Updated for 2026
This page is part of AMG’s Guide to North Carolina HOA laws. For communities composed of individually owned lots and homes, Chapter 47F of the North Carolina General Statutes, known as the Planned Community Act, is the statute with which most boards are familiar.
Association Management Group (AMG) prepared this guide for general informational purposes. AMG is a community association management firm, not a law firm, and this guide does not constitute legal advice. Statutes, and the court decisions interpreting them, change over time. Legal questions, and the final interpretation of any statute or of the governing documents, should be confirmed with qualified legal counsel.
In this guide, the term governing documents refers collectively to the association’s plat, articles of incorporation, bylaws, declaration, rules and regulations, and all policies adopted by the board or the membership.
Determining whether the Act applies
Chapter 47F applies in full to planned communities created on or after January 1, 1999, other than the small and nonresidential communities described below.
For a planned community created before that date, only a listed set of Chapter 47F sections applies, including sections on certain association powers, fines and suspensions, meetings, assessments, liens, association records, amendment of the declaration, and flags and political signs. Most of those sections do not apply if the community’s articles of incorporation or declaration expressly provide to the contrary, and the attorneys’ fees section, § 47F-3-120, applies regardless. The listed sections apply only to events and circumstances occurring on or after January 1, 1999, and do not invalidate existing provisions of the community’s declaration, bylaws, or plats and plans. The remainder of the Act does not apply to those communities unless they elect coverage.
An older planned community may bring itself under the entire Act by amending its declaration to state that Chapter 47F applies. The amendment requires the affirmative vote or written agreement of owners of lots holding at least 67 percent of the votes in the association, or any smaller majority the declaration specifies, and this statutory procedure controls over any conflicting amendment requirement in the declaration. A board resolution, or informal adherence to the Act, does not accomplish the election.
Certain communities fall outside Chapter 47F altogether. Under § 47F-1-102(b), the Act does not apply to a planned community created on or after January 1, 1999, that has no more than 20 lots (counting lots that may be added or created through development rights) or in which all lots are restricted exclusively to nonresidential purposes, unless its declaration provides, or is amended to provide, that the Act applies.
Where a community consists of units in a shared building rather than lots and homes, one of the condominium statutes is ordinarily the starting point. See the NC Condominium Act or the NC Unit Ownership Act. The date on which the community’s declaration was recorded generally determines which statute applies. For a planned community, how much of Chapter 47F applies also depends on whether an older community has elected coverage under the full Act and on what its articles of incorporation and declaration provide.
Scope of Chapter 47F
The Act addresses association powers, board authority, assessments and collection remedies, meetings, rule adoption, and certain owner protections, and it operates alongside the governing documents without replacing them. In many areas the Act supplies a default rule that may be varied to the extent the Act expressly permits, while in others its requirements cannot be varied.
Chapter 47F at a glance
| Topic | Section | Most useful when |
|---|---|---|
| Which communities the Act covers | § 47F-1-102 | It is unclear whether the Act applies, particularly in communities created before 1999 |
| Limits on varying the Act | § 47F-1-104 | The governing documents and the statute appear to conflict |
| Local ordinances and building codes | § 47F-1-106 | A project needs both association approval and a city or county permit |
| Eminent domain | § 47F-1-107 | Part of the common elements is being acquired by a government entity |
| Statutory amendment procedure | § 47F-2-117 | The community is considering a formal amendment |
| Association powers | § 47F-3-102 | The scope of the association’s authority to act is questioned |
| Board members and officers | § 47F-3-103 | A director wants the statutory description of the role |
| Budget ratification | § 47F-3-103(c) | The board has adopted a proposed budget and needs the owner-notice process |
| Bylaws | § 47F-3-106 | Existing bylaws are being reviewed against the statutory requirements |
| Maintenance responsibility | § 47F-3-107 | The question is who is responsible for a repair |
| Fines and suspensions | § 47F-3-107.1 | The board is considering a fine or a suspension of privileges |
| Meetings | § 47F-3-108 | A membership or board meeting is being planned or noticed |
| Quorums | § 47F-3-109 | The question is how many members or directors must be present |
| Voting and proxies | § 47F-3-110 | A member cannot attend and wants someone else to vote |
| Insurance | § 47F-3-113 | It is renewal season, or a coverage question has come up |
| Assessments | § 47F-3-115 | Shared costs, allocation, or the start of assessments are in question |
| Liens and enforcement | § 47F-3-116 | Unpaid assessments are being referred for collection |
| Association records | § 47F-3-118 | An owner has requested association records |
| Attorneys’ fees in enforcement actions | § 47F-3-120 | Enforcement litigation is under consideration, including whether fees may be recovered |
| Flags and political signs | § 47F-3-121 | A rule concerning flags or signage is being adopted or enforced |
Download a printable version of this reference for the board packet.
Not every section in this table applies to a planned community created before January 1, 1999. For those communities, the sections in this table that apply, subject to the limits described above, are §§ 47F-1-104, 47F-2-117, 47F-3-102 (in part), 47F-3-103(f), 47F-3-107(a) through (c), 47F-3-107.1, 47F-3-108, 47F-3-115, 47F-3-116, 47F-3-118, 47F-3-120, and 47F-3-121. The remaining sections, including those on budget ratification, quorums, and voting and proxies, apply to those communities only if they have elected coverage under the full Act.
