This article originally appeared in the October 2025 edition of Quorum.

In communities across the country, a surprising new trend is quietly emerging: homeowners’ associations (HOAs) and condominium associations are exploring ways to dissolve.

Once seen as necessary to maintain property values, enforce community standards, and manage shared amenities, community associations are increasingly viewed as more of a burden than a benefit.

While dissolution remains rare and legally complex, the conversation is gaining traction. From micro communities to townhouse-style condo associations, boards are hearing a question that would have been unthinkable years ago: Can we just get rid of the association?

Why the Shift?

A combination of factors is driving interest in dissolution:

1. Aging Infrastructure and Deferred Maintenance

Many communities built 20, 30, and 40 years ago are now facing major capital expenses: roofs, retaining walls, paving, and plumbing. If a community lacks sufficient reserves and members aren’t willing or able to pay hefty special assessments, dissolving the association and turning over responsibility to individual owners begins to look like a desirable option.

2. Rising Costs

As operating costs like insurance, legal fees, and capital repair expenses continue to rise, smaller associations struggle to spread those costs over a limited number of lots or units. Homeowners facing sudden special assessments or steep assessment increases sometimes wonder whether eliminating the association might be cheaper in the long run.

3. Administrative Burnout

Associations rely on volunteer board members, who may have little to no experience managing budgets, enforcing rules, or complying with ever-changing state laws. In tight-knit communities with only a handful of units and no budget for professional management, the administrative workload can feel disproportionate to the community’s size and complexity (or lack thereof).

4. Conflict and Dysfunction

In some cases, dissolution discussions are born from chronic board dysfunction, homeowner disputes, or enforcement issues that have spiraled into legal battles and long-standing resentment. The idea of dismantling the association may stem from a desire to restore peace, even at the cost of shared governance.

The Legal and Practical Realities

Dissolving an HOA or condo association is not as simple as taking a vote and turning out the lights. In fact, it’s often extremely difficult—and for good reason.

In most states, dissolution of a condominium regime requires the unanimous consent of all unit owners and often the approval of mortgage lenders. That’s because condos are not just legal entities; they are a form of property ownership defined by statute, where shared walls, land, utilities, and structures are legally bound together.

Dissolving a condo regime typically involves converting each unit into separate parcels and dividing or managing formerly common elements like stairwells, driveways, and roofs.

HOAs, which govern planned communities of individually owned lots, may be somewhat easier to dissolve in some jurisdictions, but they still require navigating deed restrictions, land records, and complex corporate dissolution statutes.

Common property like roads, entrance monuments, or green space must be deeded, sold, or maintained by some other entity. Additionally, many local jurisdictions enact strict codes and statutes, making it nearly impossible for an HOA to dissolve.

Important Considerations Before Dissolution

There are serious potential risks involved in dissolving a community association: decreased property values resulting from no uniform standards, complex ownership and maintenance questions for shared infrastructure, and future legal costs if dissolution is challenged or improperly executed.

Some of the potential complications that must be considered are mortgage covenants requiring an active HOA; the implications of state and local statutes, insurance and maintenance issues with common areas, and legal liability if the common areas become neglected or hazardous.

Despite the innumerable hurdles in dissolving an HOA or condominium regime, there can be potential advantages: lower or no monthly assessments; relief from infighting, fines, and rule enforcement; reduced administrative burden for volunteers, and relative autonomy over property.

The Future: Reform or Exit?

Rather than full-scale dissolution, some associations are exploring minimalist restructuring, which involves scaling back rules, outsourcing management, or amending governing documents to reduce governance powers. Others are pushing for state-level reform to create clearer and easier dissolution pathways, particularly for small or defunct associations.

Legal scholars are also starting to explore the concept of “planned obsolescence” for HOAs and condos: setting a finite lifespan for the association from inception, particularly in developments without long-term amenities or infrastructure needs.

In the meantime, homeowners and boards considering dissolution should consult legal counsel early and weigh not only the costs of dissolution but also the risks of what comes after.

Conclusion

The ripple in HOA and condo dissolution discussions is not yet a wave, but it may signal growing dissatisfaction with outdated or overburdened community governance structures. As more associations grapple with aging infrastructure, legal complexity, and volunteer burnout, some may choose a dramatic path forward: opting out of the system altogether.

Whether that trend accelerates will depend on how courts, lenders, lawmakers, and homeowners themselves respond to one of the biggest questions a community can ask: What do we owe each other, and how should we manage it?

Read the full article in the October 2025 edition of Quorum.

Alana Bergner is a community associations attorney at Lerch, Early & Brewer. For more information, contact her at 301-907-2805 or acbergner@lerchearly.com.