HOA violations represent breaches of community rules and regulations that govern homeowners' associations, an occur when residents fail to comply with standards outlined in their community's governing documents. These infractions can range from minor issues like landscaping maintenance and improper trash disposal to more significant violations such as unauthorized architectural modifications or rental policy breaches.
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Violations
The Vantaca Manage app Violations tab on each property shows all of it's active violations. You can add as many violations to a property as needed.
Important: You can only add/update a violation if you are in an active inspection. This prevents users from skipping the violation review process or adding them to a closed inspection. If you are not in an active inspection the add a Violation button does not display.
On this screen you can:
- View the property address, homeowner name, and contact information.
- Enter an action item number (XN) in the Search field to find a specific violation or scroll through the list.
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Use the Sort icon (
) to open the Sort by menu and select from Last Updated or Created Date.
- Tap All, Open, or Closed to display the corresponding violations (Open is the default).
- Open an existing violation to make changes or add information or start a new violation.
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Each listed violation item includes:
- Past Cure icon (displays only if the violation is past it's cure date)
- Action item number and title
- Latest action item note
- Current step (e.x. First Offense, Warning Reinspect Notice, etc.)
- Cure Date
- Last Updated
- Status
New Violation
Make sure that you are familiar with your management company violations guidelines and best practices so you include all of the appropriate information for each violation.
Tip: We recommend that you enable location services so, when you are performing the inspection, the properties that are geographically closest to you will appear first and the rest will follow in ascending order by the street address. If you are working in an area where the property address is the same but there are different units, you can use the search bar to search by unit number.
To create a new violation:
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Within an open inspection, select a property.
The property opens with the Violations tab displayed. -
Tap Violation to start a new violation for that property.
The Violation screen opens.
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Provide the following information:
- Add photos. See the following Add Photos section.
- (Required) CCR Item: Select the desired CCR item. The management company defines these items in Vantaca.
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(Required) CCR Description: Enter or select a description of the CCR item.
Note: The CCR Item and Description options depend on your management company set up and may be different for each association. Some items and descriptions may be tied to other fields where the selection of one results in the autofill of another. - Save as new description: Enable to save your entered description for use in the future.
- Cure Date: Select the date by which a homeowner must resolve this violation and comply with the HOA rules to avoid fines.
- Cure Period: This field automatically populates with the number of days the homeowner has to resolve the violation according to the cure date.
- Required Action: Enter the actions required to remedy the violation. If you do not enter anything, the system copies the CCR description into this field.
- Step: The steps in the workflow are set up by the management company and may be different for each association. A new violation automatically defaults to the first step in the configured process.
- Follow Up Date: Select a date to check on this violation (some management companies will automate this date).
- Due Date: You can select a date here so it appears on the Vantaca dashboard as a reminder as the date approaches.
- Fee Amount: Fees are configured by the management company in Vantaca. You can override the fee by entering a different fee, but make sure you understand the assessments for this association. Some associations have fees triggered by the CCR item, in which case this field automatically populates.
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Click Add.
The new violation displays at the top of the Violations tab for this property with a status of Pending until it goes through the review process.
After review, if the violation is accepted, communication is sent to the homeowner. If the violation is not accepted, it is discarded and no longer displays in the list.
Add Photos
Adding photos to a violation can help show the CCR issue. You can add photos before you fill out the violation form or at any time in the process. You can also go back and add photos to an existing open violation.
The first photo added is designated as the primary and shows in a larger display above the secondary photos. A green checkmark also indicates a primary photo. The primary photo is often added to letter templates, depending on your management company setup.
To add photos to a violation:
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Tap Add photos, and then select an option from the pop-up menu:
- Take Photo: The camera app on your mobile device opens and you can take pictures. As you take each photo, you can select Retake and take the photo again or Use Photo and the photo is added to the violation.
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Choose from Library: Your photo library opens where you can select photos, click Add, and they are added to the violation.
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To add additional photos, tap the blue Plus symbol (
) which opens the pop-up menu so you can take a photo or add from your library.
- (Optional) To change the primary photo, tap the bottom-left corner of the photo. A green checkmark indicates it is the primary and the large display will now show that photo.
- To delete a photo, click X in the top-right of the photo.
Update an Existing Violation
You may need to update an existing violation, for example, if the cure date passed but nothing was fixed.
To update on an existing violation:
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Tap the violation to open it.
The Violation screen displays.
- Add or remove images as needed. See the previous Add Photos section.
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Provide or update the following information:
Note: You cannot change the CCR Item or CCR Description after the violation is saved.- Required Action: Update these notes to let the homeowner know what the issue is and how to remedy it.
- Step: Change the step to the appropriate one in your management company's workflow (e.x. Second Offense, Warning Reinspect, etc.) Make sure that you understand the workflow process for the association so as not to skip necessary steps, such as those that generate letters, etc.
- Change other fields as needed if new dates, etc. are required.
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Violation History: Tap to view the history of this violation. You can tap the attachments to open and view them.
- Click Update.
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