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Alabama HOA Rules for Board Members (2026)

Serving on a Alabama HOA board means making calls that affect your neighbors, usually with no training. This page sums up what Alabama law says about the parts boards ask about most, in plain English, with the statute section and an official link beside every rule.

Alabama HOAs under the Homeowners' Association Act (declaration recorded on or after January 1, 2016, or members voted to opt in), older HOAs that run on their own documents, and condominiums under the Alabama Uniform Condominium Act. Under the HOA Act a penalty must be authorized by your documents and be reasonable, and the owner must first have the opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel before the Board. The cure period, the hearing timing, the notice form and the fine amounts come from your documents, and Kindly Board says so wherever a step comes from them.

The short version:
  • Earliest day to record a statement of lien (30 days after the certified-mail notice): ala. Code §35-20-12(d): at least 30 days before recording a statement of lien, written notice to the owner by certified mail. Counted under §1-1-4 (first day not counted); record on or after this date. Ask an Alabama attorney before any lien step.
  • Statement of lien must be recorded by (12 months after the penalty was due): ala. Code §35-20-12(c): the statement of lien is recorded in the probate office within 12 months from the date the assessment (here, the penalty, which counts as an assessment) is due. Act earlier if the date lands on a weekend or holiday.

Updated October 2026. Not legal advice.

Key Alabama deadlines at a glance

DeadlineWhat the law says
Earliest day to record a statement of lien (30 days after the certified-mail notice)Ala. Code §35-20-12(d): at least 30 days before recording a statement of lien, written notice to the owner by certified mail. Counted under §1-1-4 (first day not counted); record on or after this date. Ask an Alabama attorney before any lien step.
Ala. Code §35-20-12(a), (c), (d), (e)
Statement of lien must be recorded by (12 months after the penalty was due)Ala. Code §35-20-12(c): the statement of lien is recorded in the probate office within 12 months from the date the assessment (here, the penalty, which counts as an assessment) is due. Act earlier if the date lands on a weekend or holiday.
Ala. Code §35-20-12(a), (c), (d), (e)

Which Alabama law applies

  • The Alabama Homeowners' Association Act covers residential developments whose declaration providing for an HOA was recorded on or after January 1, 2016, and older associations whose members, by a majority, elected to be governed by it. It does not cover nonresidential developments, condominiums, cooperatives, time-shares or campgrounds.

    Ala. Code §35-20-3(a), (b)

  • An older HOA that never opted in has no general Alabama HOA statute: its declaration and bylaws set the violation process. Kindly Board follows a fair notice-and-hearing process for it and points to the Alabama laws that do apply.

    Ala. Code §35-20-3(a) (scope); no other HOA statute

  • To the extent the declaration and governing documents authorize it, the Board may assess reasonable penalties for violations of the declaration or Board rules, after the member is afforded the opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel before the Board of Directors.

    Ala. Code §35-20-11(a), (a)(2)

  • No Alabama statute sets a cure period, a deadline to ask for a hearing, a hearing notice period, what the violation notice must say or how it is delivered, or a cap on fines. Those come from your declaration, bylaws, rules and enforcement policy.

    Ala. Code ch. 35-20; §35-8A-302(a)(11) (silence)

  • Condominiums: subject to the declaration, the association may impose late charges and, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws and rules. This also reaches condominiums created before 1991 for later events.

    Ala. Code §35-8A-302(a)(11); §35-8A-102(a)

How Alabama counts days

  • Time within which any act is provided by law to be done is computed by excluding the first day and including the last; if the last day is a Sunday or a legal holiday under §1-3-8 (or a day the relevant office is closed), it is excluded and the next working day counts as the last day. A Saturday is not excluded unless the office is closed.

    Ala. Code §1-1-4

  • Alabama's official state holidays are New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s and Robert E. Lee's birthday (third Monday in January), George Washington's and Thomas Jefferson's birthday (third Monday in February), Confederate Memorial Day (fourth Monday in April), Memorial Day, Jefferson Davis' birthday (first Monday in June), Juneteenth (June 19), the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Fraternal Day and American Indian Heritage Day (second Monday in October), Veterans' Day (November 11), Thanksgiving Day as designated by the Governor, and Christmas Day. A holiday on a Sunday is observed on Monday; one on a Saturday, on the Friday before. Mardi Gras is a holiday in Baldwin and Mobile Counties.

    Ala. Code §1-3-8(a), (b), (e)

Violation notices and the chance to fix in Alabama

Hearings in Alabama

  • A tenant may be fined directly after notice to the tenant and the member and an opportunity to be heard before the Board.

    Ala. Code §35-20-11(b)(2)

  • Under the HOA Act the member may be represented by counsel at the hearing before the Board. Tell the owner so in the hearing notice.

    Ala. Code §35-20-11(a)(2)

Fines in Alabama

  • Alabama law sets no dollar cap on penalties: a penalty must be reasonable and authorized by your documents.

