For volunteer board members
Connecticut HOA Rules for Board Members (2026)
Most Connecticut board members are volunteers who just want to get it right. Below is a plain-English summary of the Connecticut rules that come up when a board enforces its documents, each paired with its statute section and the official text.
Connecticut condominiums, planned communities (HOAs) and cooperatives under the Common Interest Ownership Act (CIOA, chapter 828). Communities created before 1984 get the fine, hearing, meeting, lien, records, rules and notice sections for later events, without overriding their documents' existing provisions. Some small, low-cost or nonresidential communities are mostly outside the Act. Fines come only after notice and an opportunity to be heard; the cure period, the hearing timing beyond §47-278(c) and the fine amounts come from your documents, and Kindly Board says so wherever a step comes from them.
- Earliest hearing date (10 business days after the regular-mail notice): §47-278(c): written notice by regular mail at least ten business days before the hearing. Counted in business days (no Saturdays, Sundays or Connecticut legal holidays). Hold the hearing on or after this date; a day or two later is safer.
- Written decision mailed by (30 days after the hearing): §47-278(c): the board decides and the association sends the decision in writing by regular mail no later than 30 days after the hearing concludes. Calendar days; if it lands on a weekend or holiday, send it earlier.
- Owner-requested hearing: schedule it by (30 days from receipt): §47-278(d): when an owner asks in writing for a hearing to enforce a right under the Act or the documents, schedule it within 30 days of receiving the request. Calendar days; act earlier if it lands on a weekend or holiday.
Updated October 2026. Not legal advice.
Key Connecticut deadlines at a glance
| Deadline | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Earliest hearing date (10 business days after the regular-mail notice) | §47-278(c): written notice by regular mail at least ten business days before the hearing. Counted in business days (no Saturdays, Sundays or Connecticut legal holidays). Hold the hearing on or after this date; a day or two later is safer. Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-278(c)(1) |
| Written decision mailed by (30 days after the hearing) | §47-278(c): the board decides and the association sends the decision in writing by regular mail no later than 30 days after the hearing concludes. Calendar days; if it lands on a weekend or holiday, send it earlier. Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-278(c)(1)(C) |
| Owner-requested hearing: schedule it by (30 days from receipt) | §47-278(d): when an owner asks in writing for a hearing to enforce a right under the Act or the documents, schedule it within 30 days of receiving the request. Calendar days; act earlier if it lands on a weekend or holiday. Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-278(d) |
| Owner-requested hearing: hold it by (45 days from receipt) | §47-278(d): the hearing is held no later than 45 days after the association receives the owner's written request, with regular-mail notice at least 10 business days before. Calendar days. Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-278(d) |
| Board meeting notice (with agenda) out by | §47-250(b)(5): notice of a board meeting goes to board members and owners at least five days before, with the time, date, place and agenda, unless the meeting is on a schedule already given to owners or is an emergency. Calendar days; send it earlier if the date lands on a weekend or holiday. Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-250(b)(5) |
Which Connecticut law applies
The Common Interest Ownership Act (chapter 828) applies to condominiums, planned communities and cooperatives created on or after January 1, 1984.
For communities created before 1984, listed sections (including the fine, meeting, assessment, lien, records, rules and notice sections) apply only to events after January 1, 1984 and don't invalidate existing declaration or bylaw provisions. Older condominiums may also be under chapter 825.
Some small or nonresidential pre-1984 communities, and planned communities whose declaration caps average annual common expenses at the statute's adjusted figure, are subject only to §§47-204 to 47-206 unless the declaration adopts the Act. If that may be you, ask a Connecticut attorney.
Connecticut's fine section (Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-244(a)(11)) lets the association levy reasonable fines only after notice and an opportunity to be heard. It sets no cure period, no notice-content rule, no hearing deadline and no dollar cap on fines. Your declaration, bylaws, rules and enforcement policy fill those gaps.
How Connecticut counts days
Chapter 1 of the General Statutes (construction of statutes) sets no general rule for counting days in a period or moving a deadline off a weekend or holiday; §1-3a covers only license and permit fees. Kindly Board counts calendar days for the Act's day periods and makes no weekend or holiday claim for them. If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, ask a Connecticut attorney.
Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 1 (no general computation-of-time rule)
§47-278(c) counts its notice in business days. The Act doesn't define “business day”, so Kindly Board skips Saturdays, Sundays and the §1-4 legal holidays when counting the 10 business days, which only gives the owner more notice. Thanksgiving is appointed by the Governor each year; Kindly Board treats the fourth Thursday in November as a holiday.
Connecticut's legal holidays are New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (the first Monday on or after January 15), Lincoln Day (February 12), Washington's Birthday (third Monday in February), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), Juneteenth (June 19), Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day (second Monday in October), Veterans' Day (November 11), Christmas, and any day the Governor or the President appoints as a day of thanksgiving, fasting or religious observance. A fixed-date holiday on a Sunday is observed on Monday; one on a Saturday, on the Friday before.
Violation notices and the chance to fix in Connecticut
Connecticut law sets no cure period in days for a violation; your documents control. 10 to 30 days is common practice, not a legal rule.
Notices may go to the mailing or email address the owner designates, or by hand delivery, mail or commercial delivery to the unit's mailing address, by electronic means if the owner gave an electronic address, or any other method reasonably calculated to give notice. A notice is effective when sent.
Hearings in Connecticut
After notice and an opportunity to be heard, the association may levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, rules and regulations.
Before the association brings an action or institutes a proceeding against a unit owner (other than a declarant), it must schedule a hearing during a regular or special board meeting and send written notice by regular mail at least ten business days before the hearing, stating the nature of the claim and the date, time and place. The owner may give testimony orally or in writing, personally or through a representative, and the board must consider it.
The board must make its decision, and the association must send it in writing by regular mail, no later than thirty days after the date the hearing concludes. The declaration and bylaws can't shorten this.
An owner (other than a declarant) seeking to enforce a right or obligation under the Act, the declaration or the bylaws may request a hearing in writing. Within 30 days of receiving it the association schedules a hearing at a board meeting, with regular-mail notice at least 10 business days before; the hearing is held within 45 days of receipt; the written decision goes by regular mail within 30 days after the hearing.
For a tenant's violation, the association may, after notice to the tenant and the owner and an opportunity to be heard, fine the tenant, the owner or both. Landlord-type remedies against the tenant come only after a further cure step in the statute: ask a Connecticut attorney before using them.
The statute does not say whether an internal fine hearing is a “proceeding” under §47-278(c). Kindly Board follows the §47-278(c) steps for fine hearings as the careful course (regular-mail notice at least 10 business days ahead, a hearing at a board meeting, a written decision within 30 days). Ask a Connecticut attorney whether your board must.
Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-278(c) (unclear whether it covers fine hearings)
Fines in Connecticut
Connecticut law sets no dollar cap on fines: a fine must be reasonable. The amount and schedule come from your documents and fine policy.
Assessments, late fees and liens in Connecticut
The §47-278(c) hearing steps don't apply to an action to prevent immediate and irreparable harm, or to foreclose a lien for assessments or fines under §47-258.
The association has a statutory lien on a unit for assessments and for fines imposed against its owner. Unless the declaration says otherwise, attorney's fees and costs, fees, charges, late charges, fines and interest are enforceable like unpaid assessments.
Collecting a fine through the lien has its own rules: a lien is extinguished unless proceedings start within 3 years after the full amount becomes due, and foreclosure needs at least two months of common expense assessments owed, a demand in a record, a board vote or standard policy, and 60 days' notice to mortgage holders. Talk to a Connecticut attorney before any lien or foreclosure step.
Interest on past-due assessments is set by the association, not above 18% a year.
Meetings and votes in Connecticut
Unless the meeting is on a schedule given to owners or is called for an emergency, notice of each board meeting goes to board members and owners at least five days before, stating the time, date, place and agenda.
Board members not appointed by the declarant owe the association the care and loyalty of a director of a Connecticut nonstock corporation and are subject to its conflict-of-interest rules.
Board meetings are open to owners except for executive session, which may be held only during a regular or special meeting and only for the reasons the statute lists; no final vote or action may be taken in executive session.
