# Can I be forced to join an HOA that did not exist when I bought the house? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113 "2014-09-10T21:06:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/21 "2014-09-11T17:43:21Z")
Generally not. However, consult a HOA lawyer in your jurisdiction. Really, that is the answer here. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/22 "2014-09-11T17:43:54Z")
But if HOAs are a de facto form of local government, aren’t they obliged to obey U.S. election laws? You know, like how you don’t need to be a property owner to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/23 "2014-09-11T17:44:40Z")
And people don’t believe me when I tell them that HOAs are a layer of government. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/24 "2014-09-11T18:16:39Z")
I think one of the issues a proto-HOA would face in this situation is delineating the area of the neighborhood. Are they allowed to arbitrarily draw the line? If they cannot clearly justify which houses are “in the neighborhood” and which aren’t, then the voting process becomes legally questionable. I.e., if one street was excluded simply because it was known that the residents there were strongly anti-HOA and would prevent the vote from getting the necessary percentage. Wouldn’t the other anti-HOA people have a strong case that they must be included? It’s not like a town annexation … Well, okay it is. Some of the “gerrymandering” around town limits are due to trying to avoid/include property owners who are against/for annexation. But in this case it’s a true government entity that already exists. (Unless we get into forming a town issues …) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/25 "2014-09-11T20:57:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And people don’t believe me when I tell them that HOAs are a layer of government. They are corporations, not technically government, but much more annoying and capricious. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/26 "2014-09-12T10:15:29Z")
It still rankles me to contemplate having the rules changed after I made my purchase. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/27 "2014-09-12T21:56:10Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I think one of the issues a proto-HOA would face in this situation is delineating the area of the neighborhood. Are they allowed to arbitrarily draw the line? > > If they cannot clearly justify which houses are “in the neighborhood” and which aren’t, then the voting process becomes legally questionable. I.e., if one street was excluded simply because it was known that the residents there were strongly anti-HOA and would prevent the vote from getting the necessary percentage. Wouldn’t the other anti-HOA people have a strong case that they must be included? > > It’s not like a town annexation … > > Well, okay it is. Some of the “gerrymandering” around town limits are due to trying to avoid/include property owners who are against/for annexation. But in this case it’s a true government entity that already exists. (Unless we get into forming a town issues …) “Subdivision” and “Neighborhood” are legal definitions (a parcel of property might be legally described as “Lot 2, Block C of SUNNYSIDE ACRES”, for instance) that are part of the title and tax rolls, and the laws of the state would define at what level a new formed HOA could create boundries on. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/28 "2014-09-13T00:20:19Z")
Step 1: Read the Bill of Assurance for your property. All the rules will be clearly stated. For example the Minimum sq ft of the home, are carports allowed, and many others. The HOA will be in there too or any plans to create a HOA in the future. Amendments can be added to the Bill of Assurance. I’m not sure if they retroactively apply to existing owners. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/29 "2014-09-13T00:27:37Z")
This amendment to the Bill of Assurance was passed by a majority vote of the property owners. Requiring a yearly fee to fund the renovation of the neighborhood pool. > **[ammendment2006.pdf](https://www.marlowemanor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ammendment2006.pdf)** > > 58.76 KB ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/30 "2014-09-13T00:46:13Z")
I’d assume you can be grandfathered out. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113/31 "2014-09-13T13:53:18Z")
> [@aktep](#): > > “Subdivision” and “Neighborhood” are legal definitions (a parcel of property might be legally described as “Lot 2, Block C of SUNNYSIDE ACRES”, for instance) that are part of the title and tax rolls, and the laws of the state would define at what level a new formed HOA could create boundries on. In an ideal world, that would be the case. We don’t live in an ideal world. I know of subdivisions all over that have weirdness regarding houses built at completely different times. E.g., my mother’s. There is one very old house that predates the main part of the subdivision. Then a few houses were added later on two “stub” roads off it. Then there were fill in duplexes added in tiny free spaces here and there. Then a lot of small houses in an adjacent vacant lot. Etc. The original subdivision accounts for maybe 2/3 of the houses. And there is no way there is any plat description of the old house that includes the name of a subdivision built decades later. Also, in that part of the world, “neighborhood” at the official level describes the largest subcomponents of the city. Miles long in each direction. Including businesses, schools, parks, etc. In my own subdivision, there were “phases”. Should all the phases have to be in the same category or just each one? At least they were all built around the same time. (Although our neighbors now have a “new” house thanks to a fire.) But for other nearby subdivisions, the “phases” spread out over many years, decades. When things are not perfectly clear cut, expect lawyers to be involved. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-be-forced-to-join-an-hoa-that-did-not-exist-when-i-bought-the-house/698113.md?page=1)