    Ala. Code §35-20-11(a)(2)

Assessments, late fees and liens in Alabama

  • Unless the documents provide otherwise, the HOA has a lien for unpaid assessments. Written notice of the assessment and the lien goes to the owner by personal delivery or first-class mail; at least 30 days before recording a statement of lien, written notice goes to the owner by certified mail; the statement is recorded in the probate office within 12 months from the date the assessment is due; the lien is enforced by court action. Talk to an Alabama attorney before any lien step.

    Ala. Code §35-20-12(a), (c), (d), (e)

  • A penalty counts as an assessment for purposes of the association's lien.

    Ala. Code §35-20-11(c)

  • Condominiums: the association has a lien for assessments and fines from the time they are due, and unless the declaration provides otherwise, fines are enforceable as assessments; the lien is extinguished unless enforcement starts within three years after the full amount is due. For a condominium created before 1991, ask an attorney which lien rules apply.

    Ala. Code §35-8A-316(a), (e)

  • Suspension of a member's use of association facilities or services, where the documents allow it, is for nonpayment of assessments, and may not deny access to the lot.

    Ala. Code §35-20-11(a)(1)

Meetings and votes in Alabama

  • Since January 1, 2025 the Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Law governs all existing nonprofit corporations, including most HOAs. Members' meetings need notice of the place, date and time 10 to 60 days before, and a special meeting's notice must describe its purpose. The HOA Act leaves board-meeting rules to your organizational documents.

    Ala. Code §10A-3A-14.01(b); §10A-3A-7.05(a), (c); §35-20-5(c)(2)

Records in Alabama

  • An HOA's organizational documents must provide for meeting rules, full financial records available to members, reasonable common-area rules including penalties for violations, and annual budgets.

    Ala. Code §35-20-5(c)(2) to (4), (7)

  • Condominiums: financial and other records are reasonably available to unit owners, for a reasonable fee.

    Ala. Code §35-8A-318

Other rules boards should know

  • If the declaration and the other governing documents conflict, the declaration prevails, except where it is inconsistent with the Act.

    Ala. Code §35-20-8

  • Every duty under the HOA Act carries an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement.

    Ala. Code §35-20-4(b)

  • Records and listed information, including the current covenants and architectural rules, are available to a member or potential purchaser on written request within a reasonable time not over 30 days, for reasonable costs.

    Ala. Code §35-20-13(a), (b)

Step by step: a Alabama violation case

The order Kindly Board walks a Alabama board through, from the first look to the last letter.

  1. Check before you start Every case
    Confirm which Alabama law reaches you, find the rule, and the penalty power in your documents.
  2. Courtesy reminder Optional
    A friendly first note before any formal notice.
  3. Formal notice of violation Before any penalty
    The rule, the facts, the fix-by date and how to be heard, in the form your documents require.
  4. Hearing before the Board Before a penalty
    The opportunity to be heard, with counsel if the owner wants, before the Board decides.
  5. Board vote on the penalty Before a penalty
    A reasonable penalty, under your documents, at a board meeting.
  6. Notice of penalty After the vote
    Amount, due date, how to pay, and the rule behind it; what a lien would take.
  7. Close the case Every case
    Record how it ended and keep the file.

Alabama HOA rules: FAQ

What HOA law applies in Alabama?

Alabama HOAs under the Homeowners' Association Act (declaration recorded on or after January 1, 2016, or members voted to opt in), older HOAs that run on their own documents, and condominiums under the Alabama Uniform Condominium Act. Under the HOA Act a penalty must be authorized by your documents and be reasonable, and the owner must first have the opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel before the Board. The cure period, the hearing timing, the notice form and the fine amounts come from your documents, and Kindly Board says so wherever a step comes from them. The main sources: the Alabama Homeowners' Association Act (Ala. Code ch. 35-20).

How are days counted for Alabama HOA deadlines?

Alabama sets no cure or hearing periods, so those dates come from your documents. For the Code's own periods: first day not counted, last day counted, and a last day on a Sunday or state holiday moves to the next working day (Ala. Code §1-1-4); a Saturday doesn't move.

What are the key deadlines in a Alabama HOA violation case?

Earliest day to record a statement of lien (30 days after the certified-mail notice): ala. Code §35-20-12(d): at least 30 days before recording a statement of lien, written notice to the owner by certified mail. Counted under §1-1-4 (first day not counted); record on or after this date. Ask an Alabama attorney before any lien step. (Ala. Code §35-20-12(a), (c), (d), (e)) Statement of lien must be recorded by (12 months after the penalty was due): ala. Code §35-20-12(c): the statement of lien is recorded in the probate office within 12 months from the date the assessment (here, the penalty, which counts as an assessment) is due. Act earlier if the date lands on a weekend or holiday. (Ala. Code §35-20-12(a), (c), (d), (e))

What does Alabama law say about HOA fines?

Alabama law sets no dollar cap on penalties: a penalty must be reasonable and authorized by your documents. (Ala. Code §35-20-11(a)(2))

What does Alabama law say about violation hearings?

A tenant may be fined directly after notice to the tenant and the member and an opportunity to be heard before the Board. (Ala. Code §35-20-11(b)(2))

Official text

Nearby and related states

See HOA rules for all 50 states