03/09/2026
Reminder sa mga homeowners association…
Your homeowners’ association can penalize you for failing to pay your monthly dues. But it cannot turn the subdivision gate into a weapon against you.
The Supreme Court has drawn that line in a ruling involving homeowners who were barred from receiving certain deliveries, welcoming guests and even having taxis, tricycles and ride-hailing vehicles enter their subdivision because of unpaid association dues.
The case involved spouses Linley and Juvy Retirado, who failed to pay their monthly dues to La Costa Brava Homeowners’ Association, Inc. from 2016 to 2021.
The association declared them delinquent and imposed a series of sanctions.
These included reducing garbage collection, prohibiting food, package, appliance and gas deliveries to their home, preventing taxis, tricycles and ride-hailing vehicles from entering to pick them up, and barring guests from visiting them.
The association also prohibited grass-cutting or maintenance within five meters of their property and imposed fees on vehicles delivering supplies and construction materials.
The Retirados fought back.
They filed a complaint before the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission (HSAC), which found that the sanctions violated Republic Act No. 9904, or the Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners’ Associations.
The dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court.
YES, HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS CAN PENALIZE YOU
In a decision penned by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, the Supreme Court’s Third Division made clear that homeowners are not automatically free from consequences when they fail to pay association dues.
A homeowners’ association may impose sanctions on delinquent members when authorized by its bylaws.
But there is a limit.
Section 7(a) of RA 9904 gives homeowners two distinct rights: the right to enjoy basic community services and facilities, and the right to use common areas.
An association may restrict a delinquent homeowner’s access to certain community services and facilities. What it cannot do, the Court said, is take away that homeowner’s right to use common areas—including subdivision roads.
THE ROAD IS STILL YOURS TO USE
That distinction proved crucial.
By preventing delivery vehicles, public transportation, ride-hailing cars and guests from entering to reach the Retirados, the association was effectively restricting the couple’s use of subdivision roads.
The Supreme Court upheld the HSAC’s finding that these sanctions violated their rights.
This means being delinquent on association dues does not give a homeowners’ association unlimited power to isolate a homeowner inside a subdivision.
The ruling does not mean homeowners can simply stop paying dues without consequences. Associations retain the authority to collect dues and impose lawful sanctions under their bylaws.
But access to common roads is another matter.
OFFICERS PERMANENTLY DISQUALIFIED
The consequences were serious for the association officers involved.
The HSAC permanently disqualified the responsible officers from holding positions in the homeowners’ association—a penalty the Supreme Court allowed to stand.
The officers argued that their violations were not grave enough to justify permanent disqualification.
The Supreme Court disagreed.
Restricting access to subdivision roads for basic needs such as transportation and the delivery of goods caused “great harm and dangerous consequences,” according to the Court, making the violation serious and grave enough to justify permanent disqualification.
For homeowners and association officers across the country, the message is clear: unpaid dues can carry penalties.
But owing your homeowners’ association money does not mean it can block the road home.
(✍️: Top Dagohoy)
