Lump sum
per unit, due at once
months of current dues
No financing cost. The largest immediate burden on owners, which can make collection harder.
Tools · Community planning
HOA special assessment planner
See what the project needs, what owners would pay, and what borrowing adds. Compare three funding paths with contingency and uncollected assessments included.
Free to use. No signup. All results available without an email address.
Start with the project
Illustrative starting values. Replace them with your estimates, available reserves, and collection history.
All units responsible for the project.
Use your current contractor estimate.
A buffer for overruns can help avoid a second assessment.
Include only reserves available for this project.
Share of the amount billed you expect to collect.
Used only to put the assessment in perspective.
Equal monthly payments, with no interest.
Fixed rate. Fees and closing costs are not included.
Fully amortizing, with monthly payments.
Amount to assess for a cash-funded project
project cost + contingency − reserves = funding gap (floored at zero), then divided by expected collection to net that amount.
Installment plan
/mo
per unit for months
total per unit
No interest cost. The association still needs cash for the project before owners finish paying.
Association loan
/mo
per unit for years
total per unit
more per unit than paying upfront.
total association interest. Funds the project immediately and spreads payments over future years of ownership.
All scenarios use the same collection assumption for comparison. Actual payment behavior may differ. Figures are rounded for display; the loan total uses unrounded monthly payments. Loan fees, rate changes, and early repayment are excluded.
What to plan around
A basis for a defensible funding discussion
The assessment equals months of dues, with contingency and full collection assumed. Confirm the project scope, owner capacity, and approval requirements.
How allocation changes the owner’s share
Compare an equal split with a square-footage illustration. This does not replace the percentage-interest table in your governing documents.
Without an actual total, the estimate uses the midpoint of the smallest and largest unit sizes, multiplied by the unit count. That is an approximation of the unit mix.
Enter positive sizes with the largest at least as large as the smallest. An actual total must fit within those sizes across all units.
Smallest unit
Equal split
Largest unit
separates the smallest and largest unit in this illustration.
Your governing documents decide which method you may use. This is not the board’s choice to make freely; applicable law also controls.
Put the proposal into words
Create an editable owner-letter draft with these figures, your project, payment options, vote, and timeline. Email is required only for this optional download.
Which funding method fits
The right schedule depends on when the contractor needs payment and what owners can carry. The smallest monthly figure does not mean the lowest total cost.
Lump sum
A possible fit when the assessment is small relative to dues and owner equity is strong. Equity is not cash, so check owner liquidity and decide how hardship requests will be handled.
Installments
A possible fit when project invoices arrive over time and the association has working capital. Map contractor payments against expected collections before offering a schedule.
Association loan
A possible fit when work is urgent, the assessment is large, or the improvements benefit future owners. Compare total interest and fees with the project’s useful life.
Read beyond the loan payment
Association lenders commonly rely on current and future assessment income as collateral. Review any assignment of that income, the covenant to levy and collect enough to repay, and reserve or dues-increase commitments in the quote.
Read a lender’s collateral explanationThe association remains the borrower when an owner sells. Future payments may fall to buyers, while amounts already due and payoff requirements depend on the documents, law, and sale terms. Confirm the treatment in resale disclosures.
Decide the hardship policy early
Before sending the notice, decide whether hardship payment plans will be offered, who qualifies, how long they run, and whether interest applies. Check legal requirements and record the policy so requests receive consistent treatment.
The installment illustration assumes no interest. If your policy includes interest or fees, those amounts need a separate schedule. A payment plan also needs a way to cover project bills while collections arrive.
Check the rules before setting a date
Initial coverage: California and Florida. These summaries identify the rules to check, not permission to levy an assessment. Association type, governing documents, emergency provisions, and later amendments can change the answer.
Sources reviewed September 6, 2026. No rule is assumed for states not listed.
California · Residential common interest developments
Ordinary, nonemergency assessments under the Davis-Stirling Act. Affordable-housing provisions, emergencies, and election procedures need separate review.
