The 2026 Virginia HOA Compliance Guide

Why Virginia HOAs Are Different

Virginia regulates property owners’ associations through a detailed statutory system that reaches routine board operations. The central law is the Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act, Chapter 18 of Title 55.1 (commonly called the POAA).

Virginia also has a Common Interest Community Board and Ombudsman framework under Chapter 23.3 of Title 54.1. Associations must maintain written complaint procedures, file required annual reports, and operate knowing that regulatory review is possible.

Virginia HOA authority hierarchy

Most boards must work across:

1. Applicable federal law.
2. The Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act.
3. Virginia common-interest-community statutes and regulations.
4. Applicable corporate law.
5. The recorded declaration and amendments.
6. Articles of incorporation and bylaws.
7. Validly adopted rules, resolutions, and policies.

The board should identify the source of authority and every required procedure before acting. A board policy cannot override the POAA or create authority the declaration does not grant.

Does the POAA apply?

Virginia Code Section 55.1-1801 generally applies the POAA to developments subject to a declaration initially recorded after January 1, 1959, associations organized after that date, and specified subdivisions. Important exclusions and special rules exist, including for condominiums, cooperatives, time-shares, membership campgrounds, and certain older developments.

Before relying on this guide, confirm that the community is a property owners’ association governed by Chapter 18 rather than a condominium or another form of common-interest community.

1. Open Meetings and Board Transparency

Board and committee meetings must be open

Virginia Code Section 55.1-1816 requires all board meetings — including subcommittee and other committee meetings where association business is discussed or transacted — to be open to all members of record. Work sessions and informal gatherings cannot be used to evade the open-meeting requirements.

The association must:

• Record board-meeting minutes.
• Publish the time, date, and place of each board or committee meeting where notice is reasonably calculated to reach a majority of owners.
• Send continual meeting notice to owners who submit the required annual written request.
• Give notice reasonable under the circumstances for special or emergency meetings.
• Make at least one copy of agenda packets and materials furnished to the board available to members at the same time, except for executive-session materials.
• Allow members to record open portions of meetings, subject to reasonable equipment-placement and notice rules.
• Provide a designated member-comment period during each board meeting.

Except for election of officers, secret or written-ballot voting during an open board meeting violates the POAA.

Executive sessions

A board or committee may enter executive session only after an affirmative vote in an open meeting. The motion must specifically state the purpose, and the minutes must reference the motion and stated purpose.

Permitted subjects include:

• Personnel matters.
• Consultation with legal counsel.
• Contracts.
• Pending or probable litigation.
• Declaration or rule violations.
• A member’s personal liability to the association.

Discussion must remain limited to the stated exempt purpose. No action agreed to in executive session becomes effective until the board reconvenes in open meeting and votes on the action with its substance reasonably identified.

Association meetings

Virginia Code Section 55.1-1815 requires an association meeting at least annually. Notice must be sent:

• At least 14 days before an annual or regularly scheduled association meeting.
• At least seven days before any other association meeting.

Notice must state the time, place, and purposes of the meeting. It generally goes by U.S. mail, but qualifying hand delivery or elected email delivery may be used.

Meeting workflow

1. Classify the gathering as a member, board, committee, or executive-session meeting.
2. Publish and send the required notice.
3. Release the open-session agenda packet when it is furnished to the board.
4. Include a member-comment period.
5. Enter executive session only through a specific open-meeting motion.
6. Return to open meeting for every effective vote.
7. Record motions, votes, recusals, and actions in minutes.
8. Make draft board minutes available within the statutory deadline.

2. Records Inspection and Document Retention

Virginia requires detailed records of receipts and expenditures, financial books maintained under generally accepted accounting practices, individual assessment-account records, and records of recorded liens for at least as long as each lien remains effective.

Subject to statutory exclusions, all association books and records must be available for examination and copying by a member in good standing or an authorized agent when the request serves a proper purpose related to membership.

Records-request notice periods

The written request must reasonably identify its purpose and the specific records requested. Inspection rights may be exercised during reasonable business hours or at a mutually convenient time and location after:

• Five business days’ written notice for an association managed by a common interest community manager.
• 10 business days’ written notice for a self-managed association.

This distinction is especially important for volunteer-run boards: self-managed associations get a longer window to respond.

Records that may be withheld

The association may withhold or redact records to the extent they concern specified subjects, including:

• Personnel or medical matters.
• Contracts and commercial transactions currently under negotiation.
• Pending or probable litigation.
• Formal government enforcement proceedings.
• Privileged legal communications and attorney work product.
• Information whose disclosure would violate law.
• Executive-session minutes and related confidential materials.
• Other owners’ individual files.

The association should withhold an entire record only when the exclusion applies to its entire contents. Otherwise, it should redact the excluded portions and produce the remainder.

The board may adopt an equal, written cost schedule for copies and redaction review, but charges cannot exceed actual reasonable material and labor costs.

Draft board minutes must be open for inspection within 60 days after the meeting or when distributed in the next board agenda package, whichever occurs first.

Retention schedule

Records-request workflow

1. Date-stamp the written request and determine whether the association is self-managed.
2. Confirm good standing, proper purpose, and requested records.
3. Preserve responsive records.
4. Identify statutory exclusions and redact narrowly.
5. Provide the adopted cost schedule.
6. Schedule inspection or copying within the applicable notice period.
7. Log what was produced, redacted, withheld, or unavailable.

3. Rules, Violations, Hearings, and Charges

Virginia Code Section 55.1-1819 authorizes the board to establish, adopt, and enforce rules concerning common-area use and other responsibilities assigned to the association by the declaration. Rules may be adopted by resolution and must be reasonably published or distributed throughout the development.

At a special association meeting properly convened under the bylaws, a majority of votes cast may repeal or amend a board-adopted rule.

Due process before enforcement action

Before taking action authorized by Section 55.1-1819, the association must:

1. Give the member written notice of the alleged violation.
2. Provide a reasonable opportunity to correct it.
3. If it remains uncorrected, give the member an opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel before the board or other governing-document tribunal.
4. Hand deliver or send hearing notice by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 14 days before the hearing.
5. Hand deliver or send the hearing result by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, within seven days after the hearing.

Enforcement charge limits

The charges are treated as assessments for lien purposes. After either party files a court action concerning the charges or violation, additional charges stop accruing, subject to the court’s ultimate ruling.

The association may also suspend qualifying facilities or services for assessments more than 60 days past due when expressly authorized, but it cannot preclude access to the lot or endanger health, safety, or property.

Defensible enforcement workflow

1. Verify authority. Identify the declaration provision and valid rule.
2. Confirm the facts. Preserve dated evidence and prior communications.
3. Check consistency. Review comparable prior cases.
4. Send violation notice. Explain the alleged violation and reasonable cure opportunity.
5. Send hearing notice. Use the required delivery method at least 14 days before the hearing.
6. Hold the hearing. Allow the owner to be heard and represented by counsel.
7. Decide in a properly noticed meeting. Record the vote and reasoning.
8. Send the result within seven days.
9. Track charges carefully. Respect the $50 per-offense, $10-per-day, and 90-day limits.

4. Architectural Review

Architectural-review authority usually begins in the declaration. The board should identify the precise design-control power, standards, decision-maker, and deadline before approving or denying an application.

Defensible architectural-review process

1. Use a standard application covering plans, dimensions, materials, colors, permits, and contractor information.
2. Confirm the controlling declaration provision.
3. Apply written standards and prior decisions consistently.
4. Record conflicts and recusals.
5. Decide within every governing-document deadline.
6. Send a written decision identifying the controlling standard and any conditions.
7. Preserve the complete application and decision in the lot file.

Solar installations

Virginia Code Section 55.1-1820.1 prohibits an association from banning an owner’s solar energy collection device unless the recorded declaration establishes the prohibition.

The association may impose reasonable restrictions on size, place, and manner of placement. A restriction is statutorily unreasonable if it increases the initially proposed installation cost by 5% or reduces projected energy production by 10%, supported by qualifying specialist documentation.

The association may prohibit or restrict solar devices on common areas. Boards should obtain counsel review before denying or materially restricting an owner installation.

