How do I use the violations feature?

Overview of the Violations Feature

The Violations feature manages the full lifecycle of a covenant or community-standards violation — from the initial report through administrative review, enforcement action, and resolution. It's designed to support "an interactive process that upholds neighborhood standards with respectful action," meaning it's built for two-way communication between admins and members rather than a one-directional notice system.

This is the feature behind questions like "How do I report a neighbor's violation?", "How do I respond to a violation notice I received?", or "How does the HOA track repeat violations?"

 Who Uses It

Members can file a violation report themselves (for example, reporting a neighbor's fence in disrepair or an unapproved exterior change).

Admins can:

• Assign a new violation to a member/property using a violations form
• Review, classify, and comment on violations
• Track the enforcement actions taken
• Communicate back and forth with the member involved

 Core Capabilities

• Custom violations forms — build forms specific to violation types (architectural, landscaping, noise, parking, etc.)
• Filing reports — both admins (assigning a new violation) and members (reporting an issue) can file
• Review, classification, and comments — admins can categorize a violation's severity/type and add commentary as it's worked through
• Unified record per violation — the entire history of a single violation (report, comments, actions, resolution) is captured in one place
• Downloadable notices and data — generate/download a formal violation notice, or export data from one or many forms
• Search — locate a specific violation form or search across one or more violations

 Common Questions

"How do I report a violation I've noticed in the community?"

Members can file a violation report directly through a violations form on the community website.

"I received a violation notice — how do I respond?"

Because the feature is built for two-way interaction, members can view the violation record and respond or comment through the same interface where the violation lives.

"How does the HOA decide how serious a violation is?"

Admins use the review, classify, and comment workflow to categorize each violation, which supports differentiating between, say, a minor first-time issue and a repeat or severe violation. Classification categories and severity levels are configurable per community.

"Can I download a copy of the violation notice for my records?"

Yes — the system supports downloading a violation notice, as well as downloading data from a single violations form or all violations forms.

"What happens after I report a violation — does anything actually happen?"

Once filed, the violation enters the admin review workflow, where it can be classified, commented on, and tracked through to an enforcement action or resolution — all within the same unified record.

 Admin Tasks Related to Violations

• Create a Forms Page and attach a Violations Form — publish a violations form on the site
• Create a New Violations Form — build a form for a specific violation type
• Customize or edit a Violations Form — adjust fields/settings on an existing form
• Duplicate a Violations Form — quickly create a similar form based on an existing one
• Edit the settings on a Violations Form — adjust configuration without rebuilding the form
• Deactivate a Violations Form — retire a form that's no longer in use
• File a Violation Report as a Community Administrator — assign a new violation to a form
• File a Violation Report as a Community Member — the resident-facing reporting path
• Review, Classify, and Comment on a Violation — the core admin review workflow
• Download a Violation Notice / Download data — export records for a single form or all forms
• Search for a Violation Form / Search for One or More Violations — locate records quickly
• View Violations for a Specific Form / View Violations for All Violation Forms — browse violation history

 Typical Workflow

1. A violation is filed — either a member reports an issue, or an admin assigns a new violation using a form
2. Admin reviews and classifies the violation, adding comments as needed
3. Admin and member communicate through the unified record as the situation is addressed
4. Admin may download a notice to formally document the violation
5. The violation is tracked to resolution, with the full history preserved for future reference