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

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

Tennessee does not have a single comprehensive statute that governs all homeowner associations the way states like Florida or California do. Instead, condominiums in Tennessee operate under the Tennessee Horizontal Property Act, codified in Tennessee Code Annotated sections 66-27-101 through 66-27-404. Traditional homeowner associations that are not condominiums follow their governing documents, common law principles of contract and property, and oversight from the Tennessee Attorney General's office when disputes involve consumer protection or fraud.

This division creates confusion for boards and members who assume a single state law applies to every community. Your first task is to determine whether your community is a condominium under the Horizontal Property Act or a non condominium homeowner association that operates outside that statutory framework. The distinction affects everything from amendment procedures to lien priority to board election rules.

What the Horizontal Property Act Covers

The Tennessee Horizontal Property Act applies exclusively to condominiums. A condominium is a form of ownership in which you own an individual unit and hold an undivided interest in the common elements. The declaration filed with the county register of deeds creates the condominium and subjects all units to the Act.

Under the Horizontal Property Act, your declaration must include specific content: a legal description of the land, the number and identifying data of each unit, the percentage of undivided interest in the common elements allocated to each unit, and the bylaws of the council of co owners. Your board of directors is the council of co owners, and the Act grants that council authority to adopt rules, collect assessments, and enforce covenants.

The Act also prescribes voting thresholds for amendments. Amendments to the declaration require the consent of at least 80 percent of unit owners unless the declaration specifies a different threshold. This statutory default protects minority owners from unilateral changes but creates a high bar for necessary modifications. If your condominium was created in the 1970s or 1980s, check whether your declaration allows a lower threshold such as 67 percent or 75 percent. Many older declarations do.

Lien priority is another area where the Horizontal Property Act provides specific rules. When your association records a lien for unpaid assessments, the lien is subordinate to a first mortgage but has priority over subsequent liens and judgments. This structure protects lenders and gives your association a stronger collection position than most unsecured creditors.

What Applies to Non Condominium HOAs

If your community is not a condominium, no Tennessee statute equivalent to the Horizontal Property Act applies. Your association is governed by the declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions, the articles of incorporation if the association is incorporated, the bylaws, and any rules adopted by the board. These documents are interpreted under Tennessee common law principles of contract and property.

Tennessee courts have held that restrictive covenants in HOA declarations are enforceable if they are reasonable, not contrary to public policy, and properly recorded. The Tennessee Supreme Court has stated that covenants that touch and concern the land run with the land and bind all subsequent owners who have notice. This means your association can enforce architectural standards, use restrictions, and assessment obligations against all members, not just those who signed the original declaration.

Amendment procedures for non condominium HOAs depend entirely on what your declaration and bylaws say. Many declarations require a supermajority of owners, such as 67 percent or 75 percent, to approve amendments. If your documents are silent on amendments, Tennessee common law may require unanimous consent, which is nearly impossible to obtain in a large community. Review your amendment provisions now to confirm what vote threshold applies.

Lien enforcement for non condominium HOAs follows Tennessee's general lien and foreclosure statutes. Your association can record a lien for unpaid assessments, but the lien does not automatically have priority over other liens except mechanics' liens filed after your association's lien. Foreclosing on a lien requires a judicial process unless your declaration grants the association a power of sale, which is rare in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Attorney General's office has authority to investigate consumer fraud and unfair business practices, including HOA disputes involving deceptive practices or misappropriation of funds. While the Attorney General does not have specific statutory oversight of HOAs the way some state real estate commissions do, the office can intervene when a board's conduct crosses the line into fraud or breach of fiduciary duty.

A Local Example from Memphis

A concrete example illustrates the practical difference. The Chickasaw Oaks Homeowners Association in Memphis, a non condominium development built in 1998, attempted to amend its declaration in 2019 to increase annual assessments by 50 percent. The declaration required a 75 percent owner vote to amend. The board collected ballots and announced that 76 percent of owners approved the amendment.

Several owners challenged the vote, claiming that the board counted ballots from vacant lots that had reverted to the original developer, who had sold the lots years earlier without transferring HOA membership. The owners argued that counting developer controlled ballots inflated the approval percentage. The dispute went to Shelby County Circuit Court, where the judge ruled that the declaration defined membership based on ownership of improved lots, not vacant land. The court invalidated the amendment and ordered a new vote. The association spent over 30,000 dollars in legal fees and did not secure the assessment increase until 2021.

This case shows the risk of ambiguity in governing documents. Because Tennessee has no comprehensive HOA statute that defines membership, voting rights, or quorum, your declaration and bylaws control. If those documents are unclear, you face litigation risk and expense.

How to Determine Which Framework Applies to Your Community

Pull your community's declaration from the county register of deeds. Read the first page and the section that describes the form of ownership. If the declaration uses the term "condominium," cites the Tennessee Horizontal Property Act, or describes units with undivided interests in common elements, your community is a condominium governed by the Act.

If the declaration describes lots, homes, or parcels without the term "condominium," your community is a non condominium HOA. Check whether the declaration is labeled "Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions" or "Restrictive Covenants." These terms indicate a traditional HOA that operates under common law and governing documents, not the Horizontal Property Act.

Once you identify the framework, compare your association's current practices to the requirements in your governing documents. Review whether your board election procedures match the bylaws, whether your amendment votes meet the threshold in the declaration, and whether your lien enforcement follows the correct legal path.

What Your Board Must Do Now

Schedule a review of your governing documents with your association's attorney. Bring a list of questions: Does the Horizontal Property Act apply? What vote threshold is required to amend the declaration? What lien priority does the association have? What procedures must the board follow to adopt rules or increase assessments?

Document your findings in a written memo that you distribute to the board and file in your association's records. If your community is a condominium, confirm that your declaration was properly recorded and includes all elements required by the Horizontal Property Act. If your community is a non condominium HOA, identify any gaps or ambiguities in your governing documents that could lead to disputes.

Create a compliance checklist for recurring board actions. For example, if your bylaws require 10 days' notice of meetings, add that deadline to your calendar. If your declaration requires a reserve study every three years, set a reminder. Consult your attorney for your specific situation to ensure that your practices align with both your governing documents and Tennessee common law.

If your documents are outdated or incomplete, consider whether an amendment is necessary. Many Tennessee HOAs operate under declarations written in the 1980s or 1990s that lack modern provisions for electronic voting, email notice, or remote meetings. Updating these provisions requires a member vote, but the investment protects your board from future challenges.

How Manorway Supports Tennessee Boards

Manorway's AI assisted platform helps you organize your governing documents, track compliance deadlines, and maintain a record of board actions. You can upload your declaration, bylaws, and rules into a single repository that all board members can access. When your attorney advises you of a specific requirement, you can log that requirement in Manorway and set reminders for recurring compliance tasks.

The platform also generates meeting agendas, records votes, and produces minutes that document your decisions. When a dispute arises about whether the board followed proper procedure, you have a complete audit trail that shows the board acted within its authority. This documentation is valuable in Tennessee, where the absence of a comprehensive HOA statute means courts rely heavily on your association's internal records to resolve disputes.

Manorway does not replace legal advice. The platform assists with organization and documentation, but final decisions about compliance and interpretation rest with your board and your attorney. When you combine professional counsel with a structured platform for record keeping, you reduce the risk of procedural errors and increase member confidence in your board's transparency.