HOA board fights turn legal—and this startup steps in

TrueHOA brings – Jonathan Gropper says his HOA board rejected oversight, then removed him after he pushed for transparency. His experience—shared by neighbor Jonathan Waldman after election delays and disputed ballots—ended in a settlement he calls “HOA hell.” Now they’re bett

When Jonathan Gropper bought a condo in a historic Philadelphia building in 2012, he fell for the exposed wooden trusses, high ceilings, and other character. But charm didn’t fix what was happening underneath: the roof leaked, the lobby’s paint peeled, and the elevators kept breaking.

So Gropper did something many homeowners rarely do. He ran for the homeowners association (HOA) board and won. Once elected, he pushed for more board transparency, including bringing in a forensic CPA to review the books. He says the board refused. Then, through an internal vote, the board removed him and replaced him with a more “compliant” member.

Gropper questioned whether the association’s finances were being properly managed, pointing to rising fees, deterioration of the building, and inconsistent election practices.

Across the hall—or at least the next door—his neighbor, Jonathan Waldman, faced a different kind of disruption. In 2017, Waldman, a patent attorney, ran for the board too. He says the election results were delayed by months because of disputed ballots. When Waldman requested to see the results. the HOA allowed him to inspect the ballots only in the association’s attorney’s office. without a phone. notes. or legal counsel.

Waldman tallied the votes himself. By his count, he and a few other candidates had won seats. The board disagreed, citing issues such as illegible names and mismatches with property deeds.

Gropper, Waldman, and a few other neighbors sued—but they were trapped in a common HOA dilemma. HOA associations can often use reserve funds—and sometimes homeowner-paid special assessments—to finance their legal defense. If those funds run low, homeowners themselves may be charged special assessments to help cover the ongoing cost of litigation. In their case, it meant Waldman and Gropper were essentially paying their own HOA’s fees to fight them.

They eventually settled, calling the experience “HOA hell.”

For many homeowners, the fight isn’t theoretical. Roughly 78 million Americans—nearly one in four—live in communities governed by HOAs, according to industry data. HOAs have expanded rapidly: about 65.7% of new homes and 82% of recently sold homes are part of an HOA. Popularized in the 1960s as a way to protect property values and maintain neighborhood standards—sometimes in ways that discriminated against people of color—HOAs have evolved into a powerful layer of local governance.

In single-family home communities. HOAs handle common areas such as security gates. pools. and private roads. and they enforce restrictive covenants (CC&Rs) that govern the community. In HOA condominiums. the scope can be broader: the HOA owns the common areas. including the walls around each unit. and is responsible for maintenance that ranges from roofs and elevators to parking lots and more.

In theory, HOAs are run by volunteer neighbors who hire a property manager to help them oversee and maintain communities. In practice. critics say they can become mini monarchies—collecting fees. enforcing rules. and making decisions that directly affect homeowners’ finances and daily lives. Assessment fees are one of the flashpoints: if homeowners refuse to pay bills that can cost thousands of dollars. the HOA can fine them or even foreclose on them. Monthly HOA dues can also increase at any time.

The numbers back up how quickly those costs can bite. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the national median monthly HOA fee was $135, but about 3 million homeowners paid more than $500 per month. A 2025 national study of 1. 000 participants conducted by 2–10 Home Buyers Warranty found that half of respondents said their fees have increased. with 65% saying these hikes occur often. Another national survey of 1,000 participants by Platinum Home Builders & Design, Inc. found that 51% of homeowners made financial sacrifices to afford HOA fees—30% dipping into retirement funds and savings. and 19% reducing discretionary spending such as travel. home upgrades. or even essential repairs.

Among people living in HOAs, dissatisfaction can be persistent. In the 2–10 survey. 54% of people living in HOAs said they encountered challenges. and 70% said they would not buy in an HOA-run neighborhood again. Homeowners cited three main reasons for their unhappiness: inconsistent rule enforcement, poor communication, and excessive fees. In the same survey, 40% said their boards were unresponsive, leaving homeowners feeling unheard or that their opinions didn’t matter. In the other survey. 64% of homeowners said their HOA causes them day-to-day stress. including 17% who felt it impacted their daily moods or mental well-being.

Yet not everyone sees the HOA system as automatically broken. Howard Jacobson. a residential developer and builder who’s worked with condo and single-family HOAs for the past 20 years. cautions against assuming all HOAs are bad or corrupt. He says homeowners are often resistant to paying for maintenance and defer it until they can’t delay it any longer. Jacobson points to the 2021 Surfside condo collapse in Miami, where 98 people died after years of postponed structural work.

Jacobson argues that cases like Gropper and Waldman’s are the exception, not the rule. The bigger issue, he says, is lack of expertise and low participation. “Most people don’t want to serve on the board,” he says. “It’s a thankless job.”

At the same time, disputes aren’t always a sign of wrongdoing. “There will always be disputes when people live in proximity and are expected to meet certain obligations regarding their homes. ” says Allison Hertz. an attorney board-certified by the Florida Bar in Condominium and Planned Development law.

Gropper and Waldman say their experience showed how governance disputes can turn into something more destructive than disagreements over paint colors or landscaping—something that drains time. trust. and money. After their experience. they teamed up to build TrueHOA last year to help prevent HOA nightmare situations and resolve run-of-the-mill disputes like those Hertz describes.

TrueHOA is a platform designed to track and verify key parts of HOA governance. including elections. voting records. and board decisions. Instead of relying on paper ballots or internal processes controlled by a small board. it creates a digital trail covering voter eligibility. ballot submission. tallying. and election reports that homeowners can independently review. As Gropper puts it, “I’ve seen school trips that get more accountability than HOA elections.”.

The platform costs $6 per home annually, built into dues. It is already onboarding hundreds of communities across different states. One Miami case described by Gropper illustrates the stakes. Conflict broke out in an HOA over millions of dollars in proposed improvements: half the community felt the HOA was overspending. while the other half agreed the changes were good.

Then re-election came. Voting was conducted using a mix of e-voting and paper ballots dropped off at the management office. But when the entire incumbent board was re-elected despite significant community opposition, Gropper says trust was lost. The board tried to respond by saying the HOA’s law firm had operated the e-voting system. but Gropper says that brought little comfort to upset homeowners. who saw the attorney as acting in the board’s favor.

The board decided to switch to TrueHOA for their upcoming December 2026 election. so the results will be “irrefutable. ” in Gropper’s words. Through TrueHOA. the company says communities can also run community votes to measure homeowner sentiment for projects. accept community proposals for action items and ideas. and create a defensible audit trail for ongoing decisions.

Because HOAs are run by volunteer homeowners—many lacking the time or expertise to manage complex budgets and infrastructure—TrueHOA also created the Verified Governance Specialist certification. a free weekend course meant to help volunteer boards manage elections. communication. records. and decision-making more consistently and transparently.

“Volunteers don’t fail because they’re unqualified,” Gropper adds. “They fail because no one ever hands them a system. The certification is that system. It turns governance into something a part-time board member can actually run in a reliable manner.”

When elections and other decisions are challenged. Gropper says it creates war zones in communities that take an emotional and mental toll. “Companies don’t run like this, and this is a company,” he says of HOAs. “It’s one of those areas in the US that people just thought was a non-issue and just accepted it as a fact of life.”.

HOA homeowners association HOA fees special assessments HOA elections board transparency TrueHOA Jonathan Gropper Jonathan Waldman Philadelphia condo governance technology property management condominium law