ABSTRACT
Homeowners associations (HOAs) are a form of neighborhood government, differing substantially from other residential community associations such as neighborhood associations. HOAs have grown substantially in numbers over the past several decades and are an increasingly popular form of neighborhood government. A housing developer initially organizes the HOA and then allows an elected board of directors composed of neighborhood residents to run the neighborhood and enforce the restrictive covenants. The covenants regulate the behavior of the residents and the physical characteristics of the properties in the neighborhood. Residents are legally bound by the restrictive covenants and face penalties for violations. Most HOAs also offer a variety of public goods, amenities, and services in the same manner as municipal governments. The purpose of HOAs is to offer these amenities and services to residents and to enforce the restrictive covenants, usually as a means to protecting and improving property values. From a normative standpoint, HOAs have both costs and benefits to residents and to society at large. They may succeed in providing amenities and services and also in improving property values, but at the cost of high annual fees. HOAs may help to improve a sense of community and build social capital in the neighborhood, but may also promote a lack of civic engagement and an increase in racial segregation in a region. Nevertheless, their growth and popularity demands greater empirical and normative study of their effects.
