HOALawBlog.com: Texas HOA Demolishes Home For Failing To Maintain; Self Help Is Not Always A Good Idea
By David C. Swedelson
April 30, 2014
Often, we are asked by board members at community associations whether the board can use self help to resolve a problem where an owner is failing to maintain their unit or lot/home. Sometimes, we learn about it after the fact. In our experience, self-help is not usually the best or appropriate option. Fortunately, none of our clients have been sued for taking action, and there are no California court of appeal decisions or statutes that address this issue. But we can learn how not to approach this issue by considering what happened to a Texas association that took steps to deal with a problem that landed that association in some very deep you-know-what.
The Texas Court of Appeals handed down a decision involving the Happy Hide-A–Way Civic Club HOA, where apparently not everyone is happy. The association was not happy with how one homeowner was failing to maintain their home. But rather than sue the owner or take other enforcement action, the association, relying on the language in its governing documents, decided that it was entitled to demolish the owner’s home, and proceeded to do just that. As a result, the owner was not so happy and sued. Read more: