May the Board fine homeowners for covenant violations?

The feud that consumed Fairfax County’s Olde Belhaven would span four years and cost the community as much as $400,000. The case set a Virginia precedent that HOAs cannot claim powers, such as fining, that are not specifically laid out in their covenants.

The Shadowood Condominium Association in Reston imposed fees for things like having the wrong color blinds.  A Fairfax County judge ruled that Shadowood can’t make up rules and impose fees if they are not in the development’s original master deed.

“It’s a game-changer” for perhaps 10,000 condo and homeowner associations across Virginia, according to Pia Trigiani, an Alexandria lawyer with extensive expertise in community association law, and recent president of the Virginia Bar Association.

The Board appears to have wrongly fined the owner of this red door.