Toporowski Law represents homeowners associations, condominium associations, and their boards of managers across New York. We help boards collect what owners owe, enforce the governing documents, resolve disputes with developers and vendors, and defend the association when an owner or an injured party sues. We work for the association and the board, not for individual owners pursuing claims against their association, so the firm is never on both sides of these disputes.
If you are a volunteer board member or a property manager, you did not sign up to read the declaration line by line, chase down a non-paying owner, or sit across from a developer’s lawyers. That is our job. As an experienced HOA attorney and condominium association attorney, we give boards plain answers about their options, what each one costs in time and money, and what outcome is realistic, so the board can make a decision and get back to running the community.
The firm is based in Albany and serves associations throughout the state, from the Capital Region to the Hudson Valley and New York City. We have represented condominium and homeowners associations in disputes with developers, in recovering delinquent assessments, and in defending boards against owner claims and liability suits. Below is how we help, grouped by the problems boards bring to us most often.
Collecting Delinquent Dues, Common Charges & Special Assessments
When owners stop paying, the shortfall lands on everyone else and on the budget the board has to balance. Our HOA collections work runs from the first demand through judgment: demand letters, payment agreements where they make sense, filing and perfecting liens against the non-paying unit or lot, and foreclosing on a lien when an owner simply will not pay. We also obtain money judgments for the unpaid balance, late fees, and the costs the governing documents allow the association to recover, and pursue collection on them.
The tools available depend on the type of association. For a condominium, the board generally has both a statutory and a contractual right to lien a unit for unpaid common charges under the New York Condominium Act (Real Property Law Article 9-B) and the declaration. For a homeowners association, there is no equivalent statute; the lien and collection remedies come only from the recorded declaration and CC&Rs, and some older or thinly drafted declarations grant weak rights or none at all. We review your documents first and tell you plainly what remedies you actually have before you commit to legal fees.
We are also candid about what a foreclosure can realistically recover. A condominium’s common-charge lien is generally subordinate to a first mortgage and to certain taxes, so foreclosing the lien does not wipe out the bank’s mortgage, and the money the association can actually collect depends on the unit’s equity and any senior liens. We tell the board when foreclosure is worth pursuing, when a money judgment or payment plan is the smarter path, and when an owner is too far underwater to chase.
Enforcing the Governing Documents, Covenants & CC&Rs
A declaration, set of CC&Rs, bylaws, and rules only protect a community if the board can enforce them. When an owner ignores them, we help the board respond proportionately, escalating only as far as the situation requires.
Our covenant and CC&R enforcement work covers architectural and use violations, unauthorized alterations and construction, short-term rental and occupancy violations, nuisance conduct, and the everyday breaches over pets, parking, and signage. The path usually starts with a clear violation notice and, where the documents allow, fines and the suspension of privileges, and it ends, when it has to, in court with an action to compel compliance or undo an improper change.
Where an owner is building or altering something without approval, we can move quickly to seek emergency and injunctive relief to stop the work before it is finished and far harder to reverse. Enforcing the rules evenly also protects the board from a later claim of selective or discriminatory enforcement, and we keep that exposure in view at every step.
Amending, Updating & Interpreting Governing Documents
Many governing documents are decades old, contradict each other, or no longer fit how the community actually operates. We review the declaration, bylaws, and rules, tell the board in plain terms what they require, and draft amendments and updated rules that hold up.
That includes modernizing outdated provisions such as rental restrictions, architectural review standards, fine schedules, and assessment and reserve rules; fixing ambiguous or unenforceable language; and adding rules the original documents never contemplated. Amendments generally have to follow the approval and owner-vote procedures in the documents themselves and applicable law, and we walk the board through those requirements and the recording steps so a change is done correctly the first time.
When the board needs an answer before it acts, or when owners and the board disagree about what a provision means, we provide a clear interpretation, so a difficult vote, assessment, or enforcement decision rests on solid ground rather than a guess about what the declaration permits.
Developer Transition, Turnover & Construction-Defect Claims
When control of a new association passes from the sponsor or developer to an owner-elected board, the new board often inherits problems it did not create: incomplete work, defective construction, missing reserves, and documents drafted to favor the developer. This is one of the most consequential moments in an association’s life.
We represent associations through developer transition and turnover. We help the new board secure the books, records, reserves, and control it is entitled to, assess what it was actually handed, and pursue the developer and the responsible contractors for construction defects, unfinished common elements, and underfunded reserves.
These claims can be time-sensitive, and the ability to pursue the developer can erode the longer a board waits. A board that suspects defects or an incomplete turnover should get advice early rather than after the window has narrowed.
Vendor & Contractor Disputes and Defending the Association
Associations sign contracts with management companies, landscapers, snow-removal services, and construction and repair firms, and not all of them perform. We pursue and defend disputes over defective work, non-performance, and overbilling, and we review agreements before the board signs so the association is protected from the start.
We also defend the association and its board when they are the ones being sued. That includes owner lawsuits challenging board decisions, fines, assessments, and elections, as well as personal-injury and premises-liability claims arising on common property. We coordinate with the association’s insurer on covered claims and step in directly where coverage is disputed or unavailable, with the goal of resolving the matter efficiently and protecting the board members individually.
Board Governance, Elections & Fiduciary Duties
Most board disputes are governance disputes, and the board’s authority depends on doing things the right way. We advise boards on day-to-day governance so decisions stand up if they are ever questioned, and so individual members are protected when they act in good faith.
We counsel boards on running valid elections and meetings, providing proper notice, handling quorum and voting questions and owner records requests, and understanding the fiduciary duties each member owes the association. When conflict breaks out, whether among board members, between the board and a faction of owners, or over a contested election, we help resolve it and, where necessary, litigate the dispute, including seeking emergency relief when a situation cannot wait.
Condominium and HOA Formation: Developer and Sponsor Representation
We also represent developers and sponsors creating new condominium and homeowners-association communities. In New York, before a sponsor can market or sell units, the offering plan must be submitted to and accepted for filing by the New York State Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau under the Martin Act.
We help sponsors prepare and file offering plans and amendments, structure the governing documents that will run the community, and work through the Attorney General’s review to acceptance for filing. Having handled offerings from the sponsor side and the disputes that can follow turnover to an owner board, we understand how the documents drafted at the start shape the years that come after.
Why Toporowski Law
Toporowski Law is led by founder Matthew A. Toporowski, a commercial litigator, former prosecutor, and former appellate law clerk. Matt litigates and tries cases in state and federal courts throughout New York, as well as in arbitration. He is admitted in New York and Pennsylvania.
The bulk of Matt’s HOA and condominium work is representing association boards in litigation, most often against the developers, contractors, and vendors who fall short, on commercial claims like breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as enforcing the governing documents against owners who violate them. He has also worked the sponsor side, helping developers create condominium offerings and bring them through the New York Attorney General’s offering-plan process, experience that helps him read, and challenge, developer-drafted documents when he represents a board.
When you hire this firm, you work directly with the attorney handling your matter, not a rotating cast of associates. Board members and managers get direct access, straight answers, and fast responses, because a board operating on volunteer time cannot wait days for a call back.
We are honest about your options, including when a payment plan, a settlement, or a negotiated fix serves the association better than a fight in court. With local roots in Albany and reach across New York, we are close enough to know the local courts and equipped to represent your association from the Capital Region to the Hudson Valley to New York City.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the firm represent associations and boards, or individual homeowners?
We represent the association and its board, the entity side. We act for the HOA, the condominium association, and the board of managers on collections, enforcement, governance, and defense. We do not represent individual owners bringing claims against their own association, which keeps the firm from being on both sides of these disputes.
How does an association collect unpaid dues or common charges?
It usually starts with a formal demand. If the owner still does not pay, the association can often record a lien against the unit or lot and, where appropriate, foreclose on that lien or sue for a money judgment. A condominium’s right to lien for unpaid common charges is both statutory and contractual; a homeowners association’s lien rights come only from its declaration, so they vary. We review your documents, handle each step, and advise the board on whether foreclosure, a judgment, or a payment plan is the better outcome in a given case.
How fast can we act against an owner doing unauthorized construction?
Quickly, when the situation warrants it. Where an owner starts unauthorized work or a violation that will be hard to undo, we can seek emergency and injunctive relief to stop the work or compel compliance while the dispute is resolved. The sooner the board involves counsel, the more options it has.
Where in New York does the firm represent associations?
We work with HOAs and condominium associations across the state. Our home base is Albany, and we regularly represent associations throughout the Capital Region, the Hudson Valley, and the New York City area.
Talk to a New York HOA & Condominium Attorney
If your board is facing delinquent assessments, a problem owner, a developer that left work unfinished, or a lawsuit against the association, we can help you decide what to do next. Reach out to discuss your community and your options.
Attorney Advertising. This website is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Toporowski Law, PLLC, 150 State Street, Albany, NY 12207.
From our blog: Collecting Unpaid Common Charges: A Guide for Condo & HOA Boards