5. Assessments, Collections, and Liens

Late fees

Under Virginia Code Section 55.1-1824, except where the declaration or valid rules provide otherwise, the board may impose a late fee for an assessment or installment not paid within 60 days. The fee may not exceed the penalty provided in Virginia Code Section 58.1-3915.

That referenced statutory penalty is currently 5%. Boards should confirm whether the declaration or valid rules provide a different controlling term before charging a late fee.

Perfecting an assessment lien

Virginia Code Section 55.1-1833 gives the association a lien, once perfected, for unpaid assessments lawfully levied against a lot.

To perfect the lien, the association must:

• Send the owner certified-mail notice at least 10 days before filing.
• File a verified memorandum of lien in the circuit court clerk’s office for the county or city where the development is located.
• File before 12 months expire from when the first assessment became due.
• Include every item required by the statute: the development, lot, owners, amounts and due dates, association, payment contact, and statutory lien statement.

The lien receives priority over later liens and encumbrances, subject to specified exceptions.

Practical collection timeline

6. Virginia HOA Foreclosure Authority

Virginia permits judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure of a perfected assessment lien only when the total secured sums exceed $5,000, excluding attorney fees and costs.

Foreclosure cannot be initiated more than 120 months after the memorandum of lien was recorded.

Nonjudicial foreclosure protections

Before advertising a nonjudicial sale, the association must send notice identifying:

• The debt secured by the lien.
• The action required to satisfy it.
• A cure date at least 60 days after notice.
• The possibility of sale if the debt is not satisfied.
• The owner’s right to bring a circuit-court action asserting defenses.

After the 60-day period, the association may appoint a trustee. Additional sale notices, lienholder notices, newspaper advertising, bidding, accounting, and distribution requirements apply. The owner may stop enforcement before sale by satisfying the secured debt and enforcement expenses.

7. Elections, Voting, and Technology

The bylaws should define director qualifications, terms, nominations, quorum, election timing, removal, and vacancies. The POAA adds important voting and technology rules.

Unless expressly prohibited by the governing documents, a member may vote at an association meeting:

• In person.
• By proxy.
• By absentee ballot.
• By electronic means when the board has adopted electronic-voting guidelines.

Members voting by proxy or absentee ballot are treated as present for all purposes.

Virginia Code Section 55.1-1832 generally permits electronic notices, signatures, votes, consents, and approvals unless the declaration expressly prohibits them. Electronic records must be retained as long as equivalent nonelectronic records.

Section 55.1-1832 expressly authorizes electronic voting, consent, and approval when the declaration does not prohibit it and the board adopts appropriate guidelines. Whether the statute also permits holding an entire board or association meeting exclusively by electronic means (e.g., video conference) is a more nuanced question; boards should confirm the current scope of § 55.1-1832 with Virginia counsel before conducting fully virtual meetings. The association must in any case provide a reasonable alternative, at its expense, for members who cannot or do not wish to conduct business electronically.

Can a Virginia HOA board vote by email?

Electronic consent may be valid when consistent with the declaration, bylaws, corporate law, and Section 55.1-1832. However, the open-meeting statute still governs board meetings and prohibits using informal gatherings to evade openness. Boards should not use an email chain as a substitute for an open meeting when the discussion or action legally belongs there.

Election checklist

• Confirm voter eligibility, quorum, nominations, proxies, and ballot rules.
• Send the required association-meeting notice at least 14 days in advance.
• Adopt electronic-voting guidelines before offering electronic voting.
• Protect voter identity when a secret ballot is required.
• Preserve proxies, absentee ballots, electronic records, tallies, and minutes.
• Document challenges and rulings.

8. Budgets and Reserve Studies

Virginia requires more than general reserve planning. Under Virginia Code Section 55.1-1826, the board must:

• Make the annual budget or a budget summary available to owners before the fiscal year begins.
• Conduct a reserve study at least once every five years.
• Review the study results at least annually to determine whether reserves are sufficient.
• Make budget and assessment adjustments the board deems necessary to maintain reserves as appropriate.

