Process a covenant violation, an architectural-review request, or a delinquent-assessment account by traversing the community-association decision tree (find the governing-document authority → for a violation: notice → cure period → hearing → fine/remedy, applied evenly and documented; for ARC: application vs the design guidelines → decision → record; for collections: reminder → late fee → demand notice → lien-referral / escalation-to-counsel gate), then return the processed decision, the due-process trail, and the escalation point. Reach for this when the user asks 'process this covenant violation', 'review this architectural change request', 'work our delinquency list', 'can we fine / lien this owner?', or 'what's our collections sequence?'. Even-handed, documented process is the whole point; lien/foreclosure mechanics route to counsel. Used by community-operations-specialist (primary) and association-management-lead (policy).
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Process a covenant violation, an architectural-review request, or a delinquent-assessment account by traversing the community-association decision tree (find the governing-document authority → for a violation: notice → cure period → hearing → fine/remedy, applied evenly and documented; for ARC: application vs the design guidelines → decision → record; for collections: reminder → late fee → demand notice → lien-referral / escalation-to-counsel gate), then return the processed decision, the due-process trail, and the escalation point. Reach for this when the user asks 'process this covenant violation', 'review this architectural change request', 'work our delinquency list', 'can we fine / lien this owner?', or 'what's our collections sequence?'. Even-handed, documented process is the whole point; lien/foreclosure mechanics route to counsel. Used by community-operations-specialist (primary) and association-management-lead (policy).
Skill: run-covenant-and-collections-workflow
Invoked by:community-operations-specialist (primary — processing violations, ARC requests, and delinquency) and association-management-lead (setting the enforcement and collections policy the specialist runs).
When to invoke: "process this covenant violation"; "review this architectural-change (ARC) request"; "work our delinquency / collections list"; "can we fine this owner?"; "when do we lien a delinquent account?"; "write our enforcement / collections policy"; any "how do we enforce or collect" question.
Output: the processed decision (violation outcome, ARC approval/denial, or collections step) + the even-handed due-process trail documented for the file + the escalation-to-counsel point + the 1-2 conditions that change it. Even-handed, documented process is the whole point.
Procedure
Find the authority in the governing documents — you enforce what they grant. For any enforcement or collection step, locate the provision (and the state act) that authorizes it: the covenant being enforced, the and the required , the ARC's design-review authority, the amount, and the right. Traverse the enforcement/collections branches in . No documented authority → no enforcement.
Enforce evenly — selective enforcement is the trap. Whatever the process, apply it the same way to every owner. A covenant enforced against one owner but not the neighbor, or a fine levied without the required hearing, is how associations lose in court (and can waive the covenant). Consistency and documentation are the shield, not an option.
Run the violation sequence — notice → cure → hearing → fine/remedy — and document each step.
Notice: a written violation notice identifying the covenant, the specific violation, and the cure period.
Cure period: the owner's opportunity to fix it; log whether they did.
Hearing: if unresolved, the owner's opportunity to be heard before the board (due process — often required before a fine).
Fine / remedy: the fine per the schedule, self-help/abatement where authorized, or (for serious/continuing violations) referral to counsel. Record the evidence (photos, dates, correspondence) at every step.
Process an architectural-review (ARC) request against the published guidelines. Log the application, measure it against the design guidelines/standards, apply the decision within any required timeframe (an un-acted request can be deemed approved in some regimes — watch the clock), and record the decision with its rationale. Approve/deny consistently — an arbitrary or undocumented ARC denial is a lawsuit magnet.
Work the delinquency list by the collections sequence — evenly, to the escalation gate. Apply the board's collections policy step by step to every delinquent account: payment reminder → late fee (per the schedule) → demand/intent-to-lien notice → the lien-referral / escalation-to-counsel gate. Age the receivables, apply payments per the governing-document/statutory payment-application order (often oldest-first — verify), and stop at the legal line: recording a lien, foreclosing, and the fair-housing / FDCPA / state-collection rules are counsel's terrain, not yours to advise as legal steps.
Escalate the policy and legal calls — don't improvise them. A borderline enforcement decision, a request to waive a covenant, or a decision whether to lien/foreclose is a board/lead policy call; the lien/foreclosure mechanics and any statute question are counsel's. Process the workflow; route the decision.
State the change conditions — the 1-2 facts that change the outcome (e.g., "if the covenant hasn't been enforced against others, enforcing it now risks a selective-enforcement / waiver defense — flag to counsel"; "if the account crosses the lien threshold, it leaves the workflow for counsel").
Worked example
User: "A homeowner built a shed without ARC approval and is also 90 days behind on assessments. Process both."
Authority: the CC&Rs require ARC approval for outbuildings and set a fine schedule with a hearing; the declaration grants a late fee and an assessment lien after 90 days — cite both.
Violation (shed): issue the notice (unapproved structure, cite the covenant, give a cure period to submit an ARC application or remove it) → if uncured, offer the hearing → then the fine/remedy per the schedule. Document photos and dates. Check first: have other unapproved sheds been let slide? If so, flag the selective-enforcement risk to counsel before fining.
ARC path: if the owner applies retroactively, measure the shed against the design guidelines and decide consistently with prior shed decisions; record the rationale.
Delinquency (90 days): apply the sequence already run — reminder, late fee, demand/intent-to-lien notice — and note the account is at the lien-referral gate. Recording the lien and any foreclosure is counsel's step; route it with the aging and the notice trail.
Change condition: if the owner cures the assessment balance, the account leaves the collections track; the ARC/violation matter continues on its own process.
Guardrails
Enforce and collect evenly — selective enforcement (or a fine without the required hearing) can waive the covenant and lose in court; consistency is the whole protection.
Find the governing-document / statutory authority for every step — the covenant, the fine schedule + hearing, the late fee, the lien right. No authority → no step.
Document the due-process trail — notice, cure period, hearing opportunity, decision, evidence — a violation or ARC decision that isn't in the file barely happened.
Watch the ARC clock — an un-acted architectural request can be deemed approved in some regimes; decide within the timeframe.
Stop at the legal line — recording a lien, foreclosure, and the fair-housing / FDCPA / state-collection rules are counsel's; process the workflow, route the legal decision. This is not legal advice.
The enforcement/collections policy is the association-management-lead's call; running it evenly is the community-operations-specialist's — keep the seam clean.
Volatile specifics (fine/hearing requirements, ARC deemed-approval timeframes, lien priority & procedure, payment-application order, FDCPA/fair-housing/state-collection rules) are jurisdiction-specific — carry a retrieval date, verify at use, and route to counsel. See ../../knowledge/hoa-community-association-patterns-2026.md.
