Indiana HOA Fining Authority

1. Overview — Fining authority in Indiana

Indiana runs its community associations under two separate statutes, and since July 1, 2026, those two community types no longer stand on the same footing when it comes to fining authority. Start with condominiums. They answer to the Indiana Condominium Act, Ind. Code Title 32, Article 25 (IC 32-25 et seq.) — a traditional condominium statute that grants no express power to fine. Condominium fining authority still comes from the declaration and bylaws, not the code.¹ Planned communities answer to a different law, the Indiana Homeowners Associations Act, Ind. Code Title 32, Article 25.5 (IC 32-25.5 et seq.). That statute supplies governance and transparency scaffolding — budgets, records, meetings, proxies, amendments, grievance resolution — but stops short of a comprehensive governance code.² Then, in the 2026 session, the General Assembly added IC 32-25.5-3-12, effective July 1, 2026. For the first time, planned-community associations now have an express statutory power to assess fines for covenant violations, conditioned on a board-adopted, published schedule of fines and notice before any fine is assessed.³ Neither statute borrows from UCIOA — Indiana never adopted that uniform act, so none of its fining or lien features apply here. Fine amounts are capped only by what the declaration allows for condominiums, or what the schedule of fines allows for planned communities, and both remain subject to common-law reasonableness, because no Indiana statute sets a dollar limit.³ The question that matters most downstream is whether an unpaid fine can become a lien and support foreclosure. That turns entirely on whether the fine counts as a lienable common expense — a question the Quick-Reference table below and Section 3C answer directly.

2. Quick-Reference Fining Mechanics Table

Here's Indiana's fining picture at a glance. Condominium fining authority still runs through the CC&Rs, while planned-community fining authority now rests on a brand-new statute — IC 32-25.5-3-12, effective July 1, 2026. That's why the two columns diverge, and why several condominium cells point to the declaration instead of a statute. Wherever no statutory lien reaches a fine, the answer comes down to the governing documents. Every figure below is sourced in the detailed discussion that follows in Section 3.

The Condominiums column reflects the Indiana Condominium Act (Article 25); the Planned Communities column reflects the Indiana Homeowners Associations Act (Article 25.5). Wherever neither statute grants express fining authority, the values are CC&R-derived. Last verified: July 14, 2026.

3. Fining mechanics in detail

3A. Source and outer limits of fining authority

The two tracks diverge right at the source. On the condominium side, the Indiana Condominium Act (IC 32-25) is a traditional condominium statute, built around declarations, bylaws, common expenses, and an assessment lien.¹ It contains no section granting an express power to fine, and neither of the 2026 bills touched Article 25.³ That makes condominium fining authority purely contractual: it exists only if the declaration or bylaws create it, and it reaches only as far as those documents say. Fine an owner for conduct the governing documents don't cover, or in an amount they don't authorize, and that fine won't hold up.

On the planned-community side, the story is different. The Indiana Homeowners Associations Act (IC 32-25.5) has long supplied governance and transparency scaffolding — budgets, records, meetings, proxies, amendments, a grievance-resolution process — but no express power to fine, leaving that entirely to the declaration.² That changed with House Enrolled Act 1115 (2026), which added IC 32-25.5-3-12, effective July 1, 2026. The new section lets a homeowners association assess a fine for a member's violation of a covenant described in IC 32-25.5-2-3(2), but only once the board adopts a schedule of fines.³ And because a companion amendment folded IC 32-25.5-3-12 into the list of provisions that apply to every association under IC 32-25.5-1-1, this fining power reaches HOAs regardless of when they formed — not just those formed after June 30, 2009.³

Neither statute amounts to a UCIOA-style comprehensive code — Indiana never adopted UCIOA. So in both tracks, the declaration stays central. For condominiums, it's the only source of fining authority there is. For planned communities, it supplies the covenants a fine actually enforces, plus any procedures stricter than the statutory floor. No statute in either track caps the dollar amount of a fine, which means every Indiana fine still answers to the common-law expectation that a covenant-enforcement penalty be reasonable.

3B. The required fining procedure

For condominiums, there's no statutory fining procedure to follow. An enforceable fine depends entirely on the declaration and bylaws, backed up by the common-law expectation of reasonable notice and a chance to respond. No statute sets a notice period, a cure period, or a hearing deadline — the declaration sets the whole timeline. Whether per-day or continuing fines are even allowed comes down to the same document.