- Cost limit and collection assumptions
- An assessment may not exceed the amount needed to cover the costs for which it is levied. The planner’s contingency and collection adjustments do not establish authority to collect those amounts. Confirm the documented need and treatment of any surplus before adopting the levy.Civil Code 5600(b)
- Owner vote and board limit
- Special assessments totaling more than 5% of budgeted gross expenses in a fiscal year require approval by a majority of a quorum of members. For this rule, quorum means more than 50% of members. The threshold applies to the annual aggregate, not each project separately.Civil Code 5605(b), (d)
- Board meeting notice
- An ordinary open board meeting needs at least 4 days of notice with an agenda, or longer if the governing documents require it. A member vote has separate election procedures; this is not a ballot deadline.Civil Code 4920
- Assessment notice
- Provide individual notice of an assessment increase 30 to 60 days before it becomes due. Confirm the delivery requirements and the full election timeline before setting a payment date.Civil Code 5615
- Reserves applied to the project
- Designated reserves are restricted to specified work on major components, or related litigation, for which the fund was established. A reserve balance is not automatically available for any project.Civil Code 5510
- Emergency exception
- Defined emergencies can fall outside the ordinary assessment limit. Unforeseeable-expense assessments require written findings and distribution of the resolution with the assessment notice. Do not assume an urgent project automatically qualifies.Civil Code 5610
Florida · Homeowners’ associations (Chapter 720)
Ordinary, nonemergency assessments. These are HOA rules, not condominium rules. Check whether developer control or a document-specific approval limit applies.
- Authority, allocation, and any cap
- The governing documents describe how expenses are shared. Check the declaration and bylaws for the board’s assessment authority, member-vote threshold, and any dollar cap. Section 720.308 does not supply a universal project-size voting threshold.Florida Statutes 720.308
- Special assessment meeting notice
- Give written notice by mail, delivery, or authorized electronic transmission, plus the required property posting or broadcast, at least 14 days before the meeting. The notice must identify the nature of the assessment.Florida Statutes 720.303(2)(c)
- Payment due date
- The 14-day rule above concerns the meeting, not a universal payment deadline. Review the declaration, adopted assessment terms, and delivery rules before specifying when payment is due.Florida Statutes 720.303 and 720.308
- Before developer turnover
- A developer-controlled board needs approval of the nondeveloper parcel owners under the special meeting and voting requirements of section 720.315 before levying a special assessment.Florida Statutes 720.315
- Reserve restrictions
- Statutory reserves must be used for authorized reserve expenditures. Other uses need advance approval by a majority vote at a meeting with a quorum. Developer-controlled associations have additional restrictions.Florida Statutes 720.303(6)(h)
Florida · Condominiums (Chapter 718)
Ordinary, nonemergency condominium assessments. Structural reserves, developer control, and the association’s documents can change the approval path.
- Owner vote and limits
- Do not use a universal dollar cap. Review the documents and project type. Special assessments or borrowing to fund structural integrity reserves under section 718.112(2)(f)2.c require a majority of total voting interests, subject to that provision’s exclusions.Florida Statutes 718.112(2)(f)
- Meeting notice
- A nonemergency special assessment meeting requires written delivery and conspicuous posting at least 14 days beforehand. State the estimated cost and purpose, and retain the required affidavit of notice compliance.Florida Statutes 718.112(2)(c)
- Assessment notice and use of proceeds
- The written assessment notice must state its purpose. Proceeds are restricted to that purpose; statutory rules govern any surplus. Confirm the due date against the documents and approved assessment terms.Florida Statutes 718.116(10)
- Structural reserve funding
- Structural integrity reserve study funding has separate restrictions on waiving or reducing reserves. The study must reflect the selected funding method and may need updating before a budget that departs from its funding plan. Check the current exceptions before applying reserves or borrowing.Florida Statutes 718.112(2)(f), (g)
Planning estimates only, not legal, financial, or accounting advice.
Questions about the calculation
Why is the amount to assess higher than the project need?
The planner divides the funding gap by your expected collection rate. At less than full collection, billing only the gap leaves the project short. This is a cash-planning adjustment, not permission to charge more than your documents or state law allow.
Does an installment plan pay for the work immediately?
No. Owners pay over time. Match the payment schedule to contractor invoices and available working capital, or identify bridge funding before work begins. The model assumes no installment interest or fees.
Why does the loan borrow less than the amount to assess?
The association borrows the project cost plus contingency, less available reserves. Expected nonpayment is then applied to monthly loan collections. Applying the adjustment to both principal and repayments would count it twice.
Can the board choose equal shares or square footage?
Your governing documents and applicable law control the allocation. The size comparison is illustrative. Use the recorded percentage-interest schedule when required; a unit’s floor area may not match its legal assessment share.
What happens when reserves cover the entire project?
The funding gap and all three payment scenarios become zero. The planner does not treat unused reserves as a negative assessment. Confirm that the reserves can legally be used for this work.
Is the owner letter a statutory assessment notice?
No. It is an editable discussion draft based on your estimate and the details you enter. Confirm authorization, allocation, notice contents, delivery method, deadlines, and payment policy before issuing any notice.
Is this planner free?
Yes. Every calculation and state-law summary is available without an account or email address. Only the optional editable owner-letter download asks for an email address.