If you own a unit in a Nebraska condominium created on or after January 1, 1984, § 76-860(a)(11) of the Nebraska Condominium Act gives the association power to "impose charges for late payment of assessments and, after notice and opportunity to be heard, levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, and rules and regulations for the association." Read that clause slowly: the fine has to follow an actual rule violation, has to come after notice and an opportunity to be heard, and has to be reasonable. A board that fines you without ever giving you that notice and chance to respond isn't following its own statute, whatever your declaration says about the amount.
That's a real procedural floor, but it's a narrow one. The statute doesn't set a dollar cap on the fine itself, the way some states' statutes do; "reasonable" is left for a court, or your declaration, to define. It also doesn't spell out exactly what the hearing has to look like, how much notice, in what form, before whom. Whatever specifics you get on those questions almost always come from your own declaration and bylaws, which is why pulling those documents is step one, not a formality, before you fight a fine.
If you're in an HOA, not a condo, this statute doesn't apply to you
Be honest with yourself about what state law actually covers. Nebraska has no Property Owners' Association Act and no Planned Community Act, so if you own a lot in an ordinary subdivision HOA rather than a condominium unit, § 76-860 never applied to you in the first place. Your fine authority, and whatever notice or hearing right you have, comes entirely from your declaration and bylaws. If those documents are silent on notice and hearings, you don't have a state-law backstop to fall back on the way a condo owner does. Read your declaration's enforcement clause first; it's doing more legal work for an HOA owner in Nebraska than in almost any other state on this site.
Legacy condo owners have a narrower version of the same gap. If your condominium was created before January 1, 1984, you're under the Condominium Property Act (§§ 76-801 to 76-824.01), which never wrote in an explicit fine-and-hearing provision the way § 76-860(a)(11) does. Section 76-817, the legacy lien section, addresses unpaid common expenses, not violation fines. If your legacy-era association is charging you a fine for a rule violation, ask in writing where its authority to do that actually comes from; the statute you're under may not answer that question the way the modern Act does.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-860
Lets a modern-Act condo association levy reasonable fines for rule violations, but only after notice and an opportunity to be heard, and lets it charge for late assessment payments.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-874
Lets unpaid fines and late charges authorized under § 76-860(a)(10)-(12) be enforced as assessments through the association's recorded lien, tying an unpaid fine to your home.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-891.01
Gives any owner adversely affected by a violation of the Act, declaration, or bylaws a court remedy, with costs and reasonable attorney's fees available to the prevailing party.
Step by step
How to challenge a condo fine in Nebraska
A step-by-step path to dispute a Nebraska condo association's fine using the notice-and-hearing requirement in § 76-860(a)(11).
- 01
Confirm which Act and which date governs your condo
Find your condominium's creation date. Condos created on or after January 1, 1984 fall under the Nebraska Condominium Act and § 76-860(a)(11)'s notice-and-hearing requirement; condos created earlier fall under the thinner legacy Condominium Property Act, which has no equivalent fine provision.
- 02
Ask, in writing, where the fine authority comes from
Request the specific declaration or bylaw provision the board says you violated, and ask when and how that rule was adopted. A fine for a rule that traces to nothing recorded is on shaky ground.
- 03
Demand the notice and hearing the statute requires
If you're under the modern Act, put in writing that you're invoking your right to notice and an opportunity to be heard under § 76-860(a)(11) before any fine is finalized. Keep proof you sent it.
- 04
Check your declaration for the specifics the statute leaves out
Since state law doesn't set a dollar cap or spell out hearing procedure, your declaration and bylaws are where any promised cap, notice period, or appeal step actually lives. Quote those provisions directly in your response.
- 05
Escalate to court if the board ignores its own process
Section 76-891.01 lets an owner adversely affected by a violation of the Act, declaration, or bylaws bring a claim, and a court can award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party. That's your backstop if the board simply skips the hearing it owes you.
Straight answers
Common questions
Can a Nebraska condo association fine me without a hearing?
Not if you're under the modern Nebraska Condominium Act. Section 76-860(a)(11) lets the association levy a fine only "after notice and opportunity to be heard," and the fine has to be reasonable. Legacy-Act condos (created before January 1, 1984) don't have this exact provision, so check your declaration.
Is there a dollar cap on fines in Nebraska?
Not under state law. Section 76-860(a)(11) requires fines to be "reasonable" but doesn't set a specific ceiling the way some states' statutes do. Any actual dollar cap you have comes from your declaration or bylaws, not the Legislature.
What if I'm in an HOA, not a condo?
Nebraska has no Property Owners' Association Act, so § 76-860 doesn't apply to you at all. Your fine authority and any notice-and-hearing right come entirely from your declaration and bylaws; there's no statewide floor filling that gap.
Can an unpaid fine turn into a lien on my home?
Yes, for modern-Act condos. Section 76-874(a) says fees, late charges, and fines authorized under § 76-860(a)(10) through (12) are enforceable as assessments under the association's lien, the same lien that can lead to foreclosure.