Governing documents
The recorded and adopted papers that create the association and set out what it may do.
HOA glossary · updated August 2026
The words in your covenants, in plain English.
65 terms every board member, homeowner and manager runs into — what each one means, what it does inside an association, and the mistake it is usually involved in. No jargon, no signup, and no invented deadlines: where a number governs, we tell you which document to read it out of.
A to Z, all 65 of them.
Each term has its own page with the definition, why it matters to a board, and the related terms it is usually confused with.
A
- AmendmentA formal change to a governing document, adopted at the threshold that document requires and, for covenants, recorded to take effect.
- Annual meetingThe yearly meeting of the membership, where directors are elected and the association reports to its owners.
- Architectural reviewThe process by which proposed exterior changes to a lot are submitted, measured against published standards, and approved or denied.
- Articles of incorporationThe charter filed with the state that brings the association into existence as a corporation, usually a nonprofit one.
- AssessmentThe recurring charge levied against each lot to fund the association's budget, and the primary obligation of membership.
- AuditAn independent accountant's examination of the association's financial statements, at one of three levels of assurance.
B
- Board of directorsThe elected body that governs the association, holding all authority the governing documents grant to it and no more.
- Board resolutionA formal, recorded-in-the-minutes decision of the board, used to adopt policies that need to be provable later.
- Business judgment ruleThe principle that courts will not second-guess an informed, good-faith board decision made without conflict and within authority.
- BylawsThe association's internal operating manual — how directors are elected, how meetings are called and run, and what the officers may do.
C
- Capital improvementSpending that adds something new or materially upgrades the common area, as distinct from replacing what already exists.
- CC&RsThe recorded covenants that run with the land in a community, binding every owner to the same set of use restrictions and obligations.
- Collection policyThe board-adopted procedure setting out how unpaid assessments are pursued, at what intervals, and with what charges.
- CommitteeA group appointed by the board to study or administer a defined area, with only the authority the board delegates to it.
- Common areaThe land and improvements owned or controlled by the association for the benefit of all members.
- Common interest communityA development where owning a lot or unit carries automatic membership in an association and an obligation to pay assessments.
- Community association managerThe professional or firm engaged to administer the association's day-to-day operations under the board's direction.
- Condominium associationAn association governing a community where owners hold title to units and an undivided percentage interest in the common elements.
- Conflict of interestA situation where a director's personal interest could influence a decision they are being asked to make for the association.
- Cure periodThe time an owner is given to fix a violation before the association may escalate to a fine or other remedy.
D
- D&O insuranceInsurance covering directors and officers against claims arising from their decisions in governing the association.
- DeclarantThe developer who records the declaration and creates the association, holding special rights until control transfers to the owners.
- DeclarationThe recorded instrument that creates the community, submits the land to the association's authority, and defines what is common and what is owned.
- DelinquencyAn assessment that has gone unpaid past its due date, starting the clock on the association's collection process.
E
- EasementA recorded right for someone else to use part of a lot or the common area for a defined purpose, such as utilities, drainage or access.
- Estoppel certificateA statement from the association, relied on at closing, certifying what a lot owes and whether it is in violation.
- Executive sessionThe portion of a board meeting closed to members, permitted only for defined sensitive subjects.
F
- Fair housingFederal and state law prohibiting housing discrimination, which applies to associations in their rules, enforcement and accommodation decisions.
- Fidelity bondCoverage protecting association funds against theft by directors, employees, or the management company handling them.
- Fiduciary dutyThe obligation a director owes the association to act loyally, in good faith, and with the care a prudent person would use.
- FineA monetary penalty levied against an owner for a covenant or rule violation, available only where the documents and state law authorise it.
- ForeclosureThe legal process by which an association enforces its assessment lien against a lot, and the most serious remedy available to a board.
- Fund accountingAccounting that segregates money by purpose — operating, reserve, and any special fund — so each is reported and controlled separately.
G
H
L
- LienA recorded claim against a lot securing unpaid assessments, which must generally be satisfied before the property can be sold clear.
- Limited common elementCommon property assigned to the exclusive use of one unit or a small group of them, such as a balcony, patio or assigned parking space.
- LotThe individually owned piece of a community — a platted lot in a subdivision, or a unit inside a condominium building.
M
- Management agreementThe contract between the association and its management company, defining scope, fees, term and termination.
- Master policyThe association's property and liability insurance covering the common area and, in many condominiums, the buildings themselves.
- MinutesThe official record of what a meeting decided — the association's institutional memory and its primary evidence.
O
- OfficersThe directors assigned specific roles by the bylaws — typically president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.
- Open meetingA board meeting that members are entitled to attend, with notice given in advance, as required by many state statutes.
- Operating budgetThe annual plan of expected income and expenses that determines what each lot is assessed for the year.
P
- Percent fundedThe ratio of actual reserve savings to the amount the reserve study says should be on hand today.
- Planned unit developmentA development of individually owned lots plus shared common area administered by an association — the most common form of HOA community.
- PlatThe recorded survey map that shows lot lines, common area, easements and dedications for the community.
- ProxyA written authorisation allowing another person to attend and vote on an owner's behalf at a members' meeting.
R
- Records requestAn owner's demand to inspect association records, which most states grant subject to defined limits and exclusions.
- Rental capA limit on how many lots may be leased at one time, or on the terms of a lease, imposed by the covenants.
- Resale packageThe bundle of documents an association must supply to a buyer before closing, typically including the covenants, budget, financials and status of the lot.
- Reserve fundMoney set aside over time for the scheduled repair and replacement of major common area components.
- Reserve studyA professional inventory of common area components with remaining life, replacement cost, and a funding plan that keeps the reserve solvent.
- Rules and regulationsStandards adopted by the board under authority granted in the covenants — enforceable, but subordinate to them.
S
T
V
Or start with the part you're stuck on.
Assessments & accounting
How an association raises money, holds it, accounts for it, and collects it when an owner does not pay.
Board & governance
Who runs the association, what they owe the members, and the limits on their authority.
Meetings & voting
How decisions get made in the open, counted correctly, and written down.
Rules & enforcement
How a standard becomes a rule, and how a rule is applied to one owner without inviting a lawsuit.
Property & ownership
The forms of ownership behind a community and who is responsible for which piece of it.
Insurance & operations
Insurance, managers, vendors, and the machinery that keeps a community running.
General information, not legal advice. These entries explain what terms mean, not what your association must do. Notice periods, cure windows, fine caps, vote thresholds and lien deadlines come from your recorded declaration and your state's act, they differ in all fifty states, and they change every legislative session. Updated August 2026. Before you fine, lien, or amend anything, confirm the current text with an attorney licensed in your state.
In SMPLR
Knowing the word is step one. Doing it is step two.
Assessments, delinquency, violation notices, hearings, architectural requests, minutes and records requests are each a workflow in SMPLR HOA rather than a folder someone maintains by hand — with the notice, the timestamp and the paper trail kept on the record automatically.
- Assessments, ledgers and reserve funds kept in separate books
- Violation notices with cure dates and certified mail tracking
- Architectural requests with the decision and reason on file
- Minutes, resolutions and records requests in one archive
Start with one community. Or all forty.
Free for thirty days. No card required.
For management companies with 500+ doors, ask about Multi-Portfolio onboarding.