Texas HOA compliance, enforced as code

Decision body — the board

The § 209.007 hearing is before the board. Fines must be levied in an open board meeting (§ 209.0051). Tex. Prop. Code § 209.007

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

Before levying a fine the association must send the § 209.006 notice and honor the owner's § 209.007 hearing right; the fine itself requires a recorded board decision. Tex. Prop. Code §§ 209.006–209.007

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

Required notice elements: description of the violation or property damage; amounts due or proposed action; right to cure (where the violation is curable and not a health/safety issue); right to request a hearing; Servicemembers Civil Relief Act rights where applicable. Tex. Prop. Code § 209.006

• Violation description
• Amount due or proposed action
• Right to cure
• Right to request hearing
• SCRA rights

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

Violation-notice delivery method

The violation notice must be sent by certified mail or verified mail. Tex. Prop. Code § 209.006

In CommonGround: The send step offers only the statutory methods (certified mail, verified mail) and files the delivery proof with the violation record.

Owner's hearing-request window — 30 days

The owner generally has until the 30th day after the violation notice is mailed to request a hearing. A fine may not proceed without a hearing until this window has expired with no request. Tex. Prop. Code § 209.007

In CommonGround: The 30-day request clock starts when the notice goes out. The fine is blocked until the window closes with no request — and an owner request routes the case to a hearing automatically.

Hearing within 30 days of the request

The association must hold the hearing within 30 days after the owner's request. Tex. Prop. Code § 209.007

In CommonGround: When the owner requests a hearing, CommonGround schedules it inside the 30-day statutory window and surfaces the deadline on the board dashboard.

Hearing notice — at least 10 days

Notice of the hearing date at least 10 days before the hearing occurs (measured from the day the hearing is scheduled/noticed, not from the violation notice). Tex. Prop. Code § 209.007

In CommonGround: A hearing scheduled sooner than 10 days after its notice is rejected with the citation; the scheduler simply won't offer an illegal date.

Cure is a complete defense

If an owner cures a curable violation before the deadline stated in the notice, the association may not assess a fine for that violation. (Uncurable violations — e.g. fireworks, one-time noise — are classified at the violation-type level by the application.) Tex. Prop. Code § 209.006

In CommonGround: A logged cure before the deadline dismisses the fine automatically — the statute makes cure a defense, and the workflow honors it without a board action.

Adopted fine schedule / policy required

A board-adopted fine policy with violation categories, fine schedule, and hearing information is required; it must be posted/made available and delivered annually. No fine may be generated or approved without an active fine policy. Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0061 (HB 614, eff. 1/1/2024)

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.

How fines may be collected

No foreclosure of an assessment lien consisting solely of fines or fine-related attorney fees (or certain records charges). Fine-type charges may never enter a foreclosure basis. Tex. Prop. Code § 209.009

• Fine-only balances can never be foreclosed

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

Chapter 202 protected categories: violation intake must run protected-category screening before a notice or fine can issue; override requires recorded attestation. Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 202

• Drought resistant landscaping — Water conservation and drought-resistant landscaping protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.007
• Brown turf drought — Brown turf / drought-related fine limitations. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.008 (as affected by HB 517, eff. 9/1/2025)
• Political sign — Political sign protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.009
• Solar energy device — Solar energy device protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.010 (incl. HB 431 solar roof tiles, eff. 9/1/2025)
• Roofing materials — Roofing material protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.011
• Flag display — Flag display protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.012
• Religious display — Religious display protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.018
• Standby generator — Standby generator protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.019
• Lemonade stand — Children's lemonade stand protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.020
• Lawful firearm possession — Firearm possession protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.021
• Pool enclosure — Pool enclosure protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.022
• Security measures — Security measure protections. Tex. Prop. Code § 202.023 (as affected by SB 711, eff. 9/1/2025)

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