Start by figuring out which act actually covers your condominium, because the fine rules are not the same. Under the modern Rhode Island Condominium Act, § 34-36.1-3.20(a) lets the executive board impose fines, including daily fines for ongoing violations, but only after the alleged violator gets notice and the opportunity for a hearing. Subsections (b) and (c) then set the actual dollar limits: no more than $100 per day for a residential unit or $500 per day for a commercial one, and no more than $500 flat for a residential violation or $1,000 flat for a commercial one. Subsection (d) is the part boards routinely get wrong or simply don't know about: any declaration, bylaw, rule, or regulation that purports to establish its own maximum fine or daily fine is invalid outright. Your board cannot write a higher number into its rules and enforce it; the statutory cap is the only lawful ceiling, whether the document that tried to change it aimed higher or lower.
If your condominium's declaration was recorded before July 1, 1982 and your association never voluntarily opted into the newer act under § 34-36.1-1.02, none of this applies to you. The older Condominium Ownership Act's compliance section, § 34-36-8, only says that failing to comply with the declaration, bylaws, house rules, or duly adopted administrative rules is grounds for an action to recover damages or an injunction, brought by the manager or management committee or, in a proper case, by an aggrieved unit owner. There is no statutory fine schedule and no statutory hearing requirement in that language at all. Whatever fine process you have as an owner under the older act exists only because your own bylaws created it, not because the state guaranteed it.
The hearing is real, but it's still the board's hearing
Be clear-eyed about what the modern act's hearing right actually gets you. Section 34-36.1-3.20(e) says hearings happen "before the executive board or a person designated by the executive board," not an independent officer or outside body. It's a real, mandatory step you can demand in writing before a fine sticks, but the board (or its own pick) is still the one deciding. What does cut in your favor: subsection (f) requires that a hearing decision include costs and reasonable attorney's fees for whichever side prevails, if that side is represented by a member of the Rhode Island Bar, and those fees become a lien on the unit just like the fine itself. That's a real incentive to bring a documented case to the hearing rather than skip it.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.20
Modern-act enforcement section: notice and a hearing before any fine, dollar caps on daily and flat fines by unit type, and a rule voiding any declaration or bylaw that tries to set a different maximum.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.16
Confirms fines become a lien on the unit from the time they become due, tying an unpaid fine to the same lien used in foreclosure.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36-8
The older Condominium Ownership Act's compliance section: violations are grounds for a lawsuit for damages or an injunction, with no statutory fine schedule or hearing requirement of its own.
Step by step
How to challenge a condo fine in Rhode Island
A step-by-step path to dispute a Rhode Island condo fine using the § 34-36.1-3.20 caps and hearing right, or to recognize when the older act's thinner rules apply instead.
- 01
Confirm which act covers your condo
Check when your declaration was recorded. After July 1, 1982, you're under § 34-36.1-3.20's caps and hearing right. Before that date, you're under § 34-36-8 unless your association unanimously opted into the newer act under § 34-36.1-1.02.
- 02
Do the cap math before you pay anything
For modern-act condos, confirm any daily fine against the $100 (residential) or $500 (commercial) per-day ceiling, and any flat fine against the $500 (residential) or $1,000 (commercial) ceiling in § 34-36.1-3.20(b)-(c).
- 03
Check the declaration for an invalid, self-set maximum
If your declaration or bylaws state their own fine ceiling, that provision is void under § 34-36.1-3.20(d) regardless of whether it's higher or lower than the statute. Only the statutory number is enforceable.
- 04
Demand the hearing in writing
Send written notice that you dispute the fine and are invoking your right to a hearing under § 34-36.1-3.20(a). Keep proof of delivery; the statute requires notice and an opportunity to be heard before the fine is imposed and assessed.
- 05
Bring a documented case and know what's at stake in fees
Section 34-36.1-3.20(f) lets the prevailing party at the hearing recover costs and attorney's fees if represented by a Rhode Island Bar member, and those fees attach to the unit just like the fine. Build your record accordingly.
Straight answers
Common questions
Is there really a dollar limit on condo fines in Rhode Island?
Yes, if your condo was created after July 1, 1982 (or voluntarily opted into the modern act). R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.20(b)-(c) caps daily fines at $100 (residential) or $500 (commercial), and flat fines at $500 (residential) or $1,000 (commercial).
Can my association's declaration set a higher fine cap than the statute?
No. Section 34-36.1-3.20(d) makes any declaration, bylaw, rule, or regulation that purports to establish its own maximum fine or daily fine invalid, whether it tries to go higher or lower than the statutory number.
Do I get a hearing before a fine becomes final?
Under the modern act, yes; § 34-36.1-3.20(a) requires notice and an opportunity for a hearing before a fine is imposed and assessed, though the hearing itself is held before the executive board or its own designee, not an independent body.
What if my condo was declared before 1982?
Then you're likely under the older Condominium Ownership Act, and § 34-36-8 doesn't set a fine schedule or hearing requirement at all; it only authorizes a lawsuit for damages or an injunction over a violation. Check whether your association ever recorded a unanimous opt-in to the newer act under § 34-36.1-1.02.
I live in a subdivision HOA, not a condo. Do these caps apply to me?
No. Both Rhode Island condo acts apply only to condominiums. A subdivision HOA isn't covered by either one, and Rhode Island has no separate fine-cap statute for that kind of association; your declaration is the only source of any limits you have.