Reviewing open violations

The question isn't "did it happen," it's "was notice given"

A new director's first instinct when reading an open violation file is to check whether the violation actually happened, a car parked in the wrong spot, a fence painted the wrong color. That's not the question that decides whether the fine can stand. In most states, a board must give the owner written notice describing the alleged violation and an opportunity for a hearing before a fine or suspension takes effect. Skip that step, and the fine is vulnerable to challenge on procedure alone, whatever the owner actually did.

"A fine or suspension levied by the board of administration may not be imposed unless the board first provides at least 14 days' notice to the parcel owner"

Source: Florida Statutes, section 720.305, Florida Legislature

What to check in each file

For every open violation on your list, look for four things: a copy of the notice letter and the date it was sent, evidence of how it was delivered, whether the owner was offered a hearing and whether one actually happened, and the date the fine or suspension was imposed relative to those steps. A file with a fine and no notice letter isn't a closed matter, it's an open liability sitting on the association's books.

Notice periods and hearing structures vary by state

The length of notice, the delivery method required, and whether the hearing runs before an independent committee or some other body all vary by state, and you should confirm your own state's rule rather than assume a figure from elsewhere applies. Texas, for example, requires notice by certified mail and gives the owner a window to request a hearing.

"the association or its agent must give written notice to the owner by certified mail"

Source: Texas Property Code, section 209.006, Texas Legislature

A thin minute entry isn't a red flag

If the minutes for a violation vote show only the motion and the result, with nothing about what was discussed, that's normal, not suspicious.

"Minutes are a record of what was done at a meeting, not a record of what was said."

Source: Robert's Rules of Order, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association

Don't read a terse minute entry as evidence the board acted improperly. Read the violation file itself, the notice letter and the hearing record, for that answer.