COMPLIANCE, VIOLATIONS AND FINES (AND FEES)

  • Fines are simply a way to discourage members that violate Canyon Creek's compliance guidelines which are spelled out the the Canyon Creek Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions document (also known as the DDCRs document).

  • A fine is a nominal charge of $50 to encourage compliance with the DCCRs.

    A fee is a recovery cost charged by the management company.

  • Effective September 27th, 2019, Canyon Creek uses a 3-step fine policy:

    1. courtesy notice;

    2. notice with intent to fine; and

    3. notice with fine incurred.

    Under normal circumstances, there is approximately a two-week period between each of these steps. If a violation continues to not be cured, the member will repeatedly be charged this $50 fine in step-3.

    Under egregious circumstances (at the complete discretion of the board), the $50 fine may be charged daily until the violation is cured.

  • First, contact the management company’s community manager (see contact us) and request additional time. You may also contact the community manager if you anticipate a circumstance which might earn you violation or if you simply have questions. The management company will appreciate your acknowledgement and will gladly work with you to provide an additional time to cure. Working with contractors schedules, weather, etc are reasonable justifications for more time to cure. An excuse of “I am to busy” will not likely get you much consideration. If you are not able to reliably handle a maintenance (lawn maintenance, fence repair…) you are strongly encouraged to consider hiring a professional contractor to perform this maintenance.

    Next, If you are not able to resolve your issues through the management company, you may contact the Canyon Creek HOA board at board@canyoncreek.net. Depending on your circumstances, your may be instructed to comply or formally appeal by requesting a hearing by the Canyon Creek board of directors as described in the Canyon Creek Bylaws - Article 11.

  • Several items were addressed in the latest update including (1) alignment with the language as stipulated DCCR Article 5.4(F), (2) allowing for a more desirable courtesy notification of violations through first class mail before the legal requirements for certified mail notification are required (i.e. steps 2 and 3), (3) allowing for more time to cure a violation before fines are imposed and (4) removal of the $500 limit for on-going and egregious violations. It is important to remember that fines are intended to be a last resort for compliance to the DCCRs.

  • No. The fines and fees imposed were legally imposed based on the prevailing version of the resolution that was in effect at the time.

  • All fines are put into the Canyon Creek general operating fund for the benefit of the community at large.

  • Less than 1%. Again, fines are NOT intended to be a revenue source but as a deterrent to compliance violations.

  • No. No individual person or no predetermined single project benefits from collected fines.

  • Members that are charged a fee is processed through the management company and are used by the management company to recover actual processing costs (mailing, delivery charges, additional accounting…). The HOA, the membership, nor the management company receive any benefit as fees are normally paid out to third party entities (USPS, legal…).

  • It is a requirement of the Texas Property Code Title 11. Restrictive Covenants Chapter 209. Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act, Paragraph 209.006 Notice Required Before Enforcement Action (b)(4) that "Notices with an Intent to Fine" and "Notices with a Fine Incurred" be sent out as registered mail (or as stated in the statute "verified" mail). As it takes extra time to deliver and receive registered mail, it is Canyon Creek's current policy to also send out the exact same notice via regular mail to give members the maximum allowable time to respond to compliance violation notices. As there is a cost associated with the mailing of notices by registered mail, the first notice is paid out of Canyon Creek's general operating fund, while subsequent notices are added to the member's outstanding balance.

Additional Information