By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities deborahgoonan@gmail.com
In my view, the financial risks and social pitfalls of owning property under an HOA far outweigh any benefits.
So I love the fact that lawmakers are starting to talk about undoing the failed HOA experiment. But abolishing HOAs may not be possible in the short term.
In this post, I’ll summarize the obstacles and challenges of banning HOAs outright. I’ll also propose a more realistic path to ending HOA madness.
There are still some people who think HOAs provide the benefit of a well-maintained and attractive community. But a growing anti-HOA movement is making headlines in the USA. I’ll start with three examples from three different states: Florida, Texas, and Minnesota.
FL legislator explains reasons to abolish HOAs
Rep. Juan Carlos Porras (R-Miami) is no stranger to HOA reform legislation. The state Representative has been sponsoring bills to rein in dysfunctional HOAs for the past several years.
Rep. Porras says his constituents are fed up with HOAs wasting their money and abusing their power.
Florida lawmaker floats ban on HOAs amid growing backlash
According this report from Tampa Bay 28 News, one Florida woman ended up in jail over an HOA violation for brown grass.
Another homeowner was shocked to discover her HOA put a lien on her home, only after she started receiving letters from attorneys soliciting their legal services to help her fight HOA foreclosure.
Then there’s the rising cost of HOA fees. Rising insurance premiums are part of the cause, as are inflated maintenance costs charged through management companies.
Porras says that communities with minimal common property don’t need HOAs. (I agree.) But he wants to abolish all HOAs in Florida.
Is that a good idea? Is it realistic?
I’ll weigh in.
Most people dislike HOAs and don’t see the value for their money.
It’s a well-known fact in HOA industry circles: 70% of HOAs are chronically underfunded.
According to HOA-industry supporters, owners are just too cheap. They resist building up their HOA reserve fund to pay for inevitable repair and replacement.
But from the majority owners’ perspective, they’re already paying more than enough in HOA fees,with little value to show for their money. All homeowners see is an overemphasis on enforcing rules, rather than well-managed, well-maintained common property.
Of course, the truth is somewhere in between. And a little of both. It’s all a matter of perspective.
You see, some owners are satisfied with minimal maintenance in order to keep HOA fees low. Other owners take pride in a pristine neighborhood where everything is close to perfect.
Trouble starts when perfectionists and control freaks get on the HOA board.
After all, the vast majority of owners want a semblance of order without the undue stress of rigid rule enforcement and unaffordable fee increases.
At the opposite extreme, communities decline when cheapskates and poor money managers rule the HOA board, deferring maintenance or falling behind on paying HOA bills.
This fundamental disagreement over HOA priorities is the leading cause of underfunded community associations.
On this issue alone, I wholeheartedly agree with Porras that HOAs are a failed experiment.
HOAs have maxed out public demand
According to HOA industry trade group Community Associations Institute (CAI), about 30% of people in the U.S. own or live under HOA regimes.
I have often said that, anecdotally, perhaps 20-30% of people actually like HOAs and actively seek them out. These are people who tend to seek perfection and want the ability to control the behavior of their not-so-perfect neighbors.
But most people don’t actually want an HOA, and neither do they want to share ownership of property and maintenance costs. See the following Rocket Mortgage survey for supporting data.
Assessing the association – Homeowners weigh in on the HOA | Rocket Mortgage
Reality check: Most people buy into HOAs because they can’t avoid them.
In my view, the scales are tipping sharply anti-HOA in 2025, because there is a severe shortage of non-HOA housing available in many real estate markets. In fact, nationwide, 82% of new homes in 2023 were part of a homeowners’ association. The following report from ipropertymanagement.com contains supporting statistics.
HOA Statistics (2025): Average HOA Fees + Number of HOAs
Yet the HOA industry keeps force feeding common interest housing, egged on and enabled by their allies in state and local government.
Now connect the dots.
It’s no coincidence that only 30% or fewer people are True Believers in HOAs, and that only 30% of HOAs are adequately funded.
Homeowners are Disillusioned by HOA Deception
At this time, I will confess that, at one time, I kind of liked the idea of an HOA.
But that was before I truly understood the HOA agenda.
About 15 years ago, my spouse and I were relocating to Florida from Pennsylvania. We knew almost nothing about HOAs. I had a vague idea that there would be rules and restrictions but didn’t realize what we’d be giving up in exchange for a safe, clean, attractive neighborhood.
At the time, I envisioned the HOA as a community of like-minded neighbors. I thought common values and peer pressure would nudge my neighbors to keep their properties neat and tidy.
But it didn’t take long for us to discover our HOA community was a far cry from utopia. It was more like dystopia.
Nosey, tattletale neighbors. Petty and inconsistent HOA rule enforcement. Deferred maintenance.
Zero transparency from the HOA board. Incompetent management. Backbiting and bickering among neighbors.
Shouting matches at HOA board meetings. HOA lawsuits and foreclosures being hidden from members at large.
