People hear "HOA" and assume it means an organization that automatically has power over your property. But an HOA doesn't get its authority from existing, from calling itself an HOA, or from filing paperwork with the state. Its authority comes from one specific place: recorded deed restrictions that name the association and grant it specific powers.

Here's how it's supposed to work: A developer creates a subdivision and records a document called a Declaration (also called CC&Rs or deed restrictions) with the county. That document attaches to every lot and binds all future owners — it "runs with the land." If the developer wants an HOA to manage the subdivision, the Declaration names that entity and spells out exactly what it can do: collect assessments, place liens, enforce rules. The HOA then files articles of incorporation with the state to establish itself as a legal entity — but the articles alone don't give it power over your property. The recorded Declaration does.

Think of it as a chain: recorded restrictions → name the association → grant it specific powers. If any link in that chain is missing, the association is just a nonprofit corporation — a club. It can collect voluntary dues from its members, organize events, and adopt internal rules. But it cannot compel non-members to pay, place liens on property, or enforce rules against people who never agreed to join.