The HOA board won't respond to me. What can I do?
Silence is common. It is not a reason to stop paying regular dues. Your next move is to stop relying on phone calls and start a paper trail the board cannot pretend it never got.
Typical process: owners email the manager, hear nothing, get mad, and either give up or skip a payment. Skipping dues usually makes your problem worse — late fees, a collections file, sometimes a lien — while the original issue sits unanswered. Boards and managers often treat portal messages as informal. Formal written notices, records requests, hearing requests, and petitions are the items that start statutory clocks.
What controls this is your CC&Rs and bylaws (notice addresses, meeting rules), any management contract address, and state statute. Some states give you a records-inspection deadline once a proper written request lands. Some have an ombudsman or a required internal complaint process. Others treat this as a private civil matter. There is no federal “HOA must answer emails in X days” rule.
State examples, labeled as such:
- Florida: a certified-mail official-records request under Fla. Stat. 720.303 generally starts a 10-business-day inspection clock. That is often more useful than another unanswered email.
- California: open-meeting and records statutes (Civ. Code 4900–4955 and 5200–5240) set notice and production windows. A written records request and attending the next open board meeting are the usual first steps.
- Virginia: many associations must follow a written complaint procedure, and a final adverse decision can go to the CIC Ombudsman. That path is Virginia-specific.
Next steps:
- Write a short dated letter. Say what you asked, when you asked, and what you want now (a written answer, a records inspection date, or an agenda item). Attach copies of prior emails.
- Send it by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address in the governing documents or the recorded agent/manager address. Keep a copy. Email the same letter as a backup.
- Put a records request in the same envelope if you need budgets, ledgers, minutes, or contracts.
- Attend the next open board meeting. Ask that your item be noted. Do not withhold assessments.
- If neighbors share the issue, a petition for a special meeting can move it from “one owner” to “the membership.”
If a hearing or collection deadline is on a letter in your hand, that deadline is real until your documents or a lawyer say otherwise. If they keep ignoring certified mail, you think money is missing, or a fine/lien clock is running, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state.
This is general information from an AI helper, not legal advice. Confirm it against your documents and your state’s law. If a deadline or hearing is coming up, talk to a licensed lawyer.