Is there a fine assessed for transgressions? Yes, a lien is monetary. So I assume there is a dollar value attached to the penalty.

A lien is a debt secured by property. When a homeowners association levies dues or a penalty, unpaid amounts can be recorded as liens, meaning, they get first priority for funds when the nonpayer's property is sold. Essentially, a homeowner can't refuse to pay a penalty imposed by the Board - they can just record it and get paid (involuntarily, as far as the homeowner is concerned) at a later date.

And Yes, an association's rules can indeed override or supercede local law. For example, for my neighborhood of heterogeneous houses, the set-back distance under local law (how close to the property line a structure can be built) is 5 feet. However, under the association's rules, the set-back is 15 feet.

Homeowners associations are essentially private contracts among the parties concerned - anything can be put in as a stipulation so long as it doesn't require something that is against the law.

As I said an attorney said they can not come on my property and change anything without my permission. It is illegal and if they do I can sue them. It is my home not theirs and they cannot do it in spite of the their covenants. About the lien It is my belief that a lien is only about money owed and they think they can do it if a home owner can break the rules even if no money is involved.

I googled and googled searching for an answer and every thing I read was about money owed regarding unpaid dues and assessments.

snidley, I am sure they can work with city for easements changes, but that is different than them coming on my property and removing the external PVC pipe from my sump pump. The last thing the builders do is go through and check those pipes. In some cases if there is a hole under they pipe they bury a pipe taking the water to the curb, in other cases they leave them about 3 foot long. I replace the pipe and they have not removed it.

I live in a condominium with a homeowner's association. Have you checked your Declaration? Have you checked your By-laws? Have you checked your rules & regulations? The Declaration and By-laws are legal documents filed with the state. Those legal documents spell out the rights of homeowners and the authority of the board of directors.

With that said, your board of directors should be following due process. First a verbal warning, then a written, then assess a fine for the infraction, etc. Everything should be documented. It is legal, in Washington state, to impose a lien upon a condominium if the owner doesn't pay their monthly assessments, or if they accumulate fines. Fines just don't accumulate without any consequence. If an owner doesn't respond with ceasing whatever they aren't supposed to be doing, or don't make the necessary repair, etc., our homeowner association will handle the issue and then bill it back to the owner.

People often complain about their "rights" without even knowing what their rights are.

OP, your post and your follow up don't really mesh. I gathered from your post you meant something about moving plants, not sure what that has to do with PVC pipe but OK. The lien has to have a monetary value, but if you were to remove a plant that the HOA says you are not allowed to they can assess the cost of replanting it even if there is no express penalty. As that cost would just be damages. So to answer your question in a round about way, no they can't put a non monetary lien on your property but they can find a way to assess a monetary penalty to almost any infraction.

Now to the whole state law thing, you can absolutely subordinate rights in a deed restricted community. You have already given them permission to come on your property when you purchased the deed restricted property. I am not sure you have the right to cancel that. However, the law is rarely unreasonable, if you can prove that the offending plant was likely to cause damage to your house then I would think most judges would say you were acting in protection of your interest, which you are allowed to do.

One last piece of advice, sometimes judges will slap HOA's down, but more often they just tell you that you should have thought about that before you signed it. The requirements must be reasonable and not constructed to create a hardship for anyone, but if that holds true they can often have a lot of discretion. Also, remember you will be in civil court not criminal, which is a lot more flexible.

There are too many questions here.

First, just WHO owns the property where the offending bush is located? In a condo the association owns the outside and the homeowner owns the inside. Some HOAs are set up where there are individual homes and the homeowner can landscape in the first 5 feet surrounding the house.

Who does the maintenance of the individual properties? The homeowner or the HOA? What if the offending bush is dead? Who is responsible for the replacement?

This should all be covered in the Restrictive Covenants.

One thing to remember about covenants. They are part of the deed to your property. No HOA can change any covenant without your permission. They cannot change the wording of your deed unless you agree.

I am not doubting what you were told. Even if everything you say is true they still have the right to charge you. You can take them to court and have them change, you might get damages from them, and you might get them to lift any charges they have levied as unreasonable. But they still have the right to charge you if you signed the deed covenant. Sounds like you have a crappy HOA. You might well be able to challenge them in court and win. But your right to challenge the things in court exists in tandem with their rights to charge you in the first place.

You have this idea that covenants can't overide city or state laws but it is more complicated than just yes or no. Courts have found both ways on that. Courts have often upheld that both noncompete agreements and agreements to indemnify others are allowed, while at other times they have struck them down. Your HOA agreement probably has an indemnity clause in it, that prohibits you from taking action directly against HOA representatives acting on behalf of the HOA. Furthermore, your deed covenants may have already assigned certain rights to the HOA that would normally be assigned only to an owner. Those may be found to be unenforceable at court but will likely require a court battle. Even if you are correct that they don't have the right to come on your property in your state and any deed covenant stating otherwise has been judged unenforceable, they can still charge you for all kinds of things and if you refuse to pay they can just foreclose on your house.

There is a difference between breaking the law and committing a crime. Their coming on your property to say mow it, may well be breaking the law but it would definitely not be committing a crime and would land you in civil not criminal court. I am not getting where your cop friend is arresting them and I doubt that doing so would be looked on favorably. The one thing that many people forget is that judges are rarely unreasonable, in civil proceedings if your HOA came on your property and mowed your yard because you wouldn't, they may well be breaking the law in your state, but the judge may dismiss the case and yell at you along the way. On the other hand if the HOA was passing rules that are causing your property damage the judge would overrule them and probably yell at them.

Quixotism at its finest.

I have settled the problem of the lien. I contacted the author of the covenants and he said his covenants are being distorted or misread. He said he was careful when he wrote them to protect the home owner's rights. I can change the flower beds without permission. Later I found a group of Kansas lawyers who answered questions free. I asked and got a reply and he came to my home to read the covenants. He knew all the things that have going on. He laughed when he read the covenants. He said it clearly states we can change anything that was there when we bought the house. What we need permission for is to put a new berm or tree in a place where there is none. He also said they cannot put a lien on my home if I don't owe them any money. The covenants doesn't mention fines except for major problems like junk cars in the back yard. The lawyer charged me $100 and it was worth every penny. He told me what to do if they try to punish me for breaking a rule. I told the treasurer of the board who lives across the street from me about it. I also told her I was going to rock in my flower without permission and my lawyer is standing by to help me if needed. It's been 2 months now and they haven't said a thing about it the changes I made.

Emma ... those who stir up dragons ...

... sometimes get fire-bombed.

Sometimes people take on a HOA, and win. Often they don't.

But - either way, life often becomes somewhat less comfortable, quite possibly over extended periods.

Often a good idea to not sweat the small stuff.

ole joyful