Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Alabama
Home Owner's Association Suing for Back Dues
Hello. My husband and I own a 4 year old home in a relatively new subdivision. We lived there for 6 months before his job transferred him to another city. Since then we have been renting the property out through a rental agency. The Home Owner's Assoc. is now suing us for four and a half years of back dues, court costs and attorney fees. We never received anything saying when the dues needed to be paid. We forwarded our mail to our current address but we never received anything. We assumed that the people who were renting our property were paying these dues. Our guess is that the HOA was notifying us of the dues and the renters were tossing the notice in the garbage. If this is the case then couldn't the renter's be sued for invasion of privacy under TITLE 18 PART I CHAPTER 83 � 1703? I guess there is no way we can prove that the letters ended up in the garbage, luckily it's only about $500 dollars worth of dues. I guess it's just the principle!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Home Owner's Association Suing for Back Dues
If you were there for 6 months, did you receive any notice of the amount due during that time? In addition, did your lease provide for who would be responsible for paying these dues? You might be able to recover from your tenants if there is any provision in the lease that requires them to pay. If not, in the future provide for this in the lease.