Highlights
- Arizona HOAs can no longer foreclose on a home over unpaid assessments below $10,000, up from the prior $1,200 threshold.
- Homeowners now have a statutory right to install shade structures such as gazebos, umbrellas, or canopies regardless of HOA rules.
- New laws also require HOAs to act reasonably and without favoritism, and to give prospective buyers upfront fee and assessment disclosures.
- Phoenix attorney Jonathan Dessaules says collection charges, not base assessments, remain the primary driver of HOA-related foreclosures and are not addressed by the new statutes.
Arizona homeowners gained a set of new legal protections against their homeowners associations this week, including a sharply higher bar for HOA-initiated foreclosures and an explicit right to install shade structures on their own property.
The most consequential change raises the foreclosure threshold from $1,200 to $10,000 in unpaid assessments. Under the prior rule, an HOA could initiate foreclosure proceedings over a relatively modest delinquency. The new threshold gives homeowners significantly more runway before losing their homes over missed dues.
A separate provision grants homeowners the right to install shade structures, including gazebos, umbrellas, and canopies, regardless of HOA restrictions. The shade-structure law has drawn attention across the state; Tucson.com and LegalClarity both covered the package as it took effect.
The legislature also codified a duty for HOAs to act reasonably and without favoritism in architectural and landscaping decisions. Phoenix attorney Jonathan Dessaules, who represents homeowners in HOA disputes, said the provision gives legal counsel a concrete tool when advising association boards. "This gives lawyers who counsel associations the opportunity to put this on a piece of paper in front of board members and say, 'Hey, next time you make a decision on architecture or landscaping, keep this in mind. The jury is going to see this statute,'" Dessaules said.
Additional provisions require HOA communities to give prospective buyers information about fees and assessments before closing, and extend the time homeowners have to pay overdue bills before facing collection action.
Dessaules said the package is a step forward but does not reach what he considers the core problem. "It's not the assessments that are driving people to foreclosure, not the assessments driving people to massive delinquencies; it's the collection charges, the incredibly excessive and unnecessary collection charges in many cases. That's not what's addressed in current statutes," he said. He is calling for additional legislation that would limit the types of fees and fines HOAs can impose.
For Scottsdale and Paradise Valley property owners, the changes are directly relevant: both cities have dense HOA coverage across master-planned communities, and the Scottsdale HOA regulatory landscape operates under the same Arizona Revised Statutes framework now being updated.
Dessaules said he expects the new laws to make a measurable difference but plans to push for further reforms in the next legislative session.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- AZ Family (3TV/CBS5) retrieved 16/09/2026 03:53
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 16/09/2026 03:53. Every claim traces to a source.
