Start by confirming the Act even reaches your community: § 35-20-3(a) only covers a development whose declaration was recorded on or after January 1, 2016, or an older association whose members voted to opt in. If that's you, § 35-20-11(a) gives the board two distinct tools, and only to the extent your declaration and governing documents actually authorize them. First, under (a)(1), it may suspend a member's right to use facilities or services the association itself provides directly, for nonpayment of assessments, but it can never deny the member access to their own lot. Second, and more broadly, under (a)(2) it may "assess reasonable penalties against a member for any violation of the declaration or rules adopted by the board of directors," but only "after the member is afforded the opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel before the board of directors." That's two rights bundled into one clause: a hearing, and an explicit right to bring a lawyer to it.
The statute doesn't spell out any advance-notice requirement, what the hearing has to look like beyond "opportunity to be heard," or a maximum dollar amount for the penalty; those specifics, if your community has them, come from your declaration and bylaws, not the state floor. What the statute does confirm is what happens if you ignore the penalty: § 35-20-11(c) folds it into an assessment for purposes of § 35-20-12, meaning an unpaid fine can become part of the lien the association can place on your lot.
If you rent, not own, the notice-and-hearing right looks a little different
Section 35-20-11(b) lets the board go after a tenant of a member directly when that tenant violates the declaration or board rules, in addition to whatever it does against the member. But read the clause carefully: § 35-20-11(b)(2) authorizes a penalty against the tenant "after giving notice to the tenant and member and an opportunity to be heard before the board of directors," but it does not repeat the "represented by counsel" language that § 35-20-11(a)(2) gives a member facing a penalty directly. Whether you're the member or a tenant matters to exactly which version of this right applies to you.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Ala. Code § 35-20-11(a)(1)
Lets the board suspend a member's access to association-provided facilities or services for nonpayment of assessments, but never deny access to the member's own lot.
Ala. Code § 35-20-11(a)(2)
Requires "the opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel before the board of directors" before any reasonable penalty for a declaration or rule violation.
Ala. Code § 35-20-11(b)
Governs penalties against a member's tenant for the tenant's own violation; requires notice to tenant and member plus an opportunity to be heard, but does not repeat the counsel-representation language.
Ala. Code § 35-20-11(c)
Treats any penalty assessed under this section as an assessment for lien purposes under § 35-20-12, so an unpaid fine can become part of a lien on your lot.
Ala. Code § 35-20-3
The applicability gate: confirm your declaration was recorded on or after January 1, 2016, or that your pre-2016 association's members voted to opt in, before relying on this chapter at all.
Step by step
How to challenge an HOA fine in Alabama
A step-by-step path to dispute an Alabama HOA fine using the § 35-20-11(a)(2) hearing and counsel rights.
- 01
Confirm the Act covers your community
Check whether your declaration was recorded on or after January 1, 2016, or whether your older association's members voted to opt in under § 35-20-3(a). If neither is true, this chapter doesn't govern your HOA.
- 02
Demand written notice of the alleged violation
Ask the association, in writing, exactly which declaration provision or board rule you're accused of violating. You can't meaningfully use your § 35-20-11(a)(2) right to be heard if you don't know the accusation.
- 03
Request the hearing, and bring counsel if you want one
Put your request for the hearing in writing. § 35-20-11(a)(2) entitles a member to be "heard and represented by counsel before the board of directors," a right worth using even for a modest fine.
- 04
Check your declaration for any cap the statute doesn't set
State law only requires the penalty be "reasonable," with no dollar ceiling. Read your declaration and bylaws for any specific cap or procedure they promise beyond that floor.
- 05
Watch for the fine becoming a lien
An unpaid penalty is treated as an assessment for lien purposes under § 35-20-11(c) and § 35-20-12. Resolve a disputed fine at the hearing stage rather than waiting for it to surface on a lien statement.
Straight answers
Common questions
Can an Alabama HOA fine me without a hearing?
Not if the Act covers your community. Ala. Code § 35-20-11(a)(2) only lets the board assess a reasonable penalty after the member is "afforded the opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel before the board of directors."
Can I actually bring a lawyer to my HOA fine hearing?
Yes, if the fine is being assessed against you directly as a member. § 35-20-11(a)(2) explicitly bundles the right to be heard with the right to be "represented by counsel before the board of directors" in the same clause.
Is there a dollar cap on how much an Alabama HOA can fine me?
Not under state law. § 35-20-11(a)(2) limits penalties to "reasonable" amounts but sets no specific ceiling. Check your declaration and bylaws for anything more specific.
Does this notice-and-hearing right even apply to my HOA?
Only if the Act covers your community. § 35-20-3(a) applies Chapter 20 to a development whose declaration was recorded on or after January 1, 2016, or to an older association whose members voted, by majority, to be governed by it.