Navigating HOA Regulations: How to Understand, Follow and Challenge Your Community’s Rules

Written by Samantha SheltonNMLS 1647301Updated October 2026

Sixty-four percent of the new single-family homes completed in the United States in 2025, 644,000 of 1,005,000, were built inside a homeowners association, according to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction. Among new homes built for sale, the share was 78%.

HOA regulations come from a four-level stack: articles of incorporation, CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions), bylaws, and board-adopted rules. CC&Rs are recorded against your title and bind every owner automatically at closing, which makes them the hardest layer to change in a Michigan condominium project, amending the master deed or bylaws in a way that materially alters owners’ or mortgagees’ rights takes consent from at least 2/3 of them. Board rules sit at the bottom and often change at a single meeting.

Federal and state law outrank all four. Learn how HOA regulations get written and enforced, what to read before you buy, and how to push back when a rule crosses a legal line. If you’re earlier in the process, start with our Homeownership guide.

Key takeaways:

• Four layers, one hierarchy: Articles, CC&Rs, bylaws and board rules stack in that order, and in Michigan condominium projects a master deed or bylaw amendment that materially changes owners’ rights takes consent from at least 2/3 of co-owners and mortgagees.
• Board rules move fastest: A board can usually adopt or revise a rule at one meeting, which is why Michigan condominium bylaws must put a financial statement in every owner’s hands once a year and give 10 days’ notice before an amendment is recorded.
• Federal law overrides your covenants: The FCC’s reception device rule voids restrictions on satellite dishes 1 meter or less in diameter, the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act blocks flag bans, and a Fair Housing Act complaint goes to HUD within 1 year.

What are HOA regulations and who writes them?

HOA regulations are the recorded covenants and adopted policies controlling how you may use your home, your lot and the community’s shared property, arriving in four layers, each written by a different party and each carrying different legal weight.

A board rule conflicting with the CC&Rs generally loses, and all four lose to federal or state law. Michigan’s Condominium Act says it both ways: every co-owner, tenant and non-co-owner occupant must comply with the master deed, bylaws and rules, and a bylaw amendment cannot strip out the provisions the statute requires. Nolo publishes a plain-language legal overview of HOA rules and owner rights, and our breakdown of buying a home with an HOA covers the trade-offs.

Who makes HOA rules, and who can change them?

Your board writes most of what you’ll bump into daily, but it cannot rewrite the recorded documents alone. In a Michigan condominium project, the master deed, bylaws and subdivision plan may be amended in a way that materially changes owners’ rights only with consent of not less than 2/3 of the votes of co-owners and mortgagees, and state law voids any provision setting a higher bar.

• Mortgagees vote too: Each holder gets one vote per mortgage, solicited by written ballot, and any ballot not returned within 90 days of mailing counts as approval. Which is how amendments clear a threshold that looks impossible on paper.
• Housekeeping amendments skip the vote: If an amendment doesn’t materially alter owner or mortgagee rights, and the documents reserved the right to make it, no owner consent is needed.
• Notice is short: Michigan co-owners must be notified not less than 10 days before an amendment is recorded, and a bylaw amendment is inoperative until recorded.

Board rules are a different animal, needing nothing more than a properly noticed meeting and a vote. That’s why the most useful habit in an HOA is reading the minutes, where the changes that move resale value show up first: rental caps, vehicle restrictions, exterior color palettes.

How does an HOA enforce its rules?

Enforcement runs as a sequence, not a single event, and the association usually has to finish every step before money changes hands. Michigan’s Condominium Act permits fines only after notice and a hearing, and only where the condominium documents provide for fines at all.

1. Violation notice: A written notice naming the rule, the alleged violation and the date. Ignoring it is the most expensive move available, because silence reads as agreement in the record.
2. Cure period: A window to fix the problem or dispute the facts. Respond in writing, keep a copy, and photograph the condition on the notice date.
3. Hearing: Your chance to be heard before a fine attaches. A Michigan fine imposed without the notice and hearing the documents require is vulnerable.
4. Fine or other remedy: Michigan associations may also sue for damages, seek injunctive relief or foreclose an assessment lien, and the documents can shift reasonable attorney fees to the losing side where they expressly say so.
5. Lien and collection: Unpaid assessments, interest, charges, attorney fees and fines become a lien on the unit. A Michigan association cannot start foreclosure without recording a notice of lien and mailing it to the owner at least 10 days in advance, and the redemption period after sale is 6 months, 1 month if abandoned.

