Texas HOAs are governed mainly by two parts of the Texas Property Code: Chapter 209 (the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act — fines, notices, liens, foreclosure, elections) and Chapter 202 (restrictive covenants generally, including some distinctly Texan homeowner protections). Resale disclosures are covered separately under Chapter 207.
Fines
Texas law doesn't set a dollar cap on fines — but it does require your association to adopt a written enforcement policy with a fine schedule, and to follow a specific notice process before charging you:
- Written notice by certified mail describing the violation, with a reasonable cure period if the violation isn't a health/safety threat.
- You can request a hearing within 30 days of the notice; the association must hold it within 30 days of your request, with at least 10 days' notice of the hearing itself.
- The association must give you its evidence packet at least 10 days before the hearing — if it doesn't, you automatically get a 15-day postponement.
- Cure it before the deadline, and no fine can be assessed.
See our guide on how to fight an HOA fine for the general playbook.
Unpaid assessments, liens, and foreclosure
Texas gives homeowners unusually strong protection here compared to most states:
- Your HOA cannot foreclose over a debt that consists solely of fines (or attorney's fees tied only to those fines) — foreclosure requires actual unpaid assessments.
- Texas generally requires a court's involvement before an HOA can foreclose an assessment lien — either an expedited court process or ordinary judicial foreclosure. This is different from many states, where HOAs can foreclose without ever going to court.
- Two-step notice before a lien: a first notice, then a second notice by certified mail at least 30 days later — and the association can't actually file the lien until 90 days after that certified notice was sent.
- Payment plans are required for associations with more than 14 lots: a term of 3–18 months, with no added penalty fees for making partial payments under the plan.
- If foreclosure does happen, you (or a junior lienholder) generally have 180 days to redeem the property.
More in our guide to what happens if you don't pay HOA dues.
Meetings and open records
Board meetings require mailed notice 10 to 60 days in advance (or as little as 3–6 days if given electronically), and must generally be open to owners — the board can't vote on fines, assessments, foreclosure, the budget, or officer elections outside an open meeting. Notice/quorum rules for general membership meetings are left to each association's own bylaws. You're also entitled to request the association's books and records, which it must make available within 10 business days of a detailed written request.
Board elections
Any provision in your governing documents restricting who can run for the board is void. Bylaws can require some board members to live in the subdivision, but not all of them. Board members can't cohabit with another sitting board member at the same address (with narrow exceptions), and a felony or crime-of-moral-turpitude conviction within the last 20 years makes someone ineligible to serve. Associations must offer multiple voting methods — in person, proxy, absentee, and electronic.
See how HOA board elections work for the general mechanics.
Buying a home in a Texas HOA
You (or your title company) can request a resale certificate from the association, which it must deliver within 10 business days — capped at $375 for the initial packet, $75 for an update. Once issued, the association can't later dispute the amounts stated in it, and its lien for anything it failed to disclose automatically terminates. You, your lender, and your title company face no liability for association debts the certificate didn't mention.
See our full buying checklist for homes in an HOA.
Rights your Texas HOA can't take away
Chapter 202 protects a distinctive list of things your association cannot prohibit or restrict: displaying the U.S., Texas, or a military-branch flag; installing solar panels; small religious displays; composting, rain barrels, efficient irrigation, and drought-resistant landscaping; lawfully possessing or storing firearms; using your home as a family residence; installing a standby generator; transparent mesh pool safety fencing; and security cameras or fencing.
Need help with a HOA issue in your state? Find an HOA attorney, or find a management company.