The gaslighting and propaganda machine.
All of these things and more have been going on for decades. But homeowners are speaking up and getting wise to the Big Deception. HOAs are not demanded by homebuyers, and HOAs certainly don’t ensure higher property values.
The push to end HOAs is not limited to Florida. It’s a nationwide trend that’s gaining momentum.
Meanwhile in Texas, owners express their displeasure with a ‘Defund the HOA’ flag.
Who knew you can buy these flags on Amazon and Walmart, among other places?
These Texan homeowners call their HOA “petty” after receiving a $42 fine for their inability to grow grass under the tree in their front yard, in 100-degree heat.
When will overzealous HOA boards and managers recognize that they are NOT parents of HOA children. The pervasive attitude of using authoritarian means (fines, threats of foreclosure, lawsuits) to control the appearance of homes and behaviors of residents rubs people the wrong way. No wonder people hate HOAs.
In Minnesota, legislators consider easier HOA termination process, as well as ending local zoning that requires HOA for new development.
The pushback against HOAs continues to spread across the USA. Minnesota Senate bill SF 1750 is gaining traction in the 2025-2026 session. It adds a process for HOAs of single family detached home communities to terminate their HOA if 60% of owners vote in favor of dissolution.
Why is this noteworthy? All states have laws allowing for termination of a condominium or cooperative. But most state laws don’t include a process for dissolving the HOA for a planned community of detached homes.
While many older HOAs were subject to expire with the covenants in 15-30 years, most newer community declarations have no predetermined expiration date. And many states have enacted laws to prevent expiration of covenants and the HOAs that go along with them.
See 515B.2-119 TERMINATION OF COMMON INTEREST COMMUNITY.
SF 1759 also states that a local government cannot require a homeowners’ association or common interest community plan as a condition for approval of new housing development.
Not quite an HOA ban, but in the same spirit.
See [515B.200] LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS.
Read SF 1750 for full details.
The Minnesota legislative session reconvenes in February 2026. This is one bill to watch.
Challenges and obstacles to abolishing HOAs
Even if legislators allow for the possibility of abolishing HOAs, will homeowners easily end their HOA?
While it’s theoretically possible to put an end to your HOA, the process is neither easy nor straightforward. Keep reading to understand why.
The basics of HOA dissolution
No state governor will be able to abolish all existing HOA communities by fiat. And even if state legislators were to pass a bill banning all HOAs, it’s highly unlikely that you’d see HOAs eliminated overnight.
Unless your governing documents include a definite expiration date, there must be a legal process for termination.
Generally, in order to officially dissolve your HOA, all affected lot owners and other interested stakeholders must agree to termination by majority vote.
Here’s how the HOA dissolution process works.
You must begin the process by reading your governing documents (Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions; Bylaws; and Articles of Incorporation, if applicable). These documents should give you a general overview of the dissolution process, including the percentage of votes required to eliminate the HOA. While you’re at it, you should also read up on how to amend the CC&Rs, in case you decide you don’t want to completely eliminate them.
Some HOA governing documents will require unanimous consent for dissolution, and others might require a majority or super majority — 80% is fairly typical.
If you and your neighbors think you’d like to dissolve your HOA, you’ll need legal assistance from an attorney with expertise and experience in real estate, land use, corporate law, and state laws applicable to your community association.
In some cases, governing documents for the Association will require the consent of developers, landowners, and/or lien holders before terminating the HOA. When that’s the case, you can be sure that other stakeholders will be represented by their own legal counsel.
HOAs and CC&Rs — not the same thing
This is a good time to remind readers that CC&Rs and HOAs do not always coexist. The Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions form a legal document — it is essentially a legal contract among owners. The CC&Rs dictate how homeowners can use their private property. The contract spells out mutual obligations to maintain private property and manage the common property.
An HOA is a “private” method of governing and managing common property. It’s a form of community government, with power vested to a small group of people who theoretically serve as fiduciaries. That means that your HOA board is supposed to serve the best interest of all association members, just as your City Council or County Commission is elected to represent all of its residents.
In a mandatory membership HOA, the board’s job is to collect assessments and fees from all lot owners, and then use that money wisely, to provide community services. Many HOA services are essential to maintaining the common areas, as well as keeping the community safe, clean, and functional.
In addition, most HOAs have the power to enforce all kinds of rules that regulate the appearance and usage of common and private property in the community. Think of your HOA as Code Enforcement on steroids, because many HOA rules regulate nothing more than appearance, under the guise of protecting property values.
Did you know that it might be possible to eliminate your HOA, while still maintaining some of your CC&Rs?
When a neighborhood has CC&Rs but no HOA, each lot owner retains the right to enforce covenant violations against a neighbor, by filing a legal claim in small claims or civil court.
Each dispute is handled among individual neighbors. It eliminates selective enforcement and threats of fines from an overbearing, dictatorial HOA.
