The Guide to Virginia HOA Laws

All board meetings, including committee and subcommittee meetings, must be open to homeowners with advance notice and a posted agenda. Members must be allowed to record and given a comment period at every meeting.

Closed (executive) sessions may be held only after a recorded open-session vote stating the purpose. These sessions are limited to personnel matters, legal advice, contracts under negotiation, litigation, rule violations, and the personal liability of association members.

A board may hold virtual meetings under § 55.1-1832, provided it adopts written guidelines and offers a free, non-electronic alternative.

What this means for HOA board leadership: They can’t make major decisions behind closed doors or in an unannounced email thread they hope residents won’t see. Homeowners have a legal right to show up, observe proceedings, and hold the board accountable.

This statute grants access to records to residents in good standing, or their authorized agents, who request them for a proper purpose related to their membership. They can inspect and copy financial records, contracts, board meeting minutes, tax returns, and other association books and records. Boards must respond within certain timeframes. Professionally managed boards have five business days to respond, while self-managed boards have 10 business days.

Residents don’t have carte blanche access to documents, though. The statute allows boards to withhold personnel records, attorney-client communications, executive session minutes, pending litigation files, and other owners’ personal account information.

Boards may charge a fee for residents to make copies. However, the statute limits these fees to the actual cost of making copies. The copy fee policy must be written and equally applied. There are no exceptions.

What this means for HOA board leadership: Residents have the right to ask where their dues go, and boards must respond within the statutory window or risk falling out of compliance. Keeping records organized and ready to share is where digital document storage tools earn their keep.

This statute caps late fees at 5% of the unpaid amount, and applies only to assessments more than 60 days past due, unless the declaration specifies otherwise (§ 55.1-1824, cross referencing § 58.1-3915).

Under these statutes, boards may levy additional assessments for capital-component maintenance, repair, or replacement without an owner vote, and owners have no statutory right to rescind them (§ 55.1-1825).

Additionally, a capital reserve study is required at least every five years and must be reviewed annually. To the extent the study shows a need to budget for reserves, the board must disclose the estimated replacement cost, estimated remaining and useful life, current reserve balance, and recommended and actual reserve funding in the annual budget (§ 55.1-1826).

Statute 55.1-1827 requires a fidelity bond or employee dishonesty coverage, the lesser of $1 million or (reserves + 25% of annual assessments), at a minimum of $10,000.

What this means for HOA boards: These statutes give the board the authority and responsibility to fund major repairs, even without a vote. The board is also obligated to back any additional assessment with a current reserve study.

These statutes require written notice of any violation and a reasonable opportunity to cure. The board must supply at least 14 days’ written notice of a hearing. That notice must be hand-delivered or delivered through registered/certified mail.

Residents have the right to be heard and represented by counsel at the hearing. The hearing result must be delivered within seven days.

These statutes cap fines at $50 per single offense or $10 per day for continuing violations, for up to 90 days. The prevailing party in any enforcement action recovers reasonable attorney’s fees, costs, and interest (§ 55.1-1828).

What this means for HOA board leadership: The board can’t spring fines on residents. Virginia HOA laws specify the procedures and set a hard cap. Because self-managed boards can lose track of who was notified and when, violation tracking tools help keep notices and records aligned with the statute’s notice and hearing requirements.

Before a board can record a memorandum of lien, it must send a pre-filing certified-mail notice 10 days in advance. The board must file the memorandum of lien within 12 months of when the first assessment came due.

A non-judicial foreclosure is a powerful tool only available to the board when the total sums secured by the lien exceed $5,000, excluding attorney fees and costs. The foreclosure must commence within 10 years (120 months) of the lien recording. The owner has at least 60 days to cure before the board appoints a trustee, and a separate notice of the sale itself must then be mailed by certified mail at least 14 days before the sale.

The lien secures unpaid assessments, and the $5,000 foreclosure threshold excludes attorney fees and costs.