For planned communities, IC 32-25.5-3-12 now sets a real statutory floor. Before the board assesses any fine, it must first adopt a schedule of fines — one that identifies which covenant violations carry a fine, the amount for each, whether any fine recurs and how that's calculated, and a maximum aggregate fine for any single violation. A recurring fine can never exceed that stated maximum.³ The schedule has to stay available for members to inspect on request. Once it exists, the board may assess a fine only after it notifies the member — stating the violation, the fine amount, the date the fine will be assessed, and, for recurring fines, how it's calculated.³ The statute fixes no minimum notice period and no pre-fine hearing. Instead, the opportunity to be heard comes from the Chapter 5 grievance-resolution process — a fine dispute doesn't count as an exempt claim under the amended IC 32-25.5-5-4 — under which the association has 10 business days to request a meeting after a notice of claim, on top of the common-law expectation of reasonable notice.⁴ In practice, that means a planned-community fine assessed without an adopted schedule, or without the required notice, is procedurally defective. Challenges run through the Indiana trial courts — Circuit and Superior Courts — with appeals to the Indiana Court of Appeals and discretionary transfer to the Indiana Supreme Court.⁵

3C. Enforcement of unpaid fines: assessments, liens, and foreclosure

This is where the risk runs highest, because Indiana's lien statutes secure "common expenses" — not fines, as such. For condominiums, IC 32-25-6-3 turns unpaid sums assessed for a unit's share of the common expenses into a lien on the unit, foreclosable by suit under Indiana's mechanic's and materialmen's lien procedures.⁶ But fines aren't automatically common expenses. So a fine-only balance is securable by the condominium assessment lien — and foreclosable — only if the declaration makes the fine a common expense or an assessment the lien reaches. Without that language, the association's only remedy for an unpaid condominium fine is a money judgment, not foreclosure.

For planned communities, the statutory lien lives outside Article 25.5 altogether, in the Homeowners Association Liens chapter, IC 32-28-14. That lien secures "common expenses" — a term defined to include sums lawfully assessed against a subdivision, plus any expenses the bylaws or another written instrument declare common expenses.⁷ A homeowners association can foreclose that lien by filing a complaint in circuit or superior court, no earlier than 90 days after recording and no later than five years out.⁸ Just as with condominiums, a fine is folded into the lien — and so becomes foreclosable — only where the governing documents make it a common expense or lienable assessment. Indiana has no super-lien; a first mortgage of record keeps its priority regardless.⁹ There's also a lighter tool available: the Homeowners Associations Act lets an association suspend a member's voting rights for nonpayment, but only if the governing documents provide for it and the assessments run delinquent for more than six months (IC 32-25.5-3-7). Suspending amenity or common-area use isn't addressed by statute at all, so that's CC&R-derived too.¹⁰ The controlling point, across both tracks: no statutory lien reaches a fine on its own. Foreclosure on a fine-only debt exists only where the declaration creates that right.

4. Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

Two bills moved through the Indiana General Assembly's 2026 session and now shape fining and collection practice, starting with the one that created the new fining power itself.

B. Recent appellate rulings

Two Court of Appeals rulings this year mark the edges of an association's collection power in Indiana — one holding that governance lapses don't excuse an owner's payment obligation, and one confirming that a fee-shifting covenant can carry an association's attorney's fees through a small-claims appeal.

C. Active legislative debates

The 2026 session saw a real fight over fees on the Senate side. Senator Aaron Freeman offered Amendment #1 to HB 1152, mirrored as Amendment #6 to HB 1115, which would have barred associations, agents, and management companies from charging any homeowner fee unless it was expressly listed in the recorded governing documents. The Community Associations Institute's Indiana Legislative Action Committee opposed it, and the language got narrowed before either bill passed.¹⁶ Expect further refinement of the fee-and-fine framework in the 2027 session.

5. National positioning and related coverage

Step back, and Indiana fits into one of three broad approaches states take to fining authority. The first is statutory fining power paired with statutory due-process conditions — the approach UCIOA states like Alaska, Connecticut, and Colorado take, alongside comprehensive-statute states like California and Florida. The second is CC&R-derived authority with a common-law due-process overlay layered on top. The third caps fines outright, mandates published schedules, or restricts foreclosure on fine-only debt. Indiana has traditionally sat in that second, CC&R-derived group — but as of July 1, 2026, it straddles categories. Condominiums remain purely contractual, while planned communities now carry a statutory fining power complete with a published-schedule requirement and a mandatory per-violation aggregate cap, pulling that track toward the first and third approaches at once. Indiana operators still need to read the individual declaration rather than lean on a statutory default, because the declaration remains the only source of condominium fining authority and the only route to making any fine lienable. On the lien-and-foreclosure question, Indiana comes down owner-protective relative to its peers: no statutory lien reaches a fine on its own, there's no super-lien, and a fine-only foreclosure is possible only where the declaration creates that right.

HOA Weekly updates its Indiana Fining Authority coverage every quarter as the General Assembly and the Indiana courts act. Federal frameworks reach Indiana associations too, regardless of what the state framework says — the FDCPA can govern third-party collection of fines, and the FHA, ADA, SCRA, and OTARD rule all apply as well; a forthcoming federal-law analysis will cover each in depth.

