I never signed anything. Do I still have to follow the HOA?
Usually yes. In a typical planned community, you didn't have to sign a separate HOA contract. The CC&Rs are recorded against the lot. When you took title, you took the property subject to those covenants. Membership and the duty to pay assessments usually travel with the deed, even if the closing stack was a blur and nobody walked you through the binder.
Typical process
This question comes up in three flavors:
- You bought a house in an existing HOA and never initialed the CC&Rs. That's the normal case. Recorded covenants that "run with the land" generally bind later owners who had record notice — meaning the document was in the land records, whether you personally read it or not.
- You inherited or got the house in a family transfer and never dealt with the association. Same idea. The lot is still in the community.
- You think the declaration was never recorded, doesn't describe your lot, or was added after you bought without the vote the documents or state law require. That's the narrow exception people hope for. It's fact-specific and not the default. Don't assume you're free because the paperwork felt informal.
Not using the pool doesn't matter. Optional "social clubs" are different from a mandatory association created by a recorded declaration. If dues are assessed against the lot and the declaration is in the chain of title, "I never signed" is rarely enough.
What controls this
The recorded declaration, how your lot is legally described, your state's real-property and HOA/condo statutes, and sometimes whether the association was properly formed. A few disputes turn on a declaration that wasn't recorded, a lot that was never annexed, or an amendment that didn't get the required owner vote. Those are the exceptions, and they take document work to prove.
Next steps
Pull the deed and the recorded CC&Rs from the county recorder. Confirm your lot is in the legal description or an annexation amendment. Get the current bylaws and the account ledger. If you're being billed, keep paying regular assessments while you sort the documents out — withholding dues because you "never signed" is how a protest turns into a collection file. Ask the manager in writing for the recorded declaration and the page that includes your lot.
When to talk to a licensed lawyer
Talk to a real-estate lawyer in your state if the declaration doesn't appear in the land records, if your lot isn't clearly included, or if the association appeared years after you bought and is now demanding dues. Bring the deed, the title commitment, and whatever you found (or didn't find) at the recorder. Don't wait until a lien is recorded to ask.
> 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.