What this means for HOA board leadership: Liens and foreclosure are slow and built on paper trails, by design. Boards win these cases by following every step, not by rushing. Since self-managed boards don’t always have deep financial expertise, financial management tools that automate invoicing and track who owes what help build the defensible record a foreclosure requires.

Virginia HOA laws protect a number of homeowners’ rights.

Statute 55.1-1820 protects the display of the US flag. The association bears the burden of proof in enforcement. A clause in this statute (§ 55.1-1820.1) also allows solar energy devices to be installed. HOAs can restrict the size and placement of these panels, but restrictions will be deemed “unreasonable” if they increase installation costs by more than 5% above the anticipated cost, or decrease the solar panel’s energy production by more than 10%. These protections apply unless the association’s recorded declaration prohibits solar devices.

Additionally, Virginia HOA laws protect EV charging stations (§ 55.1-1823.1). The statute grants the HOA reasonable restrictions on the number, size, place, and manner of placement or installation of such charging stations. While state laws regarding HOAs don’t protect satellite dishes, such devices that are one meter (three feet) or less are protected by the FCC Over-the-Air Reception Device (OTARD) rule.

State laws regarding HOAs protect for-sale signs (§ 55.1-1822). At least one must be permitted. However, the HOA can set reasonable rules about where those signs are placed.

If a resident runs a home-based business, state law protects it unless the association’s recorded declaration prohibits home-based businesses (§ 55.1-1821). The HOA can still set reasonable restrictions, but it can’t flatly ban such businesses unless the declaration says so.

During elections, residents must obey HOA rules regarding lawn signs. Virginia HOA laws don’t protect political signs, so the HOA is allowed to set reasonable, content-neutral rules.

What this means for HOA board leadership: There might be things that the HOA board can’t stop outright, but it can set reasonable rules to maintain decorum.

Under state law, the HOA must deliver the resale certificate within 14 days of a written request (§ 55.1-2309). The resale certificate is a set of documents comprising approximately 30 required items: governing documents, current assessments, reserve information, six months of meeting minutes, insurance summary, pending litigation, and the owner’s responsibility for insurance deductibles (§ 55.1-2310).

If the HOA misses the deadline, the certificate is deemed unavailable, and the buyer can cancel the sale (§ 55.1-2312). That right lasts for three days after the certificate is delivered, or any time before settlement if it was never delivered (§ 55.1-2312).

The HOA can charge a maximum of $211.96 for paper copies, for up to two copies, and $176.64 for electronic delivery (§ 55.1-2316), as long as it’s registered with the CICB and current on its annual report. Moreover, the HOA must offer electronic delivery as an option.

The statutes restrict the HOA from requiring the disclosure of the contract purchaser’s name.

What this means for HOA board leadership: When a resident sells their property, the HOA has 14 days to prepare a resale certificate. While the association can charge a fee for the resale certificate, there’s a limit: it can only collect the fee if it’s registered with the CICB.

Virginia HOA laws have set rules about community managers. If your HOA has a paid community manager, that individual must be licensed by the CICB. They must also carry fidelity coverage in the amount of $10,000 to $2 million (§ 54.1-2346). However, if your HOA doesn’t have a paid community manager (meaning it’s self-managed), you can operate without one (§ 54.1-2347).

If an HOA has a manager and the contract automatically renews, either side can terminate it without cause and without penalty on at least 60 days’ written notice (§ 55.1-1837). After termination, the manager must transfer all association funds and records and close accounts within a reasonable time, at no additional cost (§ 54.1-2353).

Virginia law also establishes the Common Interest Community Ombudsman. Every association must adopt a written complaint procedure directing members to the Ombudsman (§ 54.1-2354.4). Homeowners can appeal the ombudsman’s decision within 30 days of a final adverse decision. There’s a $25 fee to do so (waivable if there’s a hardship). The ombudsman’s determinations aren’t binding, but repeat violations within 365 days are referred to the CICB for enforcement.

What this means for HOA board leadership: There’s a formal path for disputes to protect the association and the resident. The board must document everything and file within the 30-day window. Use the hearing process, too. It’s the way to make sure your voice is heard.