As a Homeowner’s Association (HOA) treasurer, maintaining financial stability and affordability for your community is likely your top priority. But sometimes life throws curveballs that might derail your HOA’s budget (think COVID-19, sharp increases in homeowners insurance, new state regulations), and leave you no choice but to raise your HOA dues.
While no one enjoys raising fees, your HOA must be able to pay its bills. It’s a difficult conversation to navigate, so we’ve created a letter template to help communicate the dues increase with your community clearly and concisely.
Transparency with residents is key.
The community deserves to know and understand why their dues are being increased. Be prepared to explain:
Budget Considerations: Outline the annual budget and highlight areas where costs have increased (e.g., property maintenance, homeowners insurance).
Reserve Fund Health: Explain the importance of a strong reserve fund for unexpected repairs or capital projects.
Alternatives Considered: Emphasize that a dues increase is the most sustainable option compared to special assessments, a depleted reserve fund, or a more substantial hike later on.
Crafting the dues increase letter
Here are some communication tips to help you write the announcement:
Opener: Start by emphasizing the board’s commitment to the community and financial responsibility.
Justification for the increase: Don’t beat around the bush, explain why a dues increase is necessary (e.g., rising costs, insurance increases, insufficient reserves) for the HOA.
Alternatives explored: Mention if the board explored alternatives like special assessments but determined a dues increase is the most sustainable option.
Transparency and open forum: If relevant, give your community a space to air their concerns. Host a forum to discuss the proposed increase in detail. Include date, time, and location (physical or virtual).
We’ve created a template letter to help communicate the dues increase to your community. Find it below, enter your email, download it, and be sure to customize it to the specifics of your HOA!
HOA Dues Increase Letter Template
Remember:
- Tailor the message: Integrate specifics about your community’s financial situation.
- Be clear and concise: Avoid jargon and complex language.
- Offer an open forum: Provide residents an opportunity to engage in dialogue.
By prioritizing open communication, you can navigate the dues, increase conversation effectively, and ensure the overall financial health of your HOA community.
Get a Free HOA Dues Increase Letter Template
An easier way to collect HOA dues
Many HOA management softwares offer HOA dues payment processing, but oftentimes they charge high fees. When you’re already asking your HOA members to pay more on dues, it would be ideal to have the least amount of money go towards fees.
Crowded is a modern, 100% digital dues collection platform for HOAs. Create secure online payment collection links in minutes that require no app downloads and allow for payment tracking and sending reminders. Create unlimited collection links to collect money easily from your community for dues, special assessments, block parties, movie nights, and whatever other activities your HOA puts on!
Crowded’s payment processing fee is one of the lowest on the market – charging 2.99% which can be absorbed by the HOA or the payer, you choose!
All the money collected goes into an FDIC insurance-eligible bank account** which you can use to pay vendors and contractors or assign debit cards to board members to make purchases transparently on behalf of the board and HOA.
Crowded accounts are free to open, and have no minimum balances – get started today or book a demo.
