Arizona HOA compliance, enforced as code

Decision body — the board

After notice and an opportunity to be heard, the board of directors may impose reasonable monetary penalties. No independent-committee requirement exists; the board decides. A.R.S. § 33-1803(B)

In CommonGround: CommonGround routes the fine decision to the board and requires the recorded decision before any fine is assessed.

Notice, opportunity to be heard, and a recorded decision

Three independent prerequisites before any fine: (1) notice, (2) opportunity to be heard, (3) reasonableness. A fine imposed before a hearing opportunity is procedurally invalid — no 'fine first, hear later' path exists. A.R.S. § 33-1803(B)

In CommonGround: The workflow has no path around it: the notice must be sent, the opportunity to be heard must be offered, and the decision must be recorded — in that order — before a fine can exist.

Required violation-notice contents

A violation notice must cite the community-document provision, the violation/observation date, the manner in which the penalty will be enforced (§ 33-1803(B)), the process the member may use to contest, and the certified-mail response address (§ 33-1803(C)–(E); spec A1: a notice missing any element cannot issue). A.R.S. § 33-1803(B)–(E)

• Provision cited
• Violation date
• Enforcement manner
• Contest process
• Response address

In CommonGround: CommonGround drafts the notice with all 5 statutory elements in place; a notice missing any of them cannot be sent.

Owner response window — 21 days

The member may respond in writing by certified mail within 21 calendar days after the date of the notice, sent to the address identified in the notice. A.R.S. § 33-1803(C)

In CommonGround: The owner's 21-day response window is tracked from the notice, and the owner responds through a secure no-login link.

Association reply — 10 business days

Within 10 BUSINESS days after receipt of the member's certified-mail response, the association must reply. A.R.S. § 33-1803(D)

In CommonGround: An owner response starts the association's 10-business-day reply clock; CommonGround drafts the reply and tracks the deadline.

Required reply contents

The association's reply must include, at minimum: the provision allegedly violated, the date of the violation or observation, the first and last name(s) of the person(s) who observed it, and the process to contest the notice. A.R.S. § 33-1803(D)

• Provision violated
• Violation date
• Observer names
• Contest process

In CommonGround: The association's reply is generated with every statutorily required element filled in before it can be sent.

Enforcement stayed during the exchange

The association may not proceed with enforcement action (including collecting attorney fees) during the information-exchange window unless the original violation notice disclosed the contest process. A.R.S. § 33-1803(E)

In CommonGround: Fines and fees are frozen while the exchange is open — the workflow refuses to let enforcement proceed through a stay.

Hearing waiver / no-show

The statutory prerequisite is an OPPORTUNITY to be heard. A recorded hearing offer that the member waives (or no-shows after offer) satisfies it; the board decision must still be recorded (spec A1: held, waived, or no-show — never skipped). A.R.S. § 33-1803(B)

In CommonGround: A recorded waiver or documented no-show satisfies the hearing step, and CommonGround captures exactly which one happened in the audit trail.

Adopted fine schedule / policy required

Fining authority must exist in the community documents, evidenced by an adopted fine policy/schedule distributed to members (spec: 'fining authority must exist in the governing documents, evidenced by an adopted fine policy/schedule'). The statute regulates how fines are imposed; the documents must grant the power. A.R.S. § 33-1803(B) (authority requirement)

In CommonGround: No fine can be generated without the adopted fine policy or schedule on file — CommonGround checks for the artifact before the workflow opens.

Late-charge cap — greater of $15 or 10%

A late charge on an unpaid penalty may not exceed the greater of $15 or 10% of the unpaid penalty. Payments apply principal first, then interest. A.R.S. § 33-1803(B)

In CommonGround: A late charge above the statutory limit (the greater of $15 or 10% of the unpaid fine) is rejected.

How fines may be collected

Fines, late charges on fines, and similar member expenses are NOT enforceable as assessment liens — collectible only after obtaining a court judgment. An HOA can never foreclose over fines alone. A.R.S. § 33-1807

• Court judgment only — fines are never lienable

In CommonGround: Every collection step for fine-type charges is validated against these restrictions — the prohibited paths are refused, with the statute cited.

