I got a violation notice. What happens now?

Find the date on the notice and the thing you are asked to do. Those two facts decide everything else on this page, and they are usually in the first paragraph.

Nothing on this page has to be done today. But the date on your notice is real, and the cheapest version of this whole situation is a short reply sent before that date rather than after it.

Your homeowners association sent it — not Roam.

Roam is the software your association and its management company use to keep records and send notices. We do not write your community's rules, decide what breaks them, set fine amounts, or decide disputes. Those decisions are made by your association's board, which is made up of owners who live in your community, and by the manager who works for them.

That matters for a practical reason: if you disagree with this notice, arguing with the software will not get you anywhere. The rest of this page is about reaching the people who can actually change it.

If your community has recently moved to Roam, this may be the first notice you have received that mentions a company you have never heard of. That is expected, and checking it is the right instinct rather than a paranoid one.

A genuine notice will name your association, name your property, and describe something specific. It will not ask you to pay a fine by clicking a link in the message, and it will not demand payment within hours.

If anything about it feels wrong, do not use the contact details in the message to check the message. See I got an email from Roam. Is it real?.

Every notice should tell you four things. Open yours and find each one:

1. What was observed — usually with where, when, and a photo.
2. What you are being asked to do about it.
3. By when.
4. What happens if you do not.

If any of those four is missing or unclear, that by itself is worth asking about. You are entitled to understand what is being asked of you.

It is a record that your association believes something at your property breaks a rule, and a request that you deal with it by a date.

It is not automatically a bill. Many first notices carry no charge at all. If a fine has already been assessed, the notice will say so and give an amount — and that amount will also appear on your account.

It is not a court document, and it does not put your home at risk on its own. What can escalate over time is an unpaid balance, which is a different thing and is covered in What happens if I pay late or fall behind?.

Associations differ, so treat this as the general shape rather than your association's exact process — your governing documents are what actually control this.

• You fix it in the time given. The most common ending. Tell your association it is done so the record closes; a photo helps.
• You ask for more time. Often granted if you ask before the date rather than after, and if you say what you are waiting on — a contractor, a part, a permit.
• You disagree. See below.
• You do nothing. The board may assess a fine, and an unpaid fine is added to your account. What can then be done to collect it depends on your state and on your governing documents. In some states a fine for breaking a rule is treated differently from unpaid assessments and cannot be secured by a lien against your home. It is still a debt your association can pursue. If you are worried about what a fine could lead to, ask your association to tell you in writing.

That last point is the part people most often learn too late. If money is the concern, the time to say so is now, not after.

Say so. Disagreeing is a normal part of the process, not an escalation.

Before you write, two things that are usually a surprise:

• Disputing does not automatically pause anything. If a fine has already been added to your account, it stays there — and late fees can keep accruing — until your association decides. If they decide in your favour, it comes off.
• A person reads it. Usually your manager first, then your board. Write it for someone who could agree with you, because they might.

What actually helps, in order:

1. A photo of the current condition. Most disagreements are about facts, and a photo settles facts faster than any amount of writing.
2. The rule itself. If you think the rule does not say what they think it says, quote the part you mean. Your association's rules are in your governing documents.
3. Anything already approved. If you have an approval for the thing you are being cited for — from an architectural request, or in writing from the board — that usually ends it immediately.
4. Dates. "I fixed this on the 3rd" is checkable. "I fixed it a while ago" is not.

What does not help: what a neighbour was or was not cited for. Selective enforcement is a real argument, but it belongs in a documents-and-records request or with your own attorney — not in a dispute about your fence, where it usually just delays your own answer.

You will be told the decision and, in most associations, the reason.

If you still disagree, your governing documents and your state's law describe what is available to you. In many states you have a right to be heard by the board before a fine is imposed, and a right to be told the decision afterwards — often with a minimum number of days' written notice of the meeting, and the option to have it heard in closed session if you ask. Your documents may give you more than the law requires; they cannot give you less.

Ask for that meeting in writing, before the date on your notice. Roam cannot tell you which rules apply to your association — that is in your documents and in your state's law, and both are worth reading before the deadline rather than after.

Roam cannot change or review the decision. It was made by your association's board.

I rent — this is not my responsibility. Notices go to the owner of record. If you are a tenant, you can still respond and your association will see it, but decisions and any charges go to the owner. Tell your landlord.

I already fixed it. Say so, with the date and a photo. Do not assume anyone saw it.

The deadline has already passed. Respond anyway. "Here is what happened and here is where it stands" lands much better than silence, and most boards would rather close a matter than escalate one.

This is the first I have heard of it, but it mentions earlier notices. Say that plainly, and say which address and email your association has for you. Notices are sent to the contact details on your owner record, and an out-of-date record is a common reason an owner misses the first two letters and only sees the third. See How do I update my contact details?

I sold this home. Tell your association the completion date. Ownership records are updated from the closing documents rather than automatically, and a notice sent to a former owner usually means that update has not reached the record yet.

I cannot afford the fine. Ask early. It is almost always easier to arrange something before an account goes to collections than after. See What happens if I pay late or fall behind?

This is about a disability, an assistance animal, or my family. Do not handle this through a normal dispute. These situations have their own legal protections, and you should say so explicitly when you respond so that it is routed properly.

If you are not sure who to write to, or your association is not responding, start with Something is wrong with my account. Who do I contact?