That last step reaches your mortgage: a recorded association lien sits ahead of a first mortgage recorded after it, which is why title companies watch delinquencies long before a borrower does.

What should you check before buying into an HOA?

Request six documents and read all six. Association health is a financing issue, not just a lifestyle one, and lenders read the same paperwork against published thresholds.

• The CC&Rs or master deed: Recorded covenants binding your title, architectural approval, rental caps, use restrictions. Board approval is separate from the permits your municipality requires; a remodel needs both.
• The bylaws: Board powers, election rules, meeting notice and how assessments get set.
• Current rules and regulations: The layer most likely to have changed since the seller bought.
• This year’s budget: Fannie Mae expects a condo project’s budget to allocate at least 10% of income to replacement reserves for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance.
• The reserve study and any special assessments: A project is ineligible for Fannie Mae financing if unfunded repairs cost more than $10,000 per unit and are due within the next 12 months, or a special assessment ties to an unresolved critical repair.
• Twelve months of minutes and the delinquency rate: Fannie Mae’s full review requires no more than 15% of units be 60 days or more past due on common expense assessments. Minutes are where litigation and looming assessments surface first.

Run the arithmetic yourself. Say a 60-unit association faces $900,000 of roof and balcony work against $150,000 in reserves. The $750,000 shortfall is $12,500 per unit. Past the $10,000 threshold, so the project may not be financeable until the work is funded or done.¹ The CFPB tools for evaluating a home purchase help you compare communities.

FHA gets there another way: a unit needs either a project on HUD’s approved list or a Single-Unit Approval, available only in projects that are complete, ready for occupancy, hold at least five dwelling units and aren’t manufactured housing.² Because Align is a broker, we place condominium files with partner lenders whose project appetites differ, see condominium financing.

What do HOA dues and assessments do to your taxes?

Nothing, in the ordinary case. The IRS puts “homeowners association fees, condominium association fees, or common charges” squarely on the list of ownership costs you cannot deduct on a personal residence.³ Mortgage interest and real property taxes are the lines that do the work on a Schedule A, see mortgage interest deductions and how they work for the current limits.

Three wrinkles belong in front of a tax professional. Assessments for local benefits that raise your property’s value generally aren’t deductible but are added to your basis, which matters at sale. Dues allocable to rented space follow different rules than dues on space you live in, and confirm the rental rules, since Michigan’s Condominium Act requires a co-owner to disclose a rental in writing at least 10 days before presenting a lease. Tax treatment also shifts with legislation, so check the impact of new tax laws on homeownership and our Taxes & Money hub.

How do you resolve an HOA rule dispute?

Escalate in order and put everything in writing. Most disputes die at step two; owners who lose badly are usually the ones who jumped to step five.

1. Read the actual document: Confirm which layer the rule lives in. Board rules contradicting recorded covenants are weaker than they look.
2. Request the records in writing: Ask for the budget, minutes, reserve study and enforcement history on your issue. Selective enforcement is a common defense, and it lives in the records.
3. Ask for the hearing: Use the process the documents give you, on the record, before a fine is final.
4. Petition the board or the membership: Rules a board adopted, a board can repeal. Covenants take the supermajority above, or a seat on the board.
5. Arbitration, mediation or court: Michigan’s small claims division handles money claims up to $7,000; larger disputes go to district or circuit court.

