Homeowner association

A homeowner association (or homeowners' association [HOA], sometimes referred to as a property owners' association [POA], common interest development [CID], or homeowner community) is a private, legally-incorporated organization that governs a housing community, collects dues, and sets rules for its residents. HOAs are most frequently available/operational/found in the United States, Japan, Canada and Australia and to some extent in other countries, such as New Zealand, Israel, Mauritius, South Africa, most of the countries of the European Union, such as Finland, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Sweden, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Estonia, Slovakia and Slovenia, and some of the Latin American countries, such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. They are formed either ipso jure (such as in a building with multiple owner-occupancies), or by a real estate developer for the purpose of marketing, managing, and selling homes and lots in a residential subdivision. The developer may transfer control of an HOA after selling a predetermined number of lots. These legal structures, while most common in residential developments, can also be found in commercial, industrial and mixed-use developments, in which context they are referred to as property owners' associations (POAs) or common interest developments (CIDs) instead of HOAs.

Internationally, one also finds concepts such as strata title (originating in Australia but since emulated by several other countries, including the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia), which are similar in principle to homeowner associations but have a different legal heritage.