LC-27 · Property
Homeowner-association power
A private government with a lien
In ordinary words
An HOA can fine you for a paint color, restrict a garden, and in many states place a lien and foreclose for unpaid assessments — sometimes even when the mortgage is current.
Why people call it a crime
People call it a neighborhood cartel. Signing the deed opted you into a private government.
A scene, not a hypothetical statute
The mailbox is the wrong shade. Fines stack. The association’s lawyer files a lien. The homeowner is current with the bank and still at risk of losing the house over dues and the wrong paint.
In legal terms
Covenants running with the land are enforceable as servitudes. State HOA statutes set notice, fine caps, and foreclosure procedures; priority of the lien varies. In some states an association can foreclose nonjudicially for a few thousand dollars in dues. Fair-housing law still bars rules that discriminate.
Courts treat recorded covenants as contracts that bind later buyers. The association is enforcing a private restriction, not a criminal code.
State common-interest-ownership acts; Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.
Where it stops being legal
Selective enforcement as a cover for discrimination, fines beyond statutory caps, and foreclosure without the notice the state requires are unlawful. Some states now restrict foreclosure for small delinquencies.