Before any of that, check whether the rule is enforceable at all. Several bodies of law sit above your covenants:

• Fair housing law: The Fair Housing Act bars discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability, and requires reasonable accommodations in rules and policies, HUD’s regulation uses a no-pets rule yielding to a service animal as the example. Complaints go to HUD within 1 year. Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act adds age, marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression to the protected list in real estate transactions, as amended by 2023 PA 6 effective February 13, 2024. See HUD’s fair housing rules, which override conflicting HOA covenants.
• The FCC’s over-the-air reception device rule: 47 CFR 1.4000 voids any covenant, lease provision or HOA rule that unreasonably delays, prevents or raises the cost of installing a satellite dish 1 meter or less in diameter, or a TV antenna, on property within your exclusive use or control. The only exceptions are a legitimate safety objective or a listed historic district.
• The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act: An association may not restrict a member from displaying the U.S. flag on property the member owns or exclusively possesses. Reasonable time, place and manner limits survive; outright bans don’t.

What Michigan homeowners should know

Michigan’s Condominium Act does most of the work here, and it reaches further than the word “condominium” suggests. Many Michigan neighborhoods of detached homes are legally condominium projects.

• Your record-access right is statutory: A Michigan condominium project’s books, records, contracts and financial statements must be available for examination by any co-owner and their mortgagees at convenient times. An association with annual revenues above $20,000 must have its books independently audited or reviewed by a CPA each year, unless a majority of members opt out.
• You get a financial statement every year: Michigan condominium bylaws must require the association to distribute a financial statement to each owner at least once a year and to keep a detailed account of expenditures and receipts.
• Non-condominium associations run on corporate law: Traditional Michigan subdivision associations are usually incorporated under the Nonprofit Corporation Act, which lets a member inspect the books for a proper purpose on written demand. If inspection isn’t allowed within 5 business days, the member may ask the circuit court to compel it, plus costs and attorney fees.
• Arbitration depends on your project’s age: Condominium projects established on or after May 9, 2002 must carry bylaws submitting document disputes to binding arbitration under American Arbitration Association commercial rules, but only if the parties elect it in writing. Otherwise either side may go to court.

Because so many Michigan subdivisions are site condominiums, a file you’d expect to underwrite as a detached single-family home can land in condominium project review instead, see how condominium financing works.

FAQ: HOA regulations

Here are answers to common questions about HOA regulations.

What is the difference between CC&Rs and HOA rules and regulations?

CC&Rs are recorded covenants attached to your title governing how the land and structures may be used, and amending them usually takes a supermajority owner vote. Rules and regulations are operational policies the board adopts, pool hours, parking, and can change at a meeting. When the two conflict, the covenants generally control, a hierarchy that shifts in other ownership forms, as our comparison of condos and co-ops shows.

Can an HOA legally fine me?

Yes, if the governing documents authorize fines and the association follows its own procedure. Usually written notice, a chance to cure, and a hearing before the fine is final. Michigan’s Condominium Act permits fines only after notice and a hearing, and unpaid fines can become a lien, so respond in writing. Our guide to buying a home with an HOA covers enforcement in practice.

How do I get a copy of my HOA’s governing documents?

Request them in writing from the board or management company; recorded covenants and master deeds also sit in county register of deeds records. Michigan condominium co-owners have a statutory right to examine the association’s books, records, contracts and financial statements at convenient times, and members of an incorporated non-condominium association can demand inspection in writing and go to circuit court if it isn’t allowed within 5 business days. Public land-use limits are also on record, see zoning regulations.

What should I check before buying a home in an HOA?

Read the CC&Rs, bylaws, current rules, this year’s budget, the reserve study and 12 months of minutes, watching for special assessments, litigation, thin reserves and rental caps. Lenders read the same material: Fannie Mae’s full condo review requires at least 10% of the budget going to replacement reserves and no more than 15% of units 60 or more days delinquent, so association problems can cost you the loan. See condominium financing.

The bottom line on navigating HOA regulations

HOA regulations come from four layers, articles of incorporation, CC&Rs, bylaws and board-adopted rules, and get easier to change as you move down the stack. Recorded covenants bind every owner and, in Michigan condominium projects, take 2/3 of co-owners and mortgagees to amend in any way that materially changes their rights. Board rules can change at one meeting, which is why minutes matter. Federal law sits above all of it: fair housing rules, the FCC’s 1-meter satellite dish protection and the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act each void a conflicting covenant. With 64% of new single-family homes completed in 2025 landing inside an association, this is the default for new construction.

