Involving Homeowners in Difficult Operational Decisions
It’s hard to get owners involved in their HOAs for a variety of reasons. Some homeowners lack interest in the day-to-day operation of their communities and only turn out for matters that have the potential to “hit them in the wallet.” Others are too busy juggling work, children, and other responsibilities to pay attention to their HOAs. And some members are convinced that their involvement isn’t important and will not benefit them or their HOA.
Some communities accept this lack of participation as an immutable truth that will never change. But it doesn’t have to be that way! HOAs that take deliberate steps to involve their members often find that their efforts pay off in the form of improved homeowner communication, participation, and satisfaction.
Why is Community Involvement Important?
Community involvement in HOA operation, decision making, and governance is beneficial in several ways.
When homeowners are invited to weigh in on HOA decisions, it leads to improved transparency and communication between the community, its board of directors, and its management company. This involvement leads to higher satisfaction and a stronger, more cohesive community.
Further, there are several things that HOAs just can’t get done without community involvement. Homeowners are often required to approve certain key decisions for the community. Governing document amendments must be approved by a supermajority of the members. Many HOAs need homeowner approval to levy special assessments. And some HOAs need homeowner approval to borrow money to pay for necessary capital improvement projects. Getting the homeowners’ approval for these (and other) things is much easier when the community is active and involved in the HOA.
HOAs also benefit greatly from community involvement when it comes to recruiting board members and committee members. (Board members, like community managers, have thankless jobs. The pay is great, and the hours are better.) An active community builds a pipeline of potential future board members and makes it easier to staff HOA committees.
Conversely, low community involvement in HOAs tends to have more negative outcomes. For instance, without active participation, board members may not turn over, resulting in a lack of fresh perspectives and ideas. Additionally, important decisions such as governing document amendments, special assessments, and lending decisions may be delayed or neglected, causing dissatisfaction among community members.
Operational Decisions Where Member Input is Important.
Some HOA decisions must be approved by the community. These include governing document amendments, special assessments, and borrowing money. Without homeowner buy-in, HOAs may not be able to do these things.
Other HOA decisions fall into the “good idea to get community buy-in” bucket. For example, involving the owners in HOA discussions regarding a planned large capital project makes owners feel involved. Further, involving them in these discussions makes them feel like they are part of the process, and that they have a voice in the decision.
General Strategies for Promoting Community Involvement.
There are many good ways to promote community involvement, some obvious, others not so much.
Strong HOAs have active committees staffed by members (rather than board members) who review issues affecting the community and make recommendations to the board on how they should be addressed.
Town hall meetings are another excellent way to involve homeowners in the community. This is especially important when an HOA faces a difficult financial situation (a capital improvement project, an insurance loss, etc.) and needs the owners to take action to address it (e.g., passing a special assessment to pay for the necessary repairs). Town halls give the community an opportunity to discuss HOA business with the board and get answers to important questions.
Social events (book clubs, movie night, block party, annual garage sale, National Night Out, etc.) for the community also connect people with their neighbors and improve community cohesion.
Of course, each community is unique. Using your creativity to come up with community specific events based upon the unique features and members of the community is always a great idea. Anything that gets community members out from behind their screens or their front doors is going to be a great idea.
Specific Strategies for Better Communication.
There are several things HOAs can do to promote better communication with their members.
First, HOAs should be able to clearly articulate to their members the issues they are faced with, the proposed course of action they want to take, and why it is important to take that action. After all, if the HOA can’t articulate why the owners should do something, why should we expect the owners to go along with it?
Second, develop and implement a targeted communication strategy. Take a moment to think about how to get the HOA’s message into the hands, through the eyes, and into the mind of the members. This can make the difference between community members showing up to vote on a desperately needed special assessment or filling up the trash can with the HOA’s mailer.
Third, find a way to ask for and respond to community member feedback. The board might think it knows what the community wants, but it won’t know for sure until it asks them.
Finally, be transparent. Document what happened and tell everyone. Obviously, telling community members the result of the last vote won’t get them to vote on it. However, knowing what happened last time will leave them much more likely to vote next time.
Conclusion
Community involvement can turn on a dime. Using some or (ideally) all of the above strategies will help ensure that the “community” in Common Interest Community is more than just a word.
CAI Community Connections Q3 2025
Travis M. Hilton, Esq. is an attorney with SJJ Law and represents both individual and corporate clients across a diverse range of legal matters. Outside of his professional work, Travis enjoys spending as much time outdoors as possible and is always on the lookout for ways to give back to his community.