What happened
In May, Martin says, he received a letter from FS Residential, the management company for his HOA, the Canyon Trails Homeowners Association, according to Arizona’s Family.
FS Residential fined Martin $50 for storing items in plain view, referring to the cooler filled with water bottles.
Martin refused to pay. Arizona’s Family reports that FS Residential“increased the fines to $100 monthly for June, July and August.
“It’s absolutely asinine, I don’t understand,” Martin told Arizona’s Family. “I don’t feel like I am doing anything wrong. … I think I am doing what we’re supposed to do, which is taking care of the people around us.”
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How the neighbors feel
Sometimes, HOAs hand out fines due to complaints by other association members. However, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case for Martin’s water stand.
Martin had only expected to have the free water stand out during the worst of the pandemic. But it became such a hit in the neighborhood that he continued to purchase the water bottles with his own money.
Eventually, neighbors started contributing to the stand.
“Every year, I am sure I get about 30-40 flats of water,” Martin told Arizona’s Family. “Water sometimes appears at the front door, and there are two flats. I don’t know who dropped them off. It’s just a surprise, it’s fun.”
His neighbor, Larry Marks, endorses the free water stand, saying “I think it’s fantastic.”
Despite the increasing fines from FS Residential, Martin refuses to stop handing out free water.
“I’m going to continue to take care of [the] community the best way I can,” he told Arizona’s Family.
What to do in this situation
In Arizona, the Department of Real Estate (DRE) has a Homeowners Association Dispute Process. This means that Martin can file a dispute with the DRE about the fines toward his water stand.
However, the DRE only has so much power over HOAs. According to its website, the department doesn’t regulate HOAs nor can it investigate them. The website doesn’t explicitly say which issues it can resolve.
Plus, the process will cost Martin. The DRE requires $500 from the complainant to file a dispute. The website warns that you’ll likely be waiting for the “infrequent” hearings, which can also “span many months.”
The DRE recommends that homeowners try alternative routes before filing a dispute against their HOA. This includes speaking with the HOA and its members, participating in community meetings or settling with the HOA via mediation.
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