Idaho HOA fine rules

"No fine may be imposed for a violation of the covenants and restrictions pursuant to the rules or regulations of a homeowner's association unless the authority to impose a fine is clearly set forth in the covenants and restrictions. A majority vote by the board is required before any fine may be imposed on a member for a violation of any covenants and restrictions pursuant to the rules and regulations of the homeowner's association. Written notice must be provided to the member at least thirty (30) days prior to a meeting at which a vote to impose a fine on the member is to be held. Service of the notice must be by personal service or certified mail" (Idaho Code § 55-3206(1)). Section 55-3206 prescribes the method of service — personal service or certified mail — and the minimum lead time, but it does not state what that notice must contain. Two subject-specific sections elsewhere in the chapter do prescribe content, on a much shorter clock: "Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a homeowner's association shall not remove a political sign from the property of a member or impose any fine or penalty upon the member unless it has first provided the member three (3) days' written notice that specifically identifies the rule and the nature of the violation" (§ 55-3209(4)), and "A homeowner's association may not remove a flag permitted by subsection (1) of this section from the property of a member or impose any fine or penalty upon the member unless it has first provided the member three (3) days' written notice that specifically identifies the rule and the nature of the violation" (§ 55-3210(4)). Those two are the only places in the chapter that say what a pre-penalty notice must say. The thirty days runs to a meeting, not to the fine itself: the fine may be imposed only by a majority vote of the board taken at that meeting. Separately, notice of meetings of the association is governed by other law: all homeowner's associations "shall ... Be governed by the provisions of sections 30-30-501 and 30-30-505, Idaho Code, as those provisions relate to notice of meetings of the homeowner's association. The board may adopt a process for members to choose to receive notice of any meeting of the homeowner's association by electronic means rather than by mail. All dates and information of the notice must remain the same as a mail notice" (§ 55-3204(3)(b)).

Idaho fixes no cure period of a set number of days. What it gives instead is an open-ended protection tied to the member's own conduct: "In the event the member begins resolving the violation prior to a meeting held pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, no fine may be imposed as long as the member continues to address the violation in good faith until fully resolved" (Idaho Code § 55-3206(2)). The only day count in § 55-3206 is a minimum, not a fixed period — "Written notice must be provided to the member at least thirty (30) days prior to a meeting at which a vote to impose a fine on the member is to be held" (§ 55-3206(1)) — so the interval between notice and the fine vote may be longer than thirty days but not shorter. Section 55-3206(2) sets no outer deadline by which the violation must be fully resolved; the protection lasts as long as the member began before the meeting and continues to address the violation in good faith. The same provision gates attorney's fees: "Attorney's fees and costs may not accrue or be assessed or collected by the homeowner's association until the homeowner's association has complied with the requirements of this section and the member has failed to address the violation as set forth in subsection (2) of this section" (§ 55-3206(4)).

The Homeowner's Association Act sets no maximum dollar amount for a fine and no cap on how often a fine may be imposed. The limits it does place on fines are these. The power itself must be granted by the recorded documents: "No fine may be imposed for a violation of the covenants and restrictions pursuant to the rules or regulations of a homeowner's association unless the authority to impose a fine is clearly set forth in the covenants and restrictions" (Idaho Code § 55-3206(1)). Fine money may not enrich the board: "No portion of any fine may be used to increase the remuneration of any board member or agent of the board" (§ 55-3206(3)). And a board may not enlarge the underlying restrictions by rulemaking: "A board of a homeowner's association may not use its power to adopt rules governing the common property to expand the provisions of the restrictive covenants as they relate to a member's property" (§ 55-3204(5)). On attorney's fees, "A court of competent jurisdiction may determine the reasonableness of attorney's fees and costs assessed against a member. In an action to determine the reasonableness of attorney's fees and costs assessed by the homeowner's association against a member, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the prevailing party" (§ 55-3206(4)).

The Act creates two specific disclosure duties with fixed deadlines and then adopts the Idaho nonprofit corporation act for records generally. A homeowner's association or its agent "shall provide a member and the member's agent, if any, a statement of the member's assessment account no more than five (5) business days after a written request by the member or the member's agent is received by the manager, president, board member, or other agent of the homeowner's association, or any combination thereof," the statement "shall include all outstanding assessments, charges, and fees, including any transfer fee, that are due and owing to the homeowner's association, including any late fees or interest that may have accrued," and "No fee shall be charged by a homeowner's association or its agent for providing a statement of the member's assessment account" (Idaho Code § 55-3205(1)). A homeowner's association or its agent "shall provide a member and the member's agent, if any, an updated financial disclosure no more than ten (10) business days after a request by the member or the member's agent is received" (§ 55-3205(3)), and "Within sixty (60) days of the close of the fiscal year, a homeowner's association or its agent shall provide all members of the organization, and each member's agent, if any, with an updated and reconciled financial disclosure for the fiscal year" (§ 55-3205(4)). "Except as otherwise provided in this section, each homeowner's association shall be subject to the records and reports requirements of the Idaho nonprofit corporation act under part 11, chapter 30, title 30, Idaho Code" (§ 55-3205(5)). Under that part, "a member is entitled to inspect and copy, at a reasonable time and location specified by the corporation, any of the records of the corporation described in section 30-30-1101(5), Idaho Code, if the member gives the corporation written notice or a written demand at least fifteen (15) business days before the date on which the member wishes to inspect and copy" (Idaho Code § 30-30-1102(1)); accounting records, excerpts from other required records and the membership list require the same fifteen business days' notice plus a showing that "The member's demand is made in good faith and for a proper purpose reasonably related to the member's interest as a member of the corporation," that the member "describes with reasonable particularity the purpose and the records the member desires to inspect," and that "The records are directly connected with this purpose," with "The board of directors shall determine whether a member's request is for a proper purpose" (§ 30-30-1102(2), (3)). The board "may restrict or deny inspection of personnel and employment records and confidential attorney-client communications if it determines that such restriction or denial of access to said records or information is in the best interests of the corporation" (§ 30-30-1102(4)(b)). Minutes must be kept and preserved: associations shall "Take minutes from all meetings of the homeowner's association, including membership meetings and board meetings, and preserve such minutes for a minimum of ten (10) years" (§ 55-3204(3)(c)).