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Texas HOA, Chapter 209

HOA fines and payment plans in Texas

A fine is not automatic, and a balance does not have to be paid all at once. Here is when an association can actually fine you, what the fine rules require, and the payment plan the law lets you demand.

Current through: Texas 89th Legislature, 2025. This guide is general education, not legal advice.

When an association can actually fine you

For most enforcement, Chapter 209 requires the association to follow a sequence before a fine can stand: written notice of the alleged violation by verified mail, a reasonable chance to cure a curable violation, and your right to request a hearing within 30 days of the mailing date. A fine that skipped any step in that sequence is a fine worth questioning, in writing, on the record.

The fine schedule an association may adopt

An association may adopt a schedule of fines that sets out which violations draw which amounts. That fine and enforcement policy is a dedicatory instrument, and dedicatory instruments generally must be recorded in the county real property records to be enforceable. If the policy behind your fine was never recorded or provided to owners, the fine stands on weak legal footing and is worth challenging. Read the actual schedule next to the statute and check whether the amount on your notice matches what the association said it would charge.

Your right to a payment plan

Owing a balance does not mean clearing it in one payment. Under Section 209.0062, associations with more than 14 lots must offer alternative payment plans for delinquent balances. The minimum length they must offer is 3 months. The maximum they can be required to offer is 18 months. Ask for the plan in writing and keep a copy of the request.

How payments get applied

When you pay toward an account carrying more than one kind of charge, the order in which that payment is applied is dictated by law, Section 209.0063. Payments must be applied in this exact priority:

  1. Delinquent assessments.
  2. Current assessments.
  3. Attorney's fees and third-party collection costs.
  4. Other attorney's fees.
  5. Fines.
  6. Any other amount owed.

This order is deliberate. It pays down the most dangerous balances first, the assessments that can lead to foreclosure, before fines. One exception: if you are already in default on a payment plan, the association is not required to follow this order, though even then it cannot put a fine ahead of any other amount you owe.

What to do if you are fined

  1. Read the fine notice in full. Find the violation, the rule cited, and the amount.
  2. Check the procedure. Did you get prior verified notice, a chance to cure, and the option of a hearing?
  3. Compare the amount to the fine schedule. Pull the adopted policy and see whether the charge matches.
  4. Ask about a payment plan. You can request a 3-to-18-month schedule in writing.
  5. Get a lawyer when the stakes call for it. If the matter involves a lien or a lawsuit, talk to a licensed Texas attorney.

Start here

Your HOA sent a notice. Answer it right.

Checking a fine against the procedure and the recorded schedule is exact, document-heavy work. Holdground builds your response with you: structured for Texas Chapter 209, anchored to your own evidence, and reviewed by a person before it goes out. Send us your notice below to start. If your matter has reached a lien, a lawsuit, or foreclosure, talk to a licensed Texas attorney.

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