Recommendations

• Immediate, before assessing any planned-community fine after July 1, 2026: Confirm the board has actually adopted a schedule of fines under IC 32-25.5-3-12 — one that lists each covenant violation subject to a fine, the amount, whether the fine recurs and how that's calculated, and a maximum aggregate amount per single violation — and confirm that schedule is available to members on request. Don't assess a fine until that schedule exists and violation-specific notice has gone out, covering the violation, the amount, the assessment date, and any recurrence terms. Skip either step, and the fine is procedurally defective.
• For condominiums: Don't assume the new statute reaches you. It doesn't amend Article 25. Pull the declaration and bylaws instead. If they don't create a fining power, the association can't fine — full stop. And if they don't make fines a common expense, an unpaid fine can't be secured by the IC 32-25-6-3 lien or foreclosed. Where fining and lien coverage actually matter, amend the declaration rather than count on the statute to cover you.
• For lien and foreclosure strategy, both tracks: Treat foreclosure on a fine-only balance as available only where the governing documents expressly make the fine a lienable common expense or assessment. Otherwise, pursue a money judgment instead. Route delinquent-fine collection through counsel, and comply with the FDCPA once a third party or law firm takes over collection — HOA fines count as "debts" under that federal statute whenever a third-party collector gets involved.
• Benchmarks that would change this guidance: Watch for a 2027 amendment extending statutory fine authority to the Condominium Act, Article 25; any statute that expressly folds fines into a lienable assessment; a published dollar cap; or a precedential Indiana Court of Appeals or Supreme Court opinion construing IC 32-25.5-3-12. Any of those would warrant revisiting this analysis. Keep an eye on the 2027 session and the Court of Appeals docket.

Caveats

• The planned-community fine statute, IC 32-25.5-3-12, took effect July 1, 2026, and no Indiana appellate court has construed it yet. Its procedural contours come from the enrolled text, not from case law.
• The statutory text relied on here comes from the enrolled House Enrolled Act 1115-2026 on the Indiana General Assembly site. Confirm the Public Law number for HEA 1115-2026 on the IGA Public Laws listing before citing "P.L.___-2026." HEA 1152-2026, for what it's worth, is Public Law 53.
• Talley is a memorandum decision. Under Indiana Appellate Rule 65(D), it sets no binding precedent — it's cited here only to illustrate enforcement practice.
• Whether any given fine is lienable and foreclosable is document-specific. Statute alone can't resolve that question; the declaration controls.

1. Indiana Condominium Act, Ind. Code Title 32, Article 25 (Chapters 1–9), Indiana General Assembly ↩ ↩
2. Indiana Homeowners Associations Act, Ind. Code Title 32, Article 25.5 (Chapters 1–5), Indiana General Assembly ↩ ↩
3. House Enrolled Act 1115 (2026), SECTION 6 (adding IC 32-25.5-3-12) and SECTION 2 (amending IC 32-25.5-1-1), Effective July 1, 2026, Indiana General Assembly ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
4. House Enrolled Act 1115 (2026), SECTION 7 (amending IC 32-25.5-5-4, grievance "exempt claim"); Ind. Code § 32-25.5-5-11 (10-business-day meeting request), Indiana General Assembly ↩
5. Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 4 (Supreme Court discretionary transfer jurisdiction) and Rule 5 (Court of Appeals jurisdiction), Indiana Judicial Branch ↩
6. Ind. Code § 32-25-6-3 (Unpaid assessments; lien), Indiana Code Title 32, Indiana General Assembly ↩
7. Ind. Code § 32-28-14-1 ("common expenses") and § 32-28-14-5 (homeowners association lien), Indiana Code Title 32, Article 28, Chapter 14, Indiana General Assembly ↩
8. Ind. Code § 32-28-14-8 (Time limit for enforcing lien; complaint in circuit or superior court, not earlier than 90 days, not later than 5 years), Indiana General Assembly ↩
9. Ind. Code § 32-25-6-3(a) (lien priority; subordinate to first mortgage of record) and § 32-28-14-7 (first-mortgage foreclosure priority), Indiana General Assembly ↩
10. Ind. Code § 32-25.5-3-7 (Member voting rights; suspension only if governing documents provide and assessments delinquent more than six months), Indiana General Assembly ↩
11. House Bill 1115 (2026) — "Homeowners association governance," bill details and history (signed March 12, 2026; effective July 1, 2026), Indiana General Assembly ↩
12. House Bill 1152 (2026) — "Homeowners association matters," bill details and history (Public Law 53; signed March 3, 2026; effective July 1, 2026), Indiana General Assembly ↩
13. House Enrolled Act 1152 (2026), fee-prohibition provision (IC 32-25.5-3-3(n)): no fee for a service other than dues or fines expressly identified in the governing documents, Indiana General Assembly ↩
14. Sandoval v. Willow Lake Estates Home Owners Ass'n, Inc., No. 24A-MF-309 (Ind. Ct. App. Mar. 12, 2025), Indiana Courts published decisions ↩
15. Talley v. Cheswick Homeowners' Ass'n, Inc., No. 24A-SC-581 (Ind. Ct. App. Feb. 27, 2025) (memorandum decision), Indiana Courts ↩
16. Community Associations Institute, 2026 Indiana End of Legislative Session Report (Senator Freeman Amendment #1 to HB 1152 / Amendment #6 to HB 1115) ↩