Make your HOA membership voluntary
Another possibility: consider making membership in your HOA voluntary, which means that homeowners can’t be forced to pay dues or assessments anymore. For example, only owners who actually benefit from lawn and exterior maintenance services or owners who actually use recreational facilities (pool, clubhouse, pickleball court) would pay for them.
This would create accountability. Your HOA would have to offer real value if it wants to continue to exist.
Or all residents — including non-owners — could choose to start up a voluntary membership neighborhood or civic association instead.
The biggest challenge: Disposing of the “commons”
Getting rid of your HOA generally entails more than administratively dissolving the corporation. That’s because, dissolving the private legal organization doesn’t dispose of the homeowners’ joint responsibility to pay for maintenance of common areas.
You might think that if you stop paying the HOA and don’t register the corporation, your city or county will have to take over maintenance of your streets, stormwater facilities, and more. But that’s not how it works.
Here’s why.
The vast majority of HOAs in the past 4 decades exist for one reason: to force private homeowners to cover the cost of maintaining their own community services, which the city or county would otherwise have to provide using taxpayer dollars.
(Note that a homeowner does not automatically get a property tax discount to offset additional costs paid to an HOA for private services. That’s why more and more homeowners are starting to object to being double taxed for both “private” and public services.)
It has become nearly impossible for a developer or builder to get a permit for new housing development that does not include common property and an HOA to fund future maintenance. In fact, for the past 4 decades, many local governments have routinely mandated an HOA for every new build housing development.
That’s why it’s so difficult to find a newer home that is not HOA governed.
How hard is it to get rid of HOA property?
The complexity of fully dissolving an HOA depends on how difficult it is to get rid of common property. And that depends on whether another person or entity is willing to take ownership of it.
A community with expansive recreational amenities — swimming pools, parks, sports facilities, fitness centers, club houses, an equestrian center, etc. — will present far greater challenges than a smaller neighborhood with minimal common property.
At first, your local city, town, or county may be unwilling to acquire your common property. This is especially true if the property needs extensive maintenance, repairs or upgrades.
So, if your community has private roads, utilities, or stormwater management facilities that are run down, but your HOA cannot afford to maintain any of it, what can you do?
You’ll have to work with your local government to get the infrastructure in good shape, so that they will agree to take ownership and provide public maintenance. You and your neighbors will probably have to work out a cost-sharing plan to make that happen.
Once the common property is accepted by a governing authority, your property taxes may be adjusted accordingly.
But with no common property to maintain and insure, there’s no compelling for a mandatory membership HOA. Therefore, all HOA fees can be eliminated.
What if the local government won’t take your common property?
In some cases, portions of HOA common areas can be rezoned and merged with existing private lots, or sold separately to a new buyer, for building a new home.
Sometimes it’s impossible to dispose of all common property, and the HOA must continue to exist, at least for the limited purpose of maintaining a few small parcels of land.
However, even if you cannot get rid of your HOA, you can certainly make it much less oppressive and hostile.
Homeowners can vote to amend their CC&Rs to strip HOA boards of excessive power.
For example, you can change the CC&Rs to limit the HOA’s authority to raise assessments, enforce rules and restrictions, levy fines, foreclose on properties, and more.
You can also eliminate most, if not all, of the landscape and architectural rules and standards. Or you can take away the HOA’s power to use everyone’s assessment dollars to sue one of your neighbors for breaking a minor rule, such as leaving the trash can on the curb too long on trash day.
There are many possibilities!
Conclusion: It won’t be easy to unravel the HOA mess
Despite a growing anti-HOA sentiment across the USA, state legislators, local government, and homeowners face serious challenges to unraveling HOAs.
It will take time to chip away at runaway HOA dysfunction and pervasive problems with deferred maintenance in many common interest ownership communities.
Homeowners shouldn’t wait for state legislators to act on their behalf. So far, they’ve got a poor track record of improving HOA governance and reining in abuses of power.
Rather, it will be more productive to pursue dissolution of their own HOA, if possible.
HOA dissolution is likely to entail working closely with local government to convince them to take over maintenance of common infrastructure. Homeowners should be prepared to incur some upfront costs and adjustments to property taxes to eliminate HOA fees entirely.
If it’s not possible to completely abolish your HOA, then work with neighboring homeowners to limit both responsibilities and powers of HOA board members. That will require thoughtful amendment of Covenants, most likely with the help of an attorney familiar with HOA law in your state.
I wish all concerned homeowners well in this challenging endeavor!
Dive deeper: What to do about new housing communities?
An obvious solution to reduce the prevalence of HOA is to stop creating new HOA governed communities.
I have written an entire article on that subject.
In lieu of abolishing existing HOAs…
For interested readers: here is my list of the top five HOA reforms necessary to rein in HOA abuse and dysfunction.
Author’s Note: The written content on IAC is original. Some images may be AI generated.
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