Neighborhood and Homeowners Associations
What is a Neighborhood Association?
A neighborhood association is a voluntary organization of residents who work together
to improve and maintain the quality of life in their neighborhood. Associations can form
out of concern over a particular issue, or as a means of enhancing the "sense of
community" in the neighborhood.
Features of a Neighborhood Association:
- Membership is open to all residents in the neighborhood but participation is optional;
boundaries are established by the association (usually 40 - 400 households)
- Dues are voluntary
- There is no legal authority to enact or enforce maintenance or design requirements
beyond those established by City ordinances
- To ensure a visibly democratic process, the organization establishes formal or informal
bylaws to provide for at least one general membership meeting per year and require an
annual election of officers
- Associations create their own newsletters (NO advertising or political campaigning),
which the Neighborhood Services Division duplicates and mails to all households in the area.
- Association position statements are reached through consensus; any dissenting statements
are also attached and sent to the City.
If you would like to know whether you live within a neighborhood association area, or
would like information on how to form an association, please contact the
Neighborhood Services Division at 480-350-8234 or neighborhoods@tempe.gov.
What is a Homeowners Association?
Homeowners associations, unlike neighborhood associations, are formal legal entities
created to maintain common areas and enforce private deed restrictions (CC&R's). Most
condominium and townhome developments and some newer single-family subdivisions have
homeowners associations, which are usually created when the development is built.
Features of a Homeowners Association:
- Membership is mandatory for all property owners within the boundaries of the development
- Members are usually charged mandatory fees
- Homeowners associations have the legal authority to enact and enforce maintenance and
design standards in addition to those established by City ordinances
- Homeowners associations are corporations with formal bylaws - there is usually a
governing board which hires a property management company to handle maintenance and
enforcement issues
- Many homeowners associations publish a newsletter, which is sent to members at the
association's expense
This web page does not contain listings for registered homeowners associations. For
information on currently registered associations, or registering a homeowners association
with the Neighborhood Services Division, contact us at
480-350-8234 or neighborhoods@tempe.gov.
Here are some links to organizations that provide information to homeowners
associations:
Note: These associations' web pages may solicit membership or subscriptions; the City
of Tempe does not necessarily endorse these organizations, we merely provide links to them
as sources of information for Tempe HOA's. The Chandler Public Library has a collection of
the CAI's written publications. If you know of other online sources of HOA-related
information, please contact Neighborhood Services.
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