Fines and suspensions
Before an association imposes a fine or suspends a privilege, the governing documents and the Act generally call for a notice-and-hearing process, and § 47F-3-107.1 is the statutory source of that process. The required content of the notice, the body that hears the matter, and the sanctions that may be imposed are fact-specific and depend on that section read together with the governing documents.
Boards that give the owner a genuine opportunity to be heard before reaching a decision generally encounter fewer challenges. At the board’s direction, AMG can assist by preparing and sending notices and related correspondence, helping organize the hearing, and attending as scheduled by the board. Determinations of whether a violation occurred, and of any fine or suspension, remain with the board.
Association records
Owners may request association records under the governing documents and § 47F-3-118 of the Planned Community Act, subject to the records provisions of the Nonprofit Corporation Act. Which source controls a particular request, what may be withheld, and how quickly a response is due are legal questions.
Owner requests for association records are best submitted in writing. AMG can receive those requests and forward them to the board, and can provide documents to owners where the board has given written instructions to do so. Requests are commonly reviewed with the association’s attorney.
Establishing the applicable framework
The first step for any board is to determine whether Chapter 47F applies to the community, in whole or in part, and what the governing documents provide on the same point.
Boards that confirm early whether the community was created before January 1, 1999, or on or after that date, and whether it has elected coverage under the full Act, generally spend less time later disagreeing over what the law requires. Many boards find it useful to record the resulting conclusion, prepared with counsel, in a one-page summary of the association’s legal structure and to keep it with the association’s records for reference in future decisions.
An association incorporated as a North Carolina nonprofit corporation also operates under the Nonprofit Corporation Act, which applies concurrently with Chapter 47F and, for an older planned community, supplies rules, such as quorum and proxies, on which the listed Chapter 47F sections are silent.
How AMG supports the board
Many boards operate for years on the assumption that the entire Act applies, and, for a substantial number of North Carolina communities, that assumption proves incorrect in ways that become significant when a decision is challenged. AMG can assist the board in gathering the appropriate documents; this may involve research by the association’s attorney into the community’s recorded documents.
When a question about the board’s authority to act arises, the board may wish to review the Act’s powers provision together with the governing documents and, where the answer is unclear, with the association’s attorney.
When to involve legal counsel
Matters that commonly warrant the involvement of the association’s attorney include, but are not limited to, uncertainty about which statutes govern, amendments to the governing documents, fines or suspensions, the collection of unpaid assessments, flags or political signs, developer transition, and any point at which the statute and the governing documents appear to conflict. Whether and when to involve counsel is the board’s decision. At the board’s direction, AMG can help coordinate communications with the association’s attorney and assist in gathering the information counsel requests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the North Carolina Planned Community Act?
It is the state law, codified as Chapter 47F of the General Statutes, that generally governs planned communities created on or after January 1, 1999. It operates alongside each community’s governing documents.
Which HOAs are subject to Chapter 47F?
Chapter 47F applies in full to planned communities created on or after January 1, 1999, except communities created on or after that date with no more than 20 lots or with all lots restricted exclusively to nonresidential purposes, unless the declaration provides that the Act applies. For planned communities created before January 1, 1999, a listed set of Chapter 47F provisions applies unless the articles of incorporation or declaration expressly provide otherwise; those provisions reach only events on or after that date and do not invalidate existing provisions of the declaration, bylaws, or plats and plans. An older community may elect coverage under the entire Act by amending its declaration with the approval of at least 67 percent of the votes, or any smaller majority the declaration specifies.
What powers does an HOA have under North Carolina law?
The Act lists default powers that an association generally holds unless they are expressly limited in the manner the statute permits. What a particular association may do depends on that list read together with its governing documents.
Related Resources
- Guide to North Carolina HOA laws
- NC Condominium Act
- NC Unit Ownership Act
- NC Nonprofit Corporation Act and community associations
- North Carolina HOA meeting rules
Have questions about your own community?
Boards of AMG-managed communities are encouraged to begin with their community manager, who can help the board locate the relevant governing documents and other available information and, at the board’s direction, liaise with the association’s attorney when a legal question arises. Associations that are not currently AMG clients may contact AMG’s client services team for information about AMG’s management services or for referrals to qualified professionals.
AMG provides administrative management services to associations and is not a law firm. AMG acts on behalf of the associations it manages rather than individual owners, and an owner involved in a dispute with an association may wish to consult independent counsel.
About AMG
This guide was prepared by Association Management Group (AMG) community managers, including managers who hold the PCAM®, AMS®, and CMCA® credentials. AMG is an AAMC®-accredited firm serving more than 30,000 property owners across the Carolinas. The information is intended to assist community association members and leaders in understanding the statutory framework in which their associations operate.
Learn more at www.amgworld.com. Additional governance discussion appears in the Lessons from the Neighborhood series at www.LessonsFromTheNeighborhood.com.