What is the statute of limitations?

The statute of limitations sets the legal time limit for filing a lawsuit or claim. For an HOA, this could apply to unpaid dues, construction defects, or rule violations, and the exact timeframe varies by state and by the type of claim. When the clock starts can vary too, some claims run from the date of the incident, others from whenever the problem was discovered or reasonably should have been.

Why does the statute of limitations matter?

Waiting too long to pursue a legitimate claim, chasing old unpaid dues, addressing a construction defect, can mean losing the legal right to pursue it at all, no matter how valid the underlying claim was. The safest move once a board suspects it has a claim is to get it in front of an attorney right away, since figuring out exactly when the clock started running is often the hardest part to get right.

When You’ll Run Into This

This becomes urgent the moment a board realizes a claim it’s been putting off might be getting close to its filing deadline.