Social Aspects Of Managing Homeowner Associations

Abstract

The article calls attention to homeowners associ ations (HOAs), which are becoming the dominant organizational form of housing development. It fo cuses on managing HOAs, especially on the social aspects and determinants of the process. The author claims that in order to understand how HOAs function, it is absolutely crucial to take social as pects under consideration. The members’ involvement, relations between the tenants and cultural norms infl uence the effectiveness of collective action. Those issues are especially important for professional prop erty managers. The aim of the article is to present social aspects of managing HOAs in Poland. The article presents the results of a study on the social aspects of HOA activity. It examines and compares three organizational models of HOAs in Poland. One of them is self-managing, with an active board of the association that operates without external help; this model requires a high level of volunteer commitment. The second model represents HOAs jointly managed by the board and a professional property mana ger; this type is heterogeneous – the allocation of tasks and relations between the two players vary according to the le vel of the board’s engagement. The last type represents a HOA that was not able to establish a bo ard, thus its role is pl ayed by a professional property manager. In all three types, both or ganizational structures and management methods depend on the level of the homeowners’ engagement . The study indicates such engagement factors. HOAs are characterized by their typical operations , decision-making processes, information flow, the roles played by the board of the association and prof essional property manager, the level of volunteer commitment and neighborhood ties. The study also indicates satisfaction factors in terms of the property manager’s service.