HOA fees differ between units in the same complex because the community’s governing documents assign every unit its own share of the total budget, and that share reflects the unit’s size, value, type, location, and the specific amenities or buildings it belongs to. Two owners under the same roof can owe very different amounts each month, and both figures can be correct under the same formula. The question of why HOA fees are different in the same complex almost always comes back to that allocation formula and a handful of structural factors layered on top of it.
How the Allocation Formula Works
Every HOA has governing documents, usually a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) and a set of bylaws, that spell out how costs get divided. The CC&Rs assign each unit a “common expense liability,” which is the fraction of the community’s total budget that unit must cover. In a condominium, that fraction is tied to the unit’s share of ownership in the common elements. In a planned community, it’s tied to expenses and voting rights.
Two allocation methods do most of the work. Under percentage of ownership interest, each unit’s share is based on its estimated fair market value at the time the community was created, relative to the value of all units together. A unit originally appraised at twice another unit’s value carries roughly twice the assessment. Under proportional square footage, the math is simpler: a 2,000-square-foot unit pays about double a 1,000-square-foot unit because the fee scales directly with size. A smaller number of communities, usually planned developments with similar lot sizes, use a flat equal-share model where every unit pays the same regardless of size or value.
Whatever method applies, all the individual shares have to add up to 100 percent. Your unit’s exact share is written in the declaration or on the recorded condominium plat, expressed as a percentage or fraction. It was locked in when the community was created, and changing it generally requires amending the CC&Rs through a supermajority vote of all owners.
Unit Size, Type, and Features
The most visible reason for a fee gap is unit size. If your community uses a square-footage or value-based formula, a larger unit represents a bigger slice of the whole and simply costs the association more to maintain and insure. That alone explains most of the variation inside a single building.
Unit type matters in mixed developments. A master-planned community might contain condominiums, townhomes, and detached single-family homes all under one association. The HOA’s maintenance duties are different for each. It might cover the roof, exterior walls, and hallways of a condo building while townhome owners handle their own exteriors. Because condo units consume more of the maintenance budget, their assessments reflect that.
Individual features can also shift the number. A unit with a private rooftop terrace, an oversized balcony, or a dedicated parking space may carry a slightly higher assessment than an identical floor plan without those features. The cost of maintaining, insuring, and eventually replacing those extras falls on the units that benefit. If you’re comparing your fee to a neighbor’s and finding a gap, check whether your unit has an exclusive-use common element theirs doesn’t.
Building-Specific Common Elements
In a complex with multiple buildings, structural differences between the buildings often account for the fee variation. One building might have an elevator, a parking garage, or a staffed lobby while another next door has none of that. The maintenance and insurance tied to those elements is assigned to the units inside the building that has them, not spread across the whole community. Elevator service contracts alone can run tens of thousands a year, and there’s no reason for owners of a walk-up building nearby to subsidize that cost.
The same logic applies to amenities restricted to one section. If a rooftop pool is accessible only to Building A, the chemicals, lifeguard staffing, liability insurance, and eventual resurfacing fall on Building A’s owners. When identical floor plans in different buildings carry different fees, building-specific amenities and infrastructure are almost always the reason.
Utilities Included in Your Assessment
Some communities roll water, gas, or electricity into the monthly fee, and how those costs get divided can create real differences. Where individual meters exist, your share reflects your actual consumption, so a heavier user pays more. Many older buildings don’t have individual meters and instead use ratio utility billing: the building’s total utility bill is split among units based on square footage, room count, or occupant count. A larger unit, or one with more residents, absorbs a bigger share even if it doesn’t actually use more energy.
This is one of the less obvious reasons two seemingly identical units can owe different amounts. If the formula weights occupancy and you have four residents while your neighbor lives alone, your assessment includes a larger utility component. Ask the board which method they use and what variables feed into it.
Master Associations and Sub-Associations
Large planned communities often use a layered governance structure. A master association handles community-wide infrastructure like main roads, perimeter landscaping, entrance gates, and shared recreation. Smaller sub-associations handle individual neighborhoods, buildings, or sections. Each level sets its own budget and collects its own assessment, so if you live in a sub-association, your total obligation is the master fee plus the sub-association fee.
That structure guarantees fee differences across the development. Two owners in the same master-planned community can pay the identical master fee and very different sub-association fees because their neighborhoods have different amenities, building ages, or maintenance needs. One sub-association might manage a pool and clubhouse while another handles only basic landscaping. The master fee covers what everyone shares; the sub-association fee covers what’s specific to your section.
Phased Construction
Communities built in stages over several years often end up with different fee structures for each phase. The first phase was built with one set of amenities and one construction budget. By the time the developer breaks ground on the third phase several years later, construction costs have moved, amenities may have changed, and the budgeting model has evolved. Each phase may also have its own sub-association and its