Indiana Homeowners Fixed Their Violations And Were Never Fined, Then Found Legal Fees On Their HOA Accounts, And One Owner Says Neighbors Were Charged $400 A Letter Over A Garage Trim And A Tree

Jennifer Kendall got two letters from her homeowners association. One said the trim on her garage needed paint. The other, this spring, said a tree in her yard needed pruning.

An elevated view of a suburban street lined with houses and green trees.

She fixed both. She was never fined. Then she found legal fees posted to her account.

Current Publishing reported the story in its piece on the Westfield HOA legal fee pushback. Residents of the Countryside neighborhood in Westfield, Indiana, are unhappy that the HOA hired a law firm to draft covenant violation notices and then billed individual homeowners for the letters, even when the problem was fixed on time.

“I Got Lucky. They Only Charged Me $352.90.”

Countryside includes about 1,100 homes off Spring Mill Road and 161st Street. Kendall, who recently sold her home and moved out of state, says her first notice came in November 2025 and her second this spring.

After she found the fees on her account, she says she saw social media posts from other residents complaining about the same thing.

“I got lucky. They only charged me $352.90,” she said. “They’ve been charging everybody like $400 a pop, for each letter, which is why some people owe thousands, depending on how many violation (notices) they had.”

A Neighbor Says Owners Paid “Hundreds, Or Sometimes Over $1,000”

Resident John Grove wrote a letter to the board this summer, and shared it with his permission for the story. He described the board’s July 14 letter, written by Stephanie M. Davis of the law firm Kovitz, Shifrin, & Nesbit.

He wrote that he then learned the board had been using the firm to draft and send the first covenant-violation letters and “immediately passing on the attorney fees for this service to the homeowner.”

The result, he wrote, was homeowners being told of a violation, fixing it in the stated time, facing no fine or legal action, “and yet still being charged hundreds, or sometimes over $1,000, in attorney fees posted directly to their account balance.”

Grove argued the practice violates the HOA’s own covenants and Indiana law. He wrote that state law requires initial steps before an HOA can start legal proceedings and that each side pays its own legal fees during those steps.

The Board Says The Old Manager Never Sent A Single Violation Letter

The Countryside HOA board answered questions from Current by email. It said the association began referring violations to legal counsel in late 2024 into early 2025, after learning that its former management company had not been sending any violation letters at all.

“As a result, the property was falling into disrepair, which hurts property values for every owner,” the board stated. It said it ended that company’s contract at the end of 2024 for these and other performance issues.

During the switch to a new management company, the board asked its lawyers to issue the letters so the backlog would be handled quickly. The board said many violations were fixed promptly as a result, and argued that the covenants let the HOA recover attorney fees spent to compel compliance.

It said homeowners were charged about $260 per violation notice, roughly one hour of attorney time. That is lower than the $400 figure Kendall describes, and the two accounts differ.

Two Free “Courtesy Letters” Now Come Before Any Lawyer

Portions of the Indiana Homeowners Association Act changed in July 2026. That change, along with homeowner feedback, led the board to update its policy in late September.

“Under the updated policy, owners receive two courtesy warning letters from management at no charge, each with 30 days to fix the issue,” the board’s email stated. “An owner who fixes a violation during the courtesy period pays nothing.”

If a matter is still unresolved after both notices, the board reviews it and decides whether to refer it to counsel. Owners have the right to a hearing before the board, and later can request mediation or arbitration. The board says the policy is consistent with the grievance process in the Indiana Homeowners Association Act.

Residents Still Want Their Money Back

Grove told the board that, to avoid future litigation, it should consider refunding attorney fees tied to violation notices. He added that the attorney should refund those fees to the association.

Kendall sold her house before the policy changed. She called the new rules a step in the right direction, but says refunds should follow.

“That’s what should have been happening all along,” she said of the courtesy letters. “I’ve moved out, but a lot of people are still there, and they are not willing to give anybody any refunds whatsoever, or take (attorney fees) off of their account. They need to refund us those legal fees because what they did was not legal.”

The HOA did not respond to a follow-up question about whether it would consider refunds.

How To Protect Yourself From Surprise HOA Fees

Whether or not you live in Indiana, this dispute offers a handy checklist. These are general tips, and your own covenants and state law control.

Read your HOA’s covenants and fee schedule, and look for language on who pays when a violation notice is sent.
When you receive a notice, respond in writing and keep a copy, along with photos showing the fix and the date.
Check your account balance regularly. Kendall found her fees only after the problem was already fixed.
Ask whether your HOA offers courtesy warnings and how long you have to correct a problem before a lawyer gets involved.
Use the hearing, mediation or arbitration options your association offers before paying a disputed charge.
Ask your state’s HOA statute whether it has changed recently. In Indiana, parts of the law shifted in July 2026.

A fixed garage trim and a pruned tree should be the end of the story. For some Countryside neighbors, it was only the start of a bill.

Willow and Hearth