Cure periods

What a cure period actually is

A cure period is the window an owner gets, after a formal violation notice, to fix the violation before the association takes the next enforcement step, typically a hearing, a fine, or a suspension. It is not the same as a courtesy notice, an earlier, informal heads up some associations send before the formal process even starts. See Courtesy notices for that distinction.

Once the formal notice goes out, the clock on the cure period starts running. How long that clock runs is not something this lesson, or any general guide, can tell you. It comes from your state's statute, if one applies, and from your declaration and bylaws.

Why the length is not a fixed number

How many days a cure period must run varies by state, and some states set no statutory minimum at all. Check your state's HOA statute and your declaration before you write a notice. Two examples from the research behind this Course show how differently states handle it.

"at least 14 days' written notice"

Source: Florida Statutes section 720.305, State of Florida

Florida requires that notice before a hearing, and the notice itself must describe the violation and the specific action that will cure it.

"at least 10 days prior to the meeting"

Source: California Civil Code section 5850, State of California

California's Davis Stirling Act sets a shorter minimum notice and puts the hearing before the board itself rather than an independent panel. Neither number is the default for your association. Find your own state's requirement, and your declaration's, before you send anything.

What happens when the cure period ends

If the violation is not fixed by the end of the cure period, the usual next step is a hearing, not an automatic fine.

"Prior to charges or suspension, an owner must be given a reasonable opportunity to correct the alleged violation after written notice."

Source: Simple Tips for Effective HOA Due Process Hearings, Tarley Robinson, PLC

Practice guidance recommends running that hearing informally, in executive session, and telling the owner the result within a set number of days afterward. See Hearings for how that meeting actually runs.

Giving the cure period consistently also protects the association later. A board that lets one owner's violation slide past the cure period without consequence, then enforces strictly against the next owner for the same thing, is handing that owner a waiver or estoppel argument to raise at the hearing. See Owner defenses.