When the study identifies a need to budget for reserves, the association budget must include specific reserve-disclosure information as required by § 55.1-1826. The enumerated line items — including replacement costs, component lifespans, accumulated cash, contribution projections, and recommended amounts — should be confirmed against the current statute and Virginia counsel guidance before preparing the budget.

The board may meet repair and replacement requirements through reserves, additional assessments, or borrowing.

Fidelity bond requirement

An association collecting common-expense assessments must maintain a blanket fidelity bond or employee dishonesty policy. Coverage must equal the lesser of $1 million or reserve balances plus one-fourth of aggregate annual assessment income, with minimum coverage of $10,000. See Virginia Code Section 55.1-1827.

Reserve-study workflow

1. Maintain a complete capital-component inventory.
2. Obtain or update the reserve study at least every five years.
3. Review sufficiency every year before adopting the budget.
4. Include every required reserve disclosure in the budget.
5. Document funding decisions and significant departures from the study.
6. Track actual project costs and update assumptions.

9. Complaints, Annual Reports, and State Oversight

Virginia associations must establish and follow reasonable written procedures for resolving written complaints from members and other citizens. See Virginia Code Section 54.1-2354.4.

The complaint procedures must:

• Maintain each complaint record for at least one year after association action.
• Provide complaint forms or written procedures.
• State where complaints should be directed.
• Include the Ombudsman’s contact information.
• Explain the complainant’s right to notify the Ombudsman of a final adverse decision.

A complainant generally may notify the Ombudsman after a final adverse decision using the required form, records, and filing fee. The exact deadline and process should be confirmed against current § 54.1-2354.4 and the DPOR Ombudsman office procedures before filing.

The Common Interest Community Board may enforce violations of the POAA and related statutes, seek court relief, and assess monetary penalties against a governing board after notice and opportunity to be heard. See Virginia Code Section 54.1-2351 for current penalty amounts and procedures.

Associations must also file the annual report required by Virginia Code Section 55.1-1835.

10. Vendor Management and Contracts

Vendor oversight should reflect the board’s governing-document authority, budget, reserve obligations, open-meeting duties, and applicable corporate-law standards.

Contract negotiations may qualify for executive-session discussion, but the board must return to an open meeting and vote on the contract with its substance reasonably identified before the action becomes effective.

Vendor checklist

• Define scope, service levels, price, term, renewal, and termination rights.
• Compare bids for material projects and document the selection.
• Verify licenses, insurance, references, and permits.
• Identify conflicts and record recusals.
• Require written change orders.
• Track warranties, certificates of insurance, deadlines, and performance.
• Preserve negotiation materials appropriately and release records when the statutory exclusion no longer applies.
• Have counsel review high-value, long-term, construction, management, and collection contracts.

Virginia HOA Compliance Checklist

Meetings

• Held the annual association meeting
• Published board and committee meeting notices
• Released open-session agenda packets when furnished to the board
• Included a member-comment period at each board meeting
• Used a specific open-meeting motion before entering executive session
• Returned to open meeting for every effective vote

Records

• Maintained detailed financial, assessment, and lien records
• Used the 10-business-day request process for a self-managed association
• Made draft board minutes available within the statutory deadline
• Adopted and provided an equal records-cost schedule
• Redacted excluded information narrowly

Enforcement

• Verified authority for every rule and charge
• Gave a reasonable opportunity to cure before hearing
• Sent hearing notice at least 14 days in advance using the required method
• Sent hearing results within seven days using the required method
• Tracked the $50, $10-per-day, and 90-day charge limits

Financial

• Made the budget or summary available before the fiscal year start
• Completed a reserve study within the last five years
• Reviewed reserve sufficiency this year before adopting the budget
• Included required reserve disclosures in the budget
• Maintained the required fidelity bond or employee dishonesty coverage
• Reconciled owner ledgers before collection action
• Tracked lien-perfection and foreclosure deadlines

Administration

• Maintained written complaint procedures and forms
• Preserved complaint records for at least one year
• Filed the required association annual report
• Verified vendor contracts, insurance, and renewal dates

Frequently Asked Questions