Individual Violations Outside of an Inspection

Summary: This article will explain how to submit violations and create violation letters and action items directly from the Homeowner's Account in Vantaca.

Submitting the Violation Action Item

Go to Homeowners > Homeowner Profile > Action Items tab, select the homeowner who will receive the action item and click the +New Action Item.

The Action Item creation form will appear. Since you are creating a violation, choose the Violations action type from the Action Type drop down menu.

When the Violation action item was created for this Association, the first step was to send the first notice. For many violations this will be the first step, so for this violation, it will remain the same. The next step is to select the appropriate CCR Item and CCR Detail.

After selecting a CCR item make sure to fill out the subject and the description of the violation. 
Tip: It is important to remember that the subject of the action item will appear not only in any email about the violation but will also be displayed in Vantaca, making it easier to find later when searching for it.

Example: Thomas Jefferson did not clean up the storm debris from his yard.

Next, in the Dates and Assignment panel, select a Follow Up Date and a Due Date. The Follow Up Date date is helpful for violations because it allows a management company to not lose focus on the violations that are created and it helps the management company to better follow up on violations. The Assigned To field is helpful for the management company as they can also assign who is responsible for this violation, if needed.

In the Attachment Panel, as with most action items, you are able to add documents or reports from Vantaca or files from your computer. After you have reviewed your action item and you are ready to send it, you can preview what will be sent and to whom by clicking the Preview button next to the Update and Select button. For a violation, it will show the letter or email template that was created for violations with the specific details inserted that you entered when creating the action item. The email is displayed first, and if you would like to view the letter that is sent out directly to the homeowner, click on the Attachments tab.

Note: For images, if a new picture isn't added upon Stepping an existing violation to a new Step, then the original image will be used. 

When you are ready to send the violation to the homeowner. Click Update. If the Action Item is configured to send as both email and letter, this will send the violation via email automatically.

Printing the Violation Letter

To send the hard copy violation letter, go to Mailroom > Print Queue to check for the newly created violation.

Once you are viewing the Print Queue, click the navigation arrows or search in the search fields in order to find your violation/violations. Check the box to the left of the violation you want to print, and click the Print button  towards the top of the page.

After clicking Print, you will be redirected to the Jobs tab where you will see open jobs and you will have the ability to see closed printing jobs such as the violation letter that you just tried to print. Make sure to check the Include Closed check box in the top right corner to view these closed jobs.

Your violation action item should be complete, the violation letter should be on its way to the homeowner via email, and the hard copy of the violation letter will be getting ready to be put into an envelope for your homeowner.

FAQ

Q: How can I export a list of violations issued within a specific time period and by address?

A: The Violations Report displays all violation action items with a step during the selected time range. To generate the report, go to the Reports tab, search for Violations Report, select the desired Report Date, then click Run. Results can be sorted by Street Name, Street #, Account #, Last Name, Violation Status, or CCR Item.

Note: Ensure the correct Start and End dates are selected. The report will appear blank if no violations were issued during the chosen date range.

For more information on reports, review our How to View Vantaca Reports and Types of Reports articles.

Q: My violations action item created multiple letters rather than just one. Why?

A: This can occur when the owner has multiple mailing addresses on their account and the action step's Mail Format setting is set to Mailing Addresses. When both conditions are met, the system generates a separate letter for each mailing address. For example, if an owner has three mailing addresses, three letters will be produced. To learn more about Mail Format settings, see our Action Type Rules article.

Q: Why isn't the violation photo appearing in my generated letter?

A: Violation photos only appear in letters when an image merge tag is included in your letter template.

Available image merge tags:

1. Image: Violation Photo (Size = 150; Align = Right; Wrap = Square)
   • Places the photo in the top right corner with text wrapping around it
2. Image: Violation Photo (Size = 150; Wrap = Square)
   • Places the photo inline at the merge tag location

To display the photo:

To add the merge tag, go to Settings > Letter Templates and click the Merge Tags button. Copy the appropriate image merge tag and paste it into your violation letter template, then save the file. To upload the updated template, return to Settings > Letter Templates, locate your violation letter template, and click Edit. Use the File field to upload the updated template and click Update to save your changes.

Requirements:

• Image merge tags only work in letter templates
• Photos must be in an acceptable image format (gif, jpg, png, svg)
• Photos cannot exceed 25MB in size

Q: A violations action type appears as an option when starting a new action item, but disappears after I select a specific association. Why?

A: This happens because the violations action type has not been assigned to that association in Association > Settings > CCR.

• To make it the default (Preferred) selection when starting a violations action item for that association, select it in the CCR Model field.
• To make it available as an additional option alongside the Preferred action type, select it in the Additional CCR Models field.

Once the action type has been placed within the applicable setting, click Update to save the change.