A Fine Requires a Written Warning First

A management committee may assess a fine for a violation of the governing documents, but only after giving the owner a written warning. That warning must contain all of the following:

• A description of the violation
• The specific rule or provision of the governing documents that the conduct violates
• A statement that fines may be assessed if a continuing violation is not cured, or if the owner commits similar violations within one year of the warning or of a fine
• For a continuing violation, a cure time of not less than 48 hours after the warning is given

A warning that omits any of these is not the warning the statute requires. If the association fined you without first identifying the rule, or without giving a continuing violation at least 48 hours to cure, that is worth raising at the hearing.

When a Fine Can Actually Be Assessed

After a proper warning, the committee may fine you only if, within one year of the warning, you commit another violation of the same rule or provision identified in the warning, or, for a continuing violation, you do not cure within the time the warning stated.

The one-year window and the same-rule requirement are both limits. A warning about one rule does not authorize a fine for violating a different rule.

Repeat Fines Without a New Warning

If the governing documents permit it, once a fine has been assessed, the committee may fine you again without a further warning each time you commit a violation of the same rule within one year of that fine, or allow a violation to continue for 10 days or longer after the fine was assessed.

Note the condition: this only applies if the governing documents permit it. Check whether yours do.

The Monthly Cap, Which Exists Only Under the Condo Act

The aggregate amount of fines assessed against an owner for violations of the same rule or provision may not exceed $500 in any one calendar month.

Within that cap, a fine must be only for a violation of a rule, covenant, condition, or restriction that is in the governing documents, must be in the amount the governing documents provide, and accrues interest and late fees as those documents provide.

The Hearing, and the Clock That Stops Interest

You may request an informal hearing before the management committee to dispute a fine within 30 days after you receive notice that the fine was assessed. 

At that hearing, the committee shall give you a reasonable opportunity to present your position, and shall allow you, a committee member, or anyone else involved to participate by means of electronic communication. You do not have to appear in person.

This is the most valuable sentence on the page. If you timely request the hearing, no interest or late fees may accrue until after the committee conducts the hearing and you receive a final decision. Requesting the hearing freezes the meter.

Appealing to Court: 180 Days

You may appeal a fine by initiating a civil action within 180 days. The clock starts on one of two days.

• If you timely requested an informal hearing, the day you receive the final decision
• If you did not: the day the 30-day window to request a hearing expires

Missing the appeal window has a second consequence. A fine becomes part of the association's assessment lien once the time to appeal expires without an appeal or once a court upholds it. Until then it is not lienable, and a lien that includes a fine cannot be enforced by nonjudicial foreclosure. See Assessments.

What the Committee May Not Delegate

A management committee may delegate its rights and responsibilities under this section to a managing agent, except for the hearing itself. The obligation to hear you out and to permit electronic participation stays with the committee.

This section applies regardless of when your association was created. An older association does not escape it.

Losing Utilities or Amenities for Nonpayment Is a Different Process

A fine is a sanction for breaking a rule. Termination of services for nonpayment of an assessment runs on its own track, and only if the declaration, bylaws, or rules authorize it.

What can be terminated is limited: a utility service the owner pays for as a common expense, and access to and use of recreational facilities. Before terminating either, the association must give notice stating what will be terminated, the amount due, including interest and late fees, and your right to request a hearing, and the notice must allow at least 14 days to pay.

You have 14 days from receiving that notice to submit a written request for an informal hearing. If you request one, the association may not terminate anything until the committee conducts the hearing and enters a final decision. 

If service is terminated and you then pay, the association must take immediate action to reinstate it.

Every deadline on this page also appears in Deadlines and Thresholds. If the association will not hold the hearing the statute requires, read Advisory Opinions and Where To Take a Problem.

Reviewed against the Utah Code, current as of September 9, 2026.