Arizona protected categories (planned communities). Enforcement requires an explicit recorded attestation citing the statutory exception. A for-sale-sign enforcement attempt additionally risks 6-month forfeiture of § 33-1807 lien rights. A.R.S. §§ 33-1808, 33-1809, 33-1816, 33-1818, 33-1819

• Protected flag display — American, uniformed-services, POW/MIA, Arizona, Arizona Indian nations, Gadsden, first-responder, blue/gold star, and historic US flags cannot be prohibited (reasonable placement rules only). A.R.S. § 33-1808(A)
• Political sign or flag — Political signs AND flags protected from 71 days before the primary through 15 days after the general election; 9 sq ft aggregate where no local rule. A.R.S. § 33-1808(C)–(D) (SB 1378, eff. 9/26/2025)
• Association election sign — Association-election signs protected from ballot distribution until 3 days after the election. A.R.S. § 33-1808(K)
• For sale or rent sign — For-sale/for-rent/for-lease signs of industry-standard size cannot be prohibited or charged fees. Violating this forfeits the association's § 33-1807 lien rights for 6 consecutive months per violation. A.R.S. § 33-1808(G)
• Door to door political activity — Daytime door-to-door political activity cannot be prohibited. A.R.S. § 33-1808(H)
• Member assembly common areas — Members may peaceably assemble in common areas for association-related discussion. A.R.S. § 33-1808(L)
• Solar energy device — Solar energy devices cannot be prohibited; mandatory attorney fees to a substantially prevailing party against the association. A.R.S. § 33-1816 / § 33-439
• Artificial turf — Planned communities only: artificial turf cannot be prohibited where natural grass is allowed (post-declarant control). A.R.S. § 33-1819
• Public street parking authority lapsed — No parking/traffic enforcement on public roadways for post-2014 declarations, or where the pre-2015 retention vote was not held by 6/30/2025 (per-association roadway_authority fact). A.R.S. § 33-1818 (HB 2298)
• Public service vehicle parking — Qualifying emergency-services and public-service vehicle parking cannot be prohibited. A.R.S. § 33-1809

In CommonGround: Violation intake screens every new case against Arizona's protected categories and flags the citation before a notice ever goes out.

Decision body — the board

After notice and an opportunity to be heard, the association may impose reasonable monetary penalties on unit owners for violations of the declaration, bylaws, and rules. The board records the decision. A.R.S. § 33-1242(A)(11)

In CommonGround: CommonGround routes the fine decision to the board and requires the recorded decision before any fine is assessed.

Notice, opportunity to be heard, and a recorded decision

Notice, an opportunity to be heard, and reasonableness are independent prerequisites to any monetary penalty; no 'fine first, hear later' path exists. A.R.S. § 33-1242(A)(11)

In CommonGround: The workflow has no path around it: the notice must be sent, the opportunity to be heard must be offered, and the decision must be recorded — in that order — before a fine can exist.

Required violation-notice contents

The owner's certified-mail response 'shall be sent to the address identified in the notice' — the violation notice must identify the response address. Unlike § 33-1803(B), § 33-1242 does NOT enumerate further mandatory notice contents; the four information elements are association-REPLY contents, excusable if already provided in the notice ((C)). Recording an optional 'contest_process' element documents the (D) disclosure that lifts the enforcement stay. A.R.S. § 33-1242(B)

• Response address

In CommonGround: CommonGround drafts the notice with all 1 statutory elements in place; a notice missing any of them cannot be sent.

Owner response window — 21 days

A unit owner who receives a written violation notice may respond by certified mail within 21 calendar days after the date of the notice, to the address identified in the notice. A.R.S. § 33-1242(B)

In CommonGround: The owner's 21-day response window is tracked from the notice, and the owner responds through a secure no-login link.

Association reply — 10 business days

Within 10 BUSINESS days after receipt of the owner's certified-mail response, the association must respond. A.R.S. § 33-1242(C)

In CommonGround: An owner response starts the association's 10-business-day reply clock; CommonGround drafts the reply and tracks the deadline.

Required reply contents

The association's written explanation must provide at least: the provision allegedly violated, the date of the violation or observation, the first and last name(s) of the person(s) who observed it, and the process the owner must follow to contest the notice — 'unless previously provided in the notice of violation'. A.R.S. § 33-1242(C)

• Provision violated
• Violation date
• Observer names
• Contest process

In CommonGround: The association's reply is generated with every statutorily required element filled in before it can be sent.

Enforcement stayed during the exchange

Unless the contest-process information was provided in the notice of violation, the association shall not proceed with any enforcement action (including collecting attorney fees) before or during the subsection (C) reply period. The association must also give written notice of the owner's option to petition for an ADRE administrative hearing (§ 32-2199.01) — an application-level duty/freeze, documented. A.R.S. § 33-1242(D)

In CommonGround: Fines and fees are frozen while the exchange is open — the workflow refuses to let enforcement proceed through a stay.

Hearing waiver / no-show

The statutory prerequisite is an OPPORTUNITY to be heard: a recorded hearing offer the owner waives (or no-shows) satisfies it; the board decision must still be recorded. A.R.S. § 33-1242(A)(11)

In CommonGround: A recorded waiver or documented no-show satisfies the hearing step, and CommonGround captures exactly which one happened in the audit trail.