> No different than any creditor There is a difference: you can incur a debt to the HOA under a much wider variety of circumstances than you can incur an ordin

> No different than any creditor There is a difference: you can incur a debt to the HOA under a much wider variety of circumstances than you can incur an ordinary debt. An ordinary debt is incurred as a result of a one-off transaction, usually in exchange for a specific good or service, and requires your specific consent. An HOA can impose a fine on you at any time for a wide variety of reasons, some of which may not have even been in place when you bought your house. > Any creditor can do that. I fail to see why you think the HOA is special in that regard. It isn't special in that regard. That's the whole point. There is no distinction between something being "illegal" and something being "against HOA policy". That's the whole point. The difference between an HOA and a regular creditor is not the enforcement mechanisms, it's the circumstances under which the debt is incurred in the first place. > > Joining an HOA is exactly the same as becoming a legal resident or naturalized citizen of a country. > Or signing a contract. Yes, but again, the salient difference is not the contract, it's the terms of the contract. What distinguishes HOA "contracts" and the "contracts" that govern legal residency and citizenship from ordinary run-of-the-mill contracts is that the terms of HOA/goernment "contracts" are specifically open-ended. You don't know what your actual obligations are under the terms of this "contract" because they can (and often do) change after the contract is signed. But the power to change the rules is asymmetric. The HOA and the government can change the rules. You can't. > criminal offences are processed differently to civil suits So what? What does that have to do with the fact that both HOAs and governments can change the rules mid-game? > HOA are not anywhere close to being some sort of government. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree about that.