Can an HOA Raise Fees Without Notice?

The short answer: an HOA generally cannot raise fees without notice, because raising dues is an act of governance that must follow the budget process and the notice rules in the documents and Pennsylvania law. A board that simply announces a higher bill with no process has skipped steps, and owners have grounds to push back.

Most communities set dues annually as part of the budget cycle: the board prepares a proposed budget, presents it to owners, and adopts it, often with a meeting and a notice window. The increase takes effect for the coming fiscal year, not retroactively, and owners get to see the number before it lands on their bill.

The increase itself is not the problem; the process is. Pennsylvania's Uniform Planned Community Act requires the association to adopt a budget and provides for owner involvement, and the declaration usually adds its own notice and approval requirements.

The requirement of notice comes from two places: the declaration and bylaws, and the Pennsylvania Uniform Planned Community Act. The documents typically require the board to prepare an annual budget, distribute it to owners, and hold a meeting at which the budget is presented and owners may speak. Some documents require an owner vote to approve budget increases above a threshold.

The statute, at 68 Pa.C.S. Chapter 51, requires the association to provide notice of meetings and gives owners a right to review the budget and records. Where the documents require a vote on increases, an increase adopted without that vote can be challenged.

If your association raised dues without any notice or meeting, the first step is a written request for the record: the notice, the meeting minutes, and the vote. A board that can produce them has followed process; one that cannot has a problem.

Special assessments are the other way a community's charges can jump, and they follow stricter rules than annual dues. Because a special assessment is an unbudgeted charge on top of dues, the declaration usually requires a higher bar: a board vote, an owner vote, or both, depending on the amount. Pennsylvania law and the documents together decide which.

If a special assessment is levied without the required approval, owners can dispute it, and the community could be forced to rescind or refund it. If you receive a special assessment bill with no vote or no explanation, ask for the authorization in writing before you pay, because paying can be read as accepting the charge.

For buyers, the lesson is the same: read the assessment clauses and ask the board how increases and assessments have actually been handled, because the pattern tells you what your future bills will look like.

If you discover a fee increase that skipped the process, respond in writing and stay calm. Ask for the meeting minutes and the vote that authorized the increase, and cite the specific document sections that required notice or approval. Point out the gap politely, and ask the board to either provide the missing authorization or correct the billing going forward.

If the board resists, you can raise the issue at the next board meeting, at the annual meeting, and in the next election, and you can consult an attorney if the amount is significant. A procedural defect is a real legal issue, but most boards fix it once it is named.

Do not refuse to pay outright, because unpaid dues produce late fees, liens, and eventual legal action. Pay under protest if you must, while disputing the process in writing. That protects your account while you pursue the correction.

A healthy community makes its fee increases boring: announced early, explained plainly, and decided on schedule. Each year, the board presents the proposed budget with the coming year's dues, compares it with the current year, and shows what is driving the change: insurance, utilities, maintenance contracts, reserves. Owners get the numbers before the meeting and a chance to speak and vote on them.

Increases are usually modest and predictable, tied to real costs rather than to surprises. When a large increase is coming, a healthy board warns owners well in advance and can point to the reserve study or the insurance market as the reason.

That is the pattern to look for when you read the minutes and the dues history before buying. A history of explained, modest, on-schedule increases is a good sign; a history of sudden jumps, or of increases discovered after the fact, is not.