If you’re ready to buy in a condo or HOA-governed community, talk to Align Lending. We shop your scenario across our wholesale lender network, including the condominium and site-condominium projects many retail lenders decline. Call 248-506-5727 or start online.

Footnotes:

1. Example figures in this article are hypothetical and for educational purposes only; they do not constitute an advertisement of credit terms or a rate quote under federal or state lending laws. Actual reserve balances, repair costs and assessment amounts vary by association, and project eligibility depends on the lender’s review of the association’s own documents. Return to text.

2. Align Lending is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of FHA or HUD. FHA condominium project approval and Single-Unit Approval requirements are set by HUD in the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 and related mortgagee letters, and are subject to change. Return to text.

3. This is general information, not tax advice. Deductibility depends on your individual circumstances, on how the property is used, and on whether you itemize. Consult a qualified tax professional about your situation. Return to text.

Sources: 64% of new single-family houses completed in 2025 in a homeowners’ association (644,000 of 1,005,000) and 78% of those built for sale, U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Construction, Characteristics of New Housing, “Homeowners’ Association for New Single-Family Houses Completed.” Amendment of condominium documents with consent of not less than 2/3 of co-owners and mortgagees, the void-if-higher provision, mortgagee ballots not returned within 90 days counted as approval, and 10 days’ notice before recording, MCL 559.190. Bylaws recorded as part of the master deed and inoperative until recorded, MCL 559.153. Mandatory bylaw provisions, annual financial statement to owners, and arbitration provisions applicable to projects established on or after the 2002 amendment, MCL 559.154. Compliance by co-owners, tenants and non-co-owner occupants, MCL 559.165. Books, records, contracts and financial statements available for examination at convenient times; annual CPA audit or review above $20,000 in annual revenues; majority opt-out, MCL 559.157. Relief for default, including fines after notice and hearing and attorney fees where the documents provide, MCL 559.206. Assessment lien, recorded and mailed notice of lien at least 10 days before foreclosure, and 6-month redemption period (1 month if abandoned), MCL 559.208. Written disclosure to the association at least 10 days before presenting a lease, MCL 559.212. Small claims jurisdiction of $7,000 beginning January 1, 2024, MCL 600.8401. Member inspection on written demand, 5-business-day response, and court-ordered costs and attorney fees, MCL 450.2487. Protected characteristics in Michigan real estate transactions, MCL 37.2502, as amended by 2023 PA 6, effective February 13, 2024. Fair Housing Act protected classes and coverage, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices and services, 24 CFR § 100.204. One-year deadline to file a complaint with the Secretary, 42 U.S.C. § 3610(a)(1)(A)(i). Over-the-air reception devices, the one-meter size limit, the impairment standard, and the safety and historic-preservation exceptions, 47 CFR § 1.4000. Prohibition on association policies restricting display of the U.S. flag and the reasonable time, place and manner proviso, Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-243. Replacement reserve funding of at least 10% of the budget and the 15% limit on units 60 or more days past due on common expense assessments, Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Full Review process for condo projects. Ineligibility for projects with unfunded repairs costing more than $10,000 per unit due within 12 months and special assessments tied to unresolved critical repairs, Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03, Ineligible Projects. Single-Unit Approval eligibility (complete, ready for occupancy, at least five dwelling units, not manufactured housing) and the October 15, 2019 effective date of the Project Approval for Single Family Condominiums final rule, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homeowners association fees, condominium association fees and common charges as nondeductible, and assessments for local benefits added to basis, IRS Publication 530.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, financial, or tax advice. HOA governing documents, state statutes, agency guidance and lender project standards change and vary by community, county and loan program; read your own recorded documents and consult a qualified attorney or tax professional about your situation. Figures shown are illustrative, are not a rate quote or an offer of credit, and are subject to change. Align Lending is an independent Michigan mortgage broker, NMLS #2041154.

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