HOA Payment Plans in Texas: What Homeowners Can Ask For

Falling behind on HOA dues is stressful, and late fees can make a small balance grow fast. The good news for Texas homeowners: most associations are required by law to offer a payment plan. Here's what that means, the limits, and how to ask for one.

Does my Texas HOA have to offer a payment plan?

In most cases, yes. Under Texas Property Code §209.0062, a property owners' association with more than 14 lots must adopt reasonable guidelines for an alternative payment schedule. That lets an owner make partial payments on delinquent regular or special assessments, or other amounts owed, without accruing additional monetary penalties.

A few details worth knowing:

• Minimum length: a plan must be at least three months.
• Costs and interest: the association can still charge reasonable costs of administering the plan, and interest. Those don't count as "monetary penalties" under the law.
• Filed guidelines: the association must file its payment plan guidelines in the county property records. If it hasn't, owners can still receive a payment plan.

When the HOA can say no

The same section lists situations where an association isn't required to offer a plan:

• A plan that would run more than 18 months from the date you ask.
• If you defaulted on a previous payment plan, for two years after that default.
• After the cure period in a collection notice (described below) has expired.
• More than once in any 12-month period.

Payment plans and collections

Payment plans also show up in other parts of Chapter 209:

• Before collection agent fees. Before an association can hold you liable for a collection agent's fees, it must send a certified-mail notice listing what you owe. If the association is required to offer payment plans, that notice must explain your options, including the plan. It must also give you at least 45 days to cure (§209.0064).
• Before credit reporting. An association may report delinquent assessments to a credit reporting service only after sending a detailed report of the charges at least 30 business days ahead, and only if you've been given the opportunity to enter a payment plan (§209.0065).
• Where your money goes. Payments are generally applied first to delinquent assessments, then current assessments, then attorney's fees and collection costs, and fines come near the end (§209.0063). If you're in default on a payment plan, that order doesn't have to be followed.
• Fines alone can't lead to foreclosure. An association can't foreclose its assessment lien if the debt is made up solely of fines or attorney's fees tied only to fines (§209.009).

How to ask for an HOA payment plan

1. Find the right contact. Use the name on your dues statement, or look up your association's latest management certificate at hoa.texas.gov. Our guide on how to contact your HOA walks through it.
2. Ask in writing. Include your name, property address, the balance you see, and a monthly amount you can realistically pay. Keep a copy and note the date.
3. Ask for the association's written guidelines so you know the terms before you agree.
4. Get the agreement in writing, including the schedule, the total, and any administration costs or interest.
5. Keep every payment on time. A default can limit your options for two years.

This article is general information, not legal advice. If you've received a collection or foreclosure notice, talk to a Texas attorney who handles HOA matters.

For board members: keep the dues conversation on the record

Dues questions are some of the most common calls an association gets, and they're the ones where a lost voicemail costs the most. If a homeowner asks about a payment plan and nobody remembers the call, both sides lose track of what was promised.

QuorumVoice isn't an accounting or dues system. Dues stay in your accounting software. What QuorumVoice does is keep the conversation about the dues: every call, text, email, and voicemail lands in one shared inbox, filed to the resident. Quill, our AI answering service, answers from the documents and rules you give it, so it can explain your payment plan guidelines at 11 pm. Promises made on a call are tracked until they're kept, so "we'll send you the payment plan form" actually happens.

Greater Houston communities can apply for one of ten Founding Communities seats, which include ninety days on Pro, free, with hands-on setup.