What homeowners’ association, homeowners can and cannot do

Neighborhoods are meant to foster security, cooperation, and a sense of belonging.

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Neighborhoods are meant to foster security, cooperation, and a sense of belonging. Yet many subdivisions around the country have become battlegrounds where homeowners’ associations (HOAs) and homeowners wage prolonged disputes over unpaid dues, access to village common areas and amenities, and the limits of association power. The law already provides the rules. What is often missing is respect for them.

Republic Act No. 9904, the Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners’ Associations, recognizes that an HOA is indispensable to every residential community. It maintains roads, parks, drainage systems, security, and other common facilities funded primarily through association dues. Without prompt payment by homeowners, these services inevitably deteriorate. Paying duly authorized association dues is both a contractual obligation and a civic responsibility that sustains the entire community.