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HOA Management Company Not Responding? Your Rights and Remedies

You've emailed your management company three times. You've called and left voicemails. You've submitted a maintenance request through their portal. Crickets. Meanwhile, the issue, whether it's a leak, a safety hazard, or a billing error, keeps getting worse.

You're not alone. Unresponsive management companies are one of the top complaints in HOA communities. Here's what you can do about it.

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First, Understand Who Actually Runs Your HOA

This is the most important distinction in this entire article: the management company does not run your HOA. The board of directors does.

A management company is a vendor: a third-party contractor hired by the board to handle day-to-day operations. It has no independent authority. It can't make policy. It can't approve or deny architectural requests (unless the board specifically delegated that authority). It can't decide whether to enforce a rule or waive a fine.

The management company works for the board. The board works for the membership. When the management company fails, it's ultimately the board's responsibility. The board hired them and the board can fire them.

This matters because it tells you who to escalate to when the management company drops the ball.

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What Management Companies Are Supposed to Do

While the specific scope varies by contract, most HOA management agreements cover:

• Responding to homeowner inquiries and complaints
• Processing maintenance requests for common areas
• Collecting assessments and managing the association's accounts
• Sending violation notices and correspondence at the board's direction
• Coordinating vendors for maintenance and repairs
• Preparing board meeting agendas and distributing meeting packets
• Maintaining association records
• Assisting with annual budgets and reserve studies

The key document is the management agreement, the contract between the HOA and the management company. This contract defines exactly what the management company is obligated to do, including response time expectations and service standards.

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Your Rights When They Don't Respond

Most of the rules cited below come from the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (codified at California Civil Code §§4000–6150; references throughout this article to "Civil Code §xxxx", "Davis-Stirling" and "§" point to the same body of law), the California statute that governs HOAs. Davis-Stirling sets your minimum statutory rights as a homeowner; your CC&Rs and bylaws may add to those rights but cannot subtract from them.

Records Requests

If you've made a records request under Civil Code §5200 et seq. and the management company hasn't responded, you have specific statutory protections. The association (acting through its management company) must provide requested records within 10 business days for current-fiscal-year records, or 30 calendar days for records from the prior two fiscal years (§5210(b)(1)–(2)). Failure to comply can result in an award of reasonable attorney's fees and a civil penalty of up to $500 per denied written request (§5235(a)). See Article 7 in this series for the full breakdown.

Maintenance of Common Areas

The association has a statutory duty to maintain common areas (Civil Code §4775(a)(1)). When the management company ignores a maintenance request for a common area issue, the association is failing this duty, not just the management company. Document the issue, document your requests, and escalate to the board.

Assessment Disputes

If the management company has made a billing error or won't respond to assessment questions, you have the right to invoke Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) under Civil Code §5910(a). IDR is your HOA's own internal procedure for resolving disputes between a member and the association. Under §5905(a), the association is required to provide an IDR procedure. The association can either develop its own procedure under §5905(a)–(b), or rely on the §5915 default that kicks in automatically when the association has not developed its own procedure. If the association develops its own procedure, §5905(b) requires it to make maximum, reasonable use of available local dispute resolution programs involving a neutral third party, including low-cost mediation programs listed by the Department of Consumer Affairs and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Where the association has not developed its own procedure, the §5915 default applies, and that default is a purely internal process with no neutral-third-party requirement. You invoke IDR in writing (§5910(a)); the association must participate if you request it (§5910(c)), and participation is free to the member (§5910(g)). If the association has not established its own IDR procedure, the default under §5915(b) applies: an informal meet-and-confer with a board designee. If the parties reach agreement, the resolution is memorialized in writing and signed by the parties, including the board designee on behalf of the association (§5915(b)(5)); the written, signed agreement is judicially enforceable under §5915(c). IDR is distinct from Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which is defined in §5925(a) and required as a prerequisite to civil enforcement actions under §5930(a). ADR involves formal mediation, arbitration, or conciliation with a neutral party. Two exemptions to the ADR prerequisite are worth knowing: assessment disputes are exempt entirely (§5930(d)), and small claims court actions do not require ADR first (§5930(c)). For a billing dispute that falls within small claims jurisdiction, you can go directly to court without completing ADR. IDR remains a useful first step regardless, because it forces the issue to the board level and creates a documented record of the dispute and the HOA's response. You also have protections under the assessment collection procedures in §5650 et seq.

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The Escalation Ladder

When your management company isn't responding, don't keep emailing the same person. Escalate strategically:

Step	Action	Why It Works
1	Document everything. For each contact attempt, keep the date, the method (email, phone, portal), who you reached, and what was said or sent. Save the emails you send and any responses. For calls, jot down the date, time, and substance immediately after. The goal is a clear, dated paper trail; if the dispute escalates to IDR or court, the record is what carries you.	You'll need this paper trail if you escalate further.
2	Try a different contact method. If email isn't working, call. If calls aren't returned, send a certified letter.	Shows good faith and eliminates "we didn't receive it" excuses.
3	Ask for a supervisor. Management companies have hierarchies. Request the community manager's supervisor or regional manager.	Line-level staff sometimes lack authority or bandwidth. Supervisors have both.
4	Contact the board directly. Send a written communication to the board of directors, not through the management company. When the management company is failing to relay your communications to the board, you may need to flag that breakdown directly to a director, because the channel that is supposed to carry the message is not. Director names are public: they are announced at the election meeting (open to members under §5120(a)) and recorded in the minutes of the next board meeting and available for member review thereafter (§5120(b)). Practical paths in this specific circumstance: ask a neighbor who may know who is currently on the board, raise the issue at the next open board meeting during the open comment period, or, if you happen to know a director personally, mention the delivery problem when you see them. The point of this step is narrow. You are alerting the board to a specific failure of the messenger so the board can address it; it is not a general substitute for the management company's intake function, and routine communications continue to go through the managing agent.	The board may not know the management company is underperforming. Your letter puts them on notice.
5	Attend a board meeting. During the homeowner forum/open comment period, raise the issue on the record.	Public statements at board meetings become part of the minutes. Boards pay attention when problems are documented on the record.
6	Request IDR. File a formal Internal Dispute Resolution request under §5910(a).	Creates a formal record and triggers the board's obligation to respond.
7	File a complaint with regulatory agencies. First, check whether your management company holds a California real estate broker's license - search the DRE license database at dre.ca.gov. Not every HOA management company is required to hold one: under Business & Professions Code §10131, a license is required only for real estate brokerage activities such as leasing units or collecting rents for individual property owners, not for pure HOA assessment collection and common-area management. If your company does hold a DRE broker's license, you can file a complaint directly with the DRE. Licensed companies must keep all association funds in a segregated client trust account separate from operating funds (B&P Code §10145), are subject to DRE audit, and can be disciplined under B&P Code §10176 for dishonesty, fraud, negligent acts, or incompetence - up to suspension or revocation of the license. Where staff are licensed under a supervising broker (B&P Code §10177), that broker bears personal responsibility for their conduct. A DRE complaint can reach the supervising broker individually.	Regulatory complaints create external accountability.

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Writing an Effective Complaint to the Board

When you write to the board about management company non-responsiveness, be specific:

Include: Dates of each attempt to contact the management company, method used (email, phone, portal), the person you contacted, and the specific issue you reported. Attach documentation.

State what you want: Don't just complain. Request a specific outcome: "I'm requesting that the board direct the management company to respond to my maintenance request within 5 business days" is more actionable than "your management company stinks."

Reference your rights: If the issue involves a records request, cite §5200. If it involves common area maintenance, cite §4775. If it involves assessment disputes, cite the relevant provision.

Be professional. You're building a record. Angry rants undermine your credibility. Factual, documented complaints get results.

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When the Problem Is Systemic

If multiple homeowners are experiencing the same non-responsiveness, the problem isn't one dropped ball. It's a failing management company. At this point, the board needs to consider:

Performance Review

The board should formally evaluate the management company against the terms of the management agreement. Are they meeting their contractual obligations? Are response time standards being met? Are required services being performed?

Demanding Corrective Action

Most management agreements include provisions for default and cure. The board can send a formal notice demanding that the management company correct specific deficiencies within a stated timeframe.

Changing Management Companies

If the management company consistently underperforms, the board has the authority (and arguably the duty) to terminate the agreement and hire a replacement. Most management contracts include:

• A termination clause (typically 30–90 days' notice)
• Requirements for transition of records and funds
• Provisions for handling pending items during transition

For board members: Changing management companies is a significant undertaking, but staying with a non-performing company is worse. A management company that doesn't respond to homeowners creates liability for the association and erodes community trust. The board's fiduciary duty includes ensuring the association's agents perform their functions.

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Red Flags in Management Company Behavior

Watch for these patterns that suggest deeper problems:

• Selective responsiveness: Responds to board members but ignores homeowners
• Lost records: Can't produce documents that should be readily available
• Financial opacity: Delays producing financial reports or bank statements
• Vendor favoritism: Consistently steering contracts to specific vendors without competitive bidding
• Unauthorized actions: Making decisions or sending notices without board authorization
• High turnover: Your community manager changes every few months, and no one has institutional knowledge

Any of these patterns warrant a conversation with the board and potentially a deeper review of the management company's performance and the association's financial records.

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Board Members: Your Obligations

If you're on the board and homeowners are complaining about the management company:

Take it seriously. The management company is your agent. Their failures are your failures in the eyes of the membership and the law.

Investigate. Don't just take the management company's word for it. Review the complaints, check response logs, and talk to affected homeowners.

Hold the management company accountable. You're the client. You set the expectations. If the management company isn't meeting them, that's a contract performance issue you need to address.

Don't hide behind the management company. "We'll have the management company look into it" is not a response. It's a deflection. The board is responsible for ensuring issues get resolved, not just referred.

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Managing the Stress of Being Ignored

The worst part of an unresponsive management company isn't the issue itself. It's the uncertainty. You don't know if they got your email. You don't know if anyone's working on it. You don't know when (or if) it'll be resolved. That uncertainty creates a stress loop.

Here's how to break it: Set explicit deadlines in every communication. "I'm requesting a response by [date]. If I don't hear back by then, I'll be escalating to the board." This does two things. It creates accountability for them and a clear next step for you. You're no longer waiting and wondering. You're executing a plan.

The dated log you keep (see the documentation step in the escalation ladder above) is also a stress-management tool. When you can see a clear record of every step you have taken, you are no longer waiting and wondering. You are executing a documented plan with a clear next step.

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Key Takeaways

An unresponsive management company is frustrating, but you're not powerless. Document everything, escalate strategically (to the board, not just up the management company chain), and know your statutory rights. The management company is a vendor. Vendors that don't perform can and should be replaced.

The board's job is to ensure the association functions properly. If the management company is the obstacle, the board has both the authority and the duty to fix it.