Owners get a reasonable opportunity to comment at each board meeting.
The statute's power to suspend an owner's rights and privileges is for failure to pay an assessment, and even then the association may not deny access to the unit, suspend voting or meeting participation, bar the owner from running for the board, or withhold services if that endangers health, safety or property.
Records in Connecticut
Minutes record how each board member voted on any final action, unless the vote was unanimous or without objection.
The association must keep records of board and committee actions approving or denying design and architectural requests, and owners may examine and copy association records on 30 days' notice in a record.
Other rules boards should know
The board may decide whether to take enforcement action and need not act for the reasons the statute lists (for example, the association's position isn't strong enough to justify it, or it isn't in the association's best interest), but it may not act arbitrarily or capriciously.
Step by step: a Connecticut violation case
The order Kindly Board walks a Connecticut board through, from the first look to the last letter.
- Check before you start Every case
Confirm the Act applies, find the rule, and the steps your own documents require. - Courtesy reminder Optional
A friendly first note before any formal notice. - Formal notice of violation Before any fine
The rule, the facts, the fix-by date and how to be heard: the notice §47-244(a)(11) requires, in the form your documents set. - Hearing at a board meeting (the §47-278(c) steps) Before a fine (careful course)
Regular-mail notice at least 10 business days ahead, a hearing at a board meeting, a written decision within 30 days. - Board vote on the fine Before a fine
A reasonable fine, under your documents, at a properly noticed open board meeting. - Notice of fine (the written decision) After the vote
Amount, due date, how to pay, the rule behind it, sent by regular mail within 30 days of the hearing. - Close the case Every case
Record how it ended and keep the file.
Connecticut HOA rules: FAQ
What HOA law applies in Connecticut?
Connecticut condominiums, planned communities (HOAs) and cooperatives under the Common Interest Ownership Act (CIOA, chapter 828). Communities created before 1984 get the fine, hearing, meeting, lien, records, rules and notice sections for later events, without overriding their documents' existing provisions. Some small, low-cost or nonresidential communities are mostly outside the Act. The main sources: the Common Interest Ownership Act (Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 828).
How are days counted for Connecticut HOA deadlines?
Calendar days for the Act's day periods, with no weekend or holiday claim (ask a Connecticut attorney if one lands on a weekend or holiday). The 10 business days' hearing notice skips weekends and Connecticut legal holidays.
What are the key deadlines in a Connecticut HOA violation case?
Earliest hearing date (10 business days after the regular-mail notice): §47-278(c): written notice by regular mail at least ten business days before the hearing. Counted in business days (no Saturdays, Sundays or Connecticut legal holidays). Hold the hearing on or after this date; a day or two later is safer. (Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-278(c)(1)) Written decision mailed by (30 days after the hearing): §47-278(c): the board decides and the association sends the decision in writing by regular mail no later than 30 days after the hearing concludes. Calendar days; if it lands on a weekend or holiday, send it earlier. (Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-278(c)(1)(C)) Owner-requested hearing: schedule it by (30 days from receipt): §47-278(d): when an owner asks in writing for a hearing to enforce a right under the Act or the documents, schedule it within 30 days of receiving the request. Calendar days; act earlier if it lands on a weekend or holiday. (Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-278(d)) Owner-requested hearing: hold it by (45 days from receipt): §47-278(d): the hearing is held no later than 45 days after the association receives the owner's written request, with regular-mail notice at least 10 business days before. Calendar days. (Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-278(d))
What does Connecticut law say about HOA fines?
Connecticut law sets no dollar cap on fines: a fine must be reasonable. The amount and schedule come from your documents and fine policy. (Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-244(a)(11))
What does Connecticut law say about violation hearings?
After notice and an opportunity to be heard, the association may levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, rules and regulations. (Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-244(a)(11))
Official text
- Conn. Gen. Stat. Title 47, Chapter 828, Common Interest Ownership Act (official text, 2025 revision)
- 2026 Supplement to the General Statutes, Chapter 828 (P.A. 25-73 changes)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. Title 1, Chapter 1, Construction of Statutes (official text)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-4, Days designated as legal holidays (official text, chapter 2)