Texas Property Code 209.006: HOA Notice, Cure, and Hearing Rights

Under Texas Property Code Section 209.006, a homeowners’ association must send you written notice by certified mail before it can fine you, suspend your access to common areas, charge you for property damage, sue you, or report your account to a credit bureau. The notice has to describe what you allegedly did, state any amount the association claims you owe, and tell you about your right to cure the violation, your right to a hearing, and any special protections you may have as an active-duty service member. If the letter you received is missing those pieces, or never came by certified mail, the enforcement action behind it may be procedurally defective.¹

Which HOA Actions Require Notice First

Section 209.006 lists five specific actions the association cannot take without first sending proper written notice:¹

Suspending your right to use common areas such as a pool, clubhouse, or gym.
Filing a lawsuit against you, other than a suit to collect regular or special assessments or to foreclose under the association’s lien.
Charging you for damage to common property or another owner’s property.
Imposing a fine for violating the restrictions, bylaws, or rules.
Reporting a delinquency to any credit reporting service.

The credit-reporting trigger is the one owners most often miss. A negative mark can follow you for years, and the statute gives you the same procedural protections before that report as it does before a fine.

What a Valid Notice Must Say

A compliant notice has to describe the alleged violation or property damage specifically. A label like “yard violation” without more detail does not meet the standard. If the association is seeking money, the notice must state the exact dollar amount, so you are not left to guess what the HOA thinks you owe.¹

The notice also has to inform you of three rights:

Your right to a reasonable period to cure the violation, if it is curable and does not threaten public health or safety, before the association can fine you or suspend your access.
Your right to request a hearing before the board under Section 209.007 within 30 days after the date the notice was mailed.
Your potential rights as an active-duty service member under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, if applicable.

If the letter in front of you skips any of these elements, raise it with the board in writing or talk to an attorney before paying anything.

How the Notice Must Be Delivered

Delivery method is not optional. The association must send the notice by certified mail to your last known address in its records. Handing you a letter at a board meeting, taping it to your door, or dropping it in the mailbox does not satisfy the statute.¹

Pay attention to the mailing date. Your 30-day window to request a hearing runs from the date the notice was mailed, not the date it landed in your mailbox or the date you opened it. If the association sent it to an outdated address because you never updated your records, time can run out before you ever see the letter. Open certified mail from your HOA the day it arrives.

Your Right to Cure

When the problem is something you can actually fix, such as an overgrown lawn, an unapproved paint color, or a trash can left out past the deadline, the statute gives you a reasonable period to correct it before the association can fine you or cut off your amenities. The notice itself has to specify the cure deadline, and that date must give you a reasonable amount of time. The statute does not define “reasonable” with a specific number of days, so what counts depends on the nature of the violation: repainting a house takes longer than mowing a lawn.¹

If the violation threatens public health or safety, the right to cure does not apply, and the association can move ahead without waiting. Otherwise, fixing the problem by the stated deadline ends that enforcement action. The association cannot come back later and fine you for something you cured on time.

Requesting a Hearing Within 30 Days

If you disagree with the alleged violation or the amount demanded, your main tool is a hearing before the board under Section 209.007. Submit your request in writing within 30 days of the notice’s mailing date. Miss that window and you waive the hearing on that notice.²

One limit worth knowing: the hearing right is tied to situations where you were entitled to an opportunity to cure. If the violation was not curable or involved a public health or safety threat, the hearing right may not apply in the same way.

Once the association receives your request, it has to hold the hearing within 30 days and notify you of the date, time, and location at least 10 days ahead. Either side can request one postponement of up to 10 days, and additional postponements are allowed by agreement.²

What Happens at the Hearing

At least 10 days before the hearing, the association has to give you a packet containing every document, photograph, and communication it plans to introduce. If the association misses that deadline, you are automatically entitled to a 15-day postponement with no argument required.²

The association presents its case first. After that, you or your designated representative can present your information and address the issues in dispute. “Designated representative” means you can bring someone to speak for you, which in practice often includes an attorney. Either side can make an audio recording, so consider bringing a recorder.

The statute does not require the board to issue a written decision, though many associations do. If you are unhappy with the outcome, either party can pursue alternative dispute resolution, including mediation.

When You Can Be Charged for the HOA’s Attorney Fees

Section 209.008 restricts when the association can start billing you for its lawyer. You are not liable for attorney fees related to the matter in the notice if those fees were incurred before the hearing ends. If you never request a hearing, you are protected until the deadline for requesting one passes. The association also has to warn you in writing that attorney fees will be charged if the issue is not resolved by a specific date.³

Some associations have historically sent enforcement letters drafted by attorneys and then tried to pass the legal cost on to the homeowner immediately. The statute prevents that. Fees can only start accruing against you after the hearing process plays out or the hearing deadline expires.

When the HOA Does Not Have to Send Full Notice

Several situations fall outside the normal notice-and-hearing process. The most common one for ordinary homeowners is the repeat-violation exception. If the association already sent you a compliant notice for the same violation within the past six months and gave you the chance to use your statutory rights, it does not have to run the full procedure again for a repeat occurrence of that same violation. This only applies to the same violation; a different type of issue still requires fresh notice with every required element.¹

Section 209.007(d) carves out three more scenarios where the notice and hearing rules do not apply:²

A lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order or temporary injunction, where the association is asking a court to act quickly.
A suit that includes foreclosure as a cause of action.
A temporary suspension of common-area access when someone’s conduct in a common area poses a significant and immediate risk of harm, which lasts until the board makes a final decision after following the standard hearing procedures.

If You Are on Active Military Duty

The notice has to tell active-duty service members that they may have special rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Under federal law, a service member facing a lawsuit from an HOA can apply for a stay of at least 90 days if military duties prevent them from appearing. The application must include a statement explaining how current duty affects the ability to participate and a letter from the commanding officer confirming that military leave is not authorized.⁴

The 30-day hearing deadline still runs from the mailing date regardless of where you are stationed. If you are deployed and receive an enforcement notice, respond in writing, note your military status, and act quickly through a representative or family member.

1
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 209.006 – Notice Required Before Enforcement Action
2
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 209.007 – Hearing Before Board Alternative Dispute Resolution
3
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 209.008 – Attorneys Fees
4
GovInfo. 50 USC 3932 – Stay of Proceedings When Servicemember Has Notice