HOA rules in Virginia
Virginia splits homeowners' associations and condominiums into two statutes. If you live in a house or townhome in a subdivision with a property owners' association, the Property Owners' Association Act — Code of Virginia Title 55.1, Chapter 18, starting at § 55.1-1800 — is the main overlay. If you own a condominium unit, the Virginia Condominium Act (Title 55.1, Chapter 19) applies instead. Do not mix those chapters. Neighborhood or civic groups with voluntary dues are not common-interest communities under Virginia law. Confirm which chapter covers your community, then confirm the current text on the Virginia Law Library site and in your recorded declaration, bylaws, and rules. This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes and documents change.
The POA Act defines a property owners' association as an incorporated or unincorporated entity that a recorded declaration charges with common-area duties or with the power to levy mandatory payments (Va. Code § 55.1-1800). The declaration still controls a lot: architectural standards, how assessments are allocated, extra hearing rules. State law fills in floors the documents cannot erase — notice before violation charges, records access for members in good standing, open board meetings, and how an assessment lien is perfected.
Before the board assesses violation charges, or suspends facility use for assessments more than 60 days past due, you get a written chance to correct, then a hearing with at least 14 days' registered-or-certified-mail notice, and a written result within seven days (Va. Code § 55.1-1819). Statutory charges are capped at $50 for a single offense or $10 per day for a continuing offense, not more than 90 days, and those charges are treated as assessments against the lot.
A member in good standing (or an authorized agent) may examine books and records for a proper purpose related to membership, on five business days' written notice if the association is professionally managed, or 10 if it is self-managed (Va. Code § 55.1-1815). Personnel files, pending litigation, attorney-client material, other owners' files, and executive-session minutes can be withheld or redacted.
Unpaid assessments become a lien once the association perfects it by recording a memorandum in the circuit court clerk's office, generally within 12 months of the first unpaid assessment, after at least 10 days' certified-mail notice (Va. Code § 55.1-1833). The perfected lien is junior to prior mortgages and to real-estate taxes. Foreclosure of a perfected lien is allowed only if the total sums secured exceed $5,000, exclusive of attorney fees and costs, and must be started within 120 months of recording.
Virginia has a real state office: the Office of the Common Interest Community Ombudsman at the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). It answers questions about CIC law, receives Notices of Final Adverse Decision after you finish the association's statutory complaint procedure, and does not give legal advice or decide CC&R-only fights. A determination that a final adverse decision conflicts with CIC law or regulation is final under § 54.1-2354.4. Repeat violations within 365 days can be referred to the Common Interest Community Board.
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.