an EV charging station within a unit boundary or an assigned parking space, unless the condominium instruments say otherwise. The association can block installation if it isn’t technically feasible for safety, structural, or engineering reasons.¹¹ This provision sits in the Condominium Act; owners in non-condominium associations need to check their own declarations for EV rules.

Political Signs Are Not Protected

Political signs do not enjoy a statutory shield in Virginia HOAs. State law prevents local governments from banning campaign signs on private property, but that limit does not extend to private associations. Your HOA can regulate or prohibit political yard signs if its governing documents or adopted rules say so. Virginia does require the resale disclosure packet to disclose any restrictions on political signs, so buyers get notice before purchase.

Fair Housing and Assistance Animals

The federal Fair Housing Act applies to HOAs. Under 42 U.S.C. § 3604, associations must grant reasonable accommodations when a person with a disability needs a change to a rule, policy, or practice to have equal opportunity to use and enjoy their home.¹²

The most common accommodation is an assistance animal. Even if your association has a no-pets policy, it must allow a resident with a disability to keep a service animal or emotional support animal, and it cannot charge a pet deposit or pet fee for one. The owner remains responsible for any damage the animal causes. A service animal is a dog trained to perform tasks directly related to a person’s disability. An emotional support animal does not require specialized training but must be connected to a disability-related need documented by a healthcare provider.

Fair housing protections extend beyond animals. If you need a ramp, grab bar, or wider doorway and the architectural rules would otherwise block it, the association generally must allow the modification. Boards that reject accommodation requests without engaging in an interactive process with the homeowner risk federal fair housing complaints.

Resale Certificates When Buying or Selling

Virginia’s Resale Disclosure Act requires that buyers in HOA communities receive a resale certificate before closing. When a seller or seller’s agent submits a written request, the association or its manager has 14 calendar days to deliver it. If it isn’t delivered in that window, it’s considered unavailable.¹³

The certificate covers the amount and frequency of dues, any outstanding balance the seller owes, pending violations, litigation involving the association, reserve fund balances, and planned expenditures. It also includes the governing documents and any restrictions on things like solar panels or political signs. For solar specifically, the certificate has to disclose any restriction, limitation, or prohibition on the owner’s right to install solar devices.¹⁰

Buyers get a cancellation window. If the contract specifies a review period, that period controls. If not, the buyer has three days from the contract ratification date (when the certificate arrived before ratification) or from receipt of the certificate (when it arrived after). If the certificate never arrives, the buyer can cancel at any time before settlement. Cancellation carries no penalty, and the seller must promptly return any deposit.¹⁴

The Common Interest Community Board sets the maximum fee an association can charge for preparing a certificate, and the fee has to be commercially reasonable relative to the effort. That maximum is reviewed at least every five years against the consumer price index.¹⁵

Filing a Complaint With the Ombudsman

Homeowners who believe an association has violated Virginia law or its own governing documents can file a complaint with the Office of the Common Interest Community Ombudsman, part of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. You have to use your association’s internal complaint procedure first and receive a final decision. Once the association notifies you of that final decision, you have 30 days to file a notice of final adverse decision with the Ombudsman, along with a $25 filing fee.¹⁶

The Ombudsman reviews the complaint and provides a non-binding explanation of how Virginia law applies. It cannot overturn a board decision. The analysis is far cheaper than a lawyer, and it can push a board to reverse course when it sees its position is legally wrong. When a board won’t engage on the merits, this is often the most practical step before considering litigation.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1800 – Definitions
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1900 – Definitions
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1815 – Access to Association Records; Association Meetings; Notice
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1816 – Meetings of the Board of Directors
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1826 – Annual Budget; Reserve Study
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1825 – Authority to Levy Additional Assessments
7
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1833 – Lien for Assessments; Foreclosure
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1819 – Adoption and Enforcement of Rules
9
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1820 – Display of the Flag of the United States; Necessary Supporting Structures; Affirmative Defense
10
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1820.1 – Installation of Solar Energy Collection Devices
11
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1962.1 – Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Permitted
12
U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
13
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Chapter 23.1 – Resale Disclosure Act
14
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-2312 – Cancellation of Contract by Purchaser
15
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-2316 – Resale Certificate; Fees
16
Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Office of the Common Interest Community Ombudsman