The purpose of this website is to empower Henrico Citizens who live in one of the many Homeowners' Associations (HOAs) throughout the County. This site has a set of tools and links that will enable you to better understand and manage your responsibilities whether you are a homeowner or a governing board member. Please review the site and return as needed to obtain useful information. While we cannot provide legal, accounting, management or other professional advice, feel free to contact our office directly if you would like to discuss particulars related to the information here or if you have questions not addressed.
To better communicate with citizens, the Department of Community Revitalization would like to keep a current mailing list and asks that Homeowners' Associations send us email, letting us know:
Legal name of association:
Name of point of contact: first, last, middle
Title: (board member, homeowner)
Address:
Phone: (home, office, other)
Email Address:
Please provide your HOA meeting schedule:
HOA stands for Homeowners' Association. HOAs are formal legal entities created to maintain common areas and enforce private deed restrictions. Most condominium and town house developments and single-family subdivisions have Homeowners' Associations which are usually created when the development is built.
Living in a HOA carries with it certain rights, responsibilities and benefits. Benefits include the right to use common areas, which may include swimming pools, parks, playgrounds and other recreational facilities. In order to finance the operation of the common interested association, each owner is responsible for and obligated to pay periodic assessments, and if necessary, special assessments to ensure that the financial requirements are met.
In Virginia, any development that has common area must have a Homeowners' Association and be registered with Virginia's Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR).
Common area is property within a development which is owned, leased or required to be maintained or operated by a Homeowners' Association for the use of its members and designated as common area in the declaration.
Yes. In Virginia, any development that has common area must have a Homeowners' Association; therefore, if you own property within such a development your membership is automatic.
HOAs have the ability to impose standards of property maintenance higher than the County is able to do, given state law. They also have means of enforcement provided in their covenants, bylaws and rules. Developments run by Homeowners' Associations are usually more successful in preventing neighborhood deterioration and most owners like the quality of life in a Homeowners' Association. The board of directors that run HOAs are made up of owners who have volunteered to take on considerable responsibility for the benefit of the community. The effectiveness of HOAs depends on these volunteers. Should the Homeowners' Association become ineffective, the neighborhood may loose its ability to prevent deterioration to the higher standard of the HOA. Property values may decrease. Owners will have to depend on the County for enforcement of minimal property maintenance codes. This results in frustration on the part of the owners and additional resources required from the County.
Yes, please click here for additional information.
Unfortunately this happens fairly often; however ownership of property within a development with common area automatically enrolls the owner in a Homeowners' Association.
Yes. Your HOA must make all records available to its members based on Virginia Law § 55-510.
Yes. Your HOA must make all records available to its members based on Virginia Law § 55-510.
Yes. Meetings must be held regularly and be open to all members. Notice of each meeting must be provided to members and provide members with a free means of communication among themselves and with the Board of Directors. (Virginia Law (§ 55-510(E)) and § 55-510.2)
A reserve study allows the Board and Management to offset the ongoing deterioration of the common areas with funds to ensure the timely repair or replacement of those common areas. When properly done, irregular reserve expenses are offset by ongoing, regular reserve contributions. Special assessments are then left for true emergencies, not expenses which could have been anticipated.
Restrictive covenants are legal obligations imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property. HOA restrictive covenants are publicly recorded deed restrictions.
An alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process is any structured process in which a neutral, impartial person assists parties in a dispute in reaching a voluntary settlement by means of a dispute resolution process such as mediation, conciliation, facilitation, use of ombudsperson or any other proceeding leading to a voluntary settlement. The Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) offers mediation and conciliation as its alternative dispute resolution processes.
The Common Interest Community Ombudsman was established by the 2008 General Assembly and was created to assist members in understanding and exercising their rights in resolving issues with their Associations.
Questions should be directed to the Community Association Liaison, Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation (DPOR), P.O. Box 11066., Richmond, VA 23230-1066. (804) 367-2941
Or
County of Henrico - Department of Community Revitalization's Homeowners' Association Liaison, Kimberly Pomatto at (804) 501-7628 or pom06@co.henrico.va.us
| Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation | http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/dporweb/cic_main.cfm |
| Existing HOAs Annual Renewal Report | http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/dporweb/forms/cicb/cicanrenrpt.pdf |
| HOA Registration Application | http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/dporweb/forms/cicb/poaanrpt.pdf |
| National Homeowners' Association | http://www.perfectliving.org/ |
| Community Associations Institute | http://www.caionline.org/Pages/Default.aspx |
| HOA-VA Membership Benefits | http://www.hoa-va.com/assnmembership.aspx |
| HOA-VA Management Company Directory | http://www.hoa-va.com/ManagementCompanyDirectory.aspx |
| VA Community Association Law Blog | http://www.virginiacommunityassociationlaw.com/ |