What to Do When Bellevue Homeowners Don't Pay Their HOA Dues

Updated January 20, 2022

Bellevue community association managers are always hopeful that community homeowners will never miss a payment deadline, though the reality is that late fees often come into play. While it's certainly not fun to try to recoup dues that were missed or paid late, community managers should pursue delinquent accounts effectively and with tact to maintain community relationships—and keep delinquencies from happening in the future.

What's the right approach when homeowners don't pay their HOA dues? Keep reading for insights from one of the best HOA management companies in Bellevue!

Why Must an HOA Collect Dues?

Almost every planned community is run by an HOA, composed of all the owners in the development and run by elected HOA board members of owner-volunteers. The HOA serves and is responsible for maintaining and upkeep all common areas in the development. HOA management services include repairing and replacing any damaged or worn-out portions of the common areas. Owner-volunteers elect a board to oversee the HOA and its obligations.

What Happens When Homeowners Don't Pay HOA Management Fees?

When a new resident buys a home in your neighborhood or community, they commit to following the rules of the homeowner's association. This includes paying all applicable HOA dues on time to benefit from the amenities and services provided by the association. 

When homeowners are late with payments (or don't pay at all), the community suffers. Without planned funds from every homeowner, the association can suffer a budget shortage and lack the revenue to complete much-needed repairs to community amenities or new projects. Budget shortfalls can also affect routine services, like trash collection, an onsite property manager, or cleaning and upkeep for common areas, leaving other homeowners without the benefits or activities they hoped to enjoy by paying their dues on time. 

What Should Boards Do When Dues Are Late?

Letting past-due HOA fees go without working with homeowners to collect payments sets a bad precedence for rule enforcement. If board members don't enforce the rules equally with everyone, tensions can arise within the community. The board might also violate HOA policies to ignore past-due payments or dues that never come in. 

Expert HOA management companies are an excellent resource for developing late collections policies while preserving good relationships between board members and homeowners. Use the following tips to track down late dues and maintain budgets. 

Send Late Notices

The first step is to remind a homeowner about their annual HOA fees and let them know that their current payment is past due. Deliver notices by email and mail, then follow up with a phone call. However, these communications should remain professional, without the appearance or tone of harassment. Sometimes homeowners forget to pay their homeowners' association fees or experience financial challenges that delay payment. Approach the situation professionally and work with residents to catch up on past-due amounts. 

If late payments are a significant or recurring issue with a sizeable portion of the community's homeowners, it might be time to review payment options and offer solutions for how homeowners can pay their HOA dues more effectively in the future. 

Communicate Consequences for Nonpayment

While forgetfulness happens from time to time, your community association might also experience residents who simply never pay their dues (on time or otherwise). While owning a home in your community, all members must pay their respective HOA or condo association management fees to remain in the neighborhood. 

When reminding someone that they missed a payment, it can also help to remind them of the consequences of late or nonpayment. Be thorough yet calm while addressing the issue and detailing what happens if they don't get caught up right away. Whether it's late fees added to the original HOA fee amount or losing access to common areas and activities, make sure the consequences follow the documented rules of the association. 

Explain Why HOA Dues Are Necessary

Sometimes homeowners forget what they pay for when sending in the annual HOA management fee. Your reminder letter can include a brief rationale of why HOA dues are necessary and what happens when homeowners don't pay on time. 

A gentle reminder of what a resident will miss out on without staying current with their ongoing management fees can be the right motivator to resolve a late payment situation. 

Consider Legal Action

Depending on your association bylaws, an ongoing issue with collecting payment for a resident can lead to legal action by the board. Work with a community association management company and the association's attorney to follow legal procedures or file a lawsuit, if applicable. 

If your governing documents don't allow legal action to recover unpaid dues, it might be time to review your bylaws and consider an amendment to grant the board more flexibility in this area. Work with an HOA management company to review your HOA's and enforce them!

Work With an HOA Management Company to Collect Dues

Associations need dues to operate, so collecting dues from homeowners is critical for managing a thriving community! When one or more homeowner doesn't pay their dues, the association can suffer, and the neighborhood will too! 

That's where Trestle Community Management can help. Our experts can advise your board on the best ways to enforce payment for HOA property management fees and what to do when homeowners don't pay. We can also step in and collect delinquent HOA fees so your association stays afloat, and the neighborhood thrives. Have you had any issues with collections lately? We want to hear about them (and fix them)! Let us know by reaching out to our team to talk soon. 

Learn more about running a successful association board! Get our free resource, the "Best Practices for HOA Operations: A Checklist."