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How to Set HOA Dues and Build a Budget Neighbors Will Accept

By Tanika Hall · October 2026 · 3 min read

Raising dues is the fastest way for a volunteer board to become unpopular. Not raising them when you should is the fastest way to end up with a special assessment nobody saw coming. The way through is a budget simple enough that any homeowner can follow the math.

Step 1: List what you actually spend

Pull last year's bank statements and sort every payment into a few buckets: landscaping, insurance, utilities for common areas, management or bookkeeping, legal, pool or amenity costs, repairs and supplies.

Step 2: Adjust for what's changing

Call your insurance agent and landscaper before you budget, not after. Insurance and contracts are usually the line items that move the most.

Step 3: Add the reserve contribution

Reserves pay for the big things that wear out on a schedule: roofs on shared buildings, paving, the pool, fences. Each one has a cost and a remaining life. Divide the cost by the years left and that's roughly what to set aside each year. A reserve study does this properly.

Step 4: Add a small contingency

Something always comes up. A few percent of the operating budget keeps a surprise from becoming a special assessment.

Step 5: Divide by the number of homes

Total expenses, plus reserves and contingency, minus other income (like late fees or clubhouse rentals), divided by the number of homes. Check your declaration first. Some split costs evenly and some by lot size or another formula. Georgia's POA Act also lets the declaration assign certain special assessments to the lots that benefit or caused the cost.

What you have to show owners

If your association is under the Georgia POA Act, the annual meeting has to include budget projections. Starting January 1, 2027, the new owners' bill of rights law also lets owners request the finalized balance sheet, budget, profit and loss statements and bank statements for the past three years. Associations can't refuse an owner's payment, and payments have to be applied in order: regular assessments first, then special, then specific assessments, then fees and fines.

If you'd hand your budget to any owner who asks, you're in good shape.

How to present an increase

• Show the line items that went up and why, with the quotes.
• Show the alternative: what a special assessment would cost each home if you don't build reserves.
• Give owners the numbers before the meeting, not during it.

General information for Georgia property owners, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Rules change, so check the official source or a professional before you act.