Harnett County, NC HOA Rules: Assessment & Dues (2026)
Key Facts
- Unpaid dues remedy
- become a lien on the property
- HOA financial duties
- insurance, local taxes, open space upkeep
- Assessment adjustment
- HOA may adjust to meet changing needs
- Developer-owned lots
- developer pays fees like any owner
- Governing section
- § 153.138(H) and (G)
Summary
For developments the county requires to have a homeowners association, unpaid dues or fees become a lien on the individual property under section 153.138(H). The HOA also carries responsibility for liability insurance, local taxes, and maintenance of open space and recreational facilities, and can adjust assessments to meet changing needs.
(H) The homeowners association shall be responsible for liability insurance, payment of local taxes, and maintenance of recreational open space and other facilities. Any dues or fees levied by the homeowners association that remain unpaid, shall become a lien on the individual property. The homeowners association shall be able to adjust the assessment to meet changing needs.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-7: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through 11-18-2024; and State Legislation current through 2024 Legislative Service #2).
Full Breakdown
138 of the Unified Development Ordinance is the county's zoning-level standard for any subdivision development that includes a homeowners association, and subsection (H) is the specific assessment provision. It makes the HOA responsible for liability insurance, payment of local taxes, and maintenance of recreational open space and other shared facilities within the development. Critically, it states that any dues or fees levied by the homeowners association that remain unpaid become a lien on the individual property, giving the association a real-property remedy against a nonpaying owner rather than just a contract claim.
The same subsection also gives the HOA authority to adjust its assessment to meet changing needs, so the dues structure approved at the time of the final plat is not frozen if circumstances change. This assessment authority sits alongside subsection (G), which requires the developer or the development owner to pay all HOA-levied fees on any improved, platted lot it still owns, on the same basis as any other lot owner, so a developer can't dodge assessments on unsold inventory. 138 is a condition the county attaches at final plat review under subsection (A), which requires the recorded organizational papers and by-laws to be reviewed and approved by the Development Review Board, the lien and assessment-adjustment authority in (H) is baked into the HOA's governing documents before any lots are sold, not something the association adopts unilaterally later.
Violations & Fines
Section 153.138 itself does not set a separate civil penalty for HOA dues disputes; the lien remedy in subsection (H) is the enforcement mechanism against a nonpaying property owner. Failure by a developer to submit or follow the approved organizational papers and by-laws required at final plat review is a violation of the chapter's development approval requirements and can be addressed by the county under section 153.999.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I don't pay my HOA dues in a Harnett County subdivision?
Can a Harnett County HOA raise its assessments?
Does the developer pay HOA dues on unsold lots?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Harnett County
Compare Harnett County to another location·View the North Carolina hoa rules overview
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