Indiana Condo Act vs HOA Act: Which Law Governs Your Community

Indiana Condo Act vs HOA Act: Which Law Governs Your Community

Indiana does not have a comprehensive homeowners association statute like many states do. Instead, the state applies different legal frameworks depending on whether your community is a condominium, a planned community, or a traditional covenant controlled subdivision. This patchwork approach means you must first determine what type of association you operate before you can identify which body of law applies to your decisions.

The Indiana Condominium Act

Condominiums in Indiana are governed by the Indiana Condominium Act, codified at Indiana Code Title 32, Article 25. This statute defines a condominium as a form of ownership in which individual units are owned separately and common areas are owned jointly by all unit owners. If your declaration of condominium was recorded under this act, your association must follow its requirements for meetings, voting, assessments, and amendments.

The Condominium Act requires that your declaration specify the percentage interest each unit holds in the common areas, the method for calculating assessments, and the voting thresholds for major decisions. Indiana Code 32-25-6-2 sets default rules for board elections and meeting notice if your declaration is silent. Your association must give unit owners at least 10 days written notice of any meeting at which assessments will be increased or the declaration will be amended.

A concrete example: the Carmel Creek Condominiums in Carmel attempted to raise assessments by 18 percent in 2019 without following the notice procedure in their declaration. Unit owners challenged the increase, and the board was forced to re vote after providing proper notice. The delay created a three month gap in planned roof repairs and cost the association an additional $12,000 in contractor scheduling fees.

Planned Communities and Nonprofit Corporation Law

Many Indiana residential communities are not condominiums but planned developments or subdivisions governed by covenants, conditions, and restrictions. These associations typically incorporate as Indiana nonprofit corporations under Indiana Code Title 23, Article 17. The Indiana Nonprofit Corporation Act governs board elections, officer duties, member voting rights, and dissolution procedures.

If your community incorporated as a nonprofit, your board must follow Indiana Code 23-17-13 for annual meetings, Indiana Code 23-17-14 for voting rules, and Indiana Code 23-17-16 for amendments to your articles of incorporation. Your declaration of covenants remains the primary governing document, but the nonprofit statute fills gaps where the declaration is silent.

More than 60 percent of Indiana homeowner associations operate under this nonprofit framework rather than the Condominium Act. The distinction matters because nonprofit law does not impose the same notice requirements or voting thresholds that condo law does. Your bylaws control most procedural questions.

What Happens When You Choose the Wrong Framework

Applying the wrong body of law can invalidate board actions and expose your association to liability. If you treat a condominium as a simple nonprofit and ignore the Condominium Act's notice rules, your assessment increases and rule amendments may be unenforceable. If you apply condo procedures to a planned community that incorporated as a nonprofit, you may impose stricter requirements than your governing documents actually demand.

The Indiana Attorney General's office does not regulate HOAs or condos the way some states do. Instead, disputes are resolved through county courts under contract law principles. A court will look at your recorded declaration, your articles of incorporation, and the relevant statute to determine whether your board acted within its authority. This means you cannot rely on an administrative agency to clarify ambiguous language in your documents. You must get it right from the start.

How to Determine Which Law Applies to Your Association

Pull your declaration and articles of incorporation. Check whether the declaration uses the term "condominium" and references the Indiana Condominium Act. If it does, you are governed by Indiana Code Title 32, Article 25. Check whether your articles of incorporation list your entity type as an Indiana nonprofit corporation. If they do, you must comply with Indiana Code Title 23, Article 17 in addition to your declaration.

If your documents do not clearly specify, review the property deed and plat map. Condominium ownership is recorded differently than fee simple ownership in a planned community. In a condo, each unit owner holds a deed to their individual unit and an undivided interest in the common areas. In a planned community, each owner holds a deed to their lot and the association holds title to the common areas.

Indiana counties with high concentrations of planned communities include Hamilton County, which contains more than 200 covenant controlled subdivisions in the Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville areas. Many of these associations were formed between 2000 and 2015 during the housing boom. If your association was created during that period, review your formation documents carefully to confirm which statute applies.

What You Should Do Now

Schedule a document review session with your board. Collect your declaration, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and any amendments. Identify which statute your association was formed under and confirm that your current procedures match the requirements of that statute. If you discover that your board has been applying the wrong framework, create a corrective action plan and notify members of any procedural changes.

Consult your attorney for your specific situation. An attorney can review your governing documents, confirm which body of law applies, and recommend amendments if your declaration or bylaws contain gaps or ambiguities. Indiana law allows associations to amend their declarations and bylaws, but the amendment process differs between condos and planned communities.

Manorway's AI assisted platform helps you organize your governing documents, track which statute applies to specific decisions, and maintain a record of compliance actions. When your board uses a centralized system to store declarations, bylaws, and legal opinions, you reduce the risk of applying the wrong framework and create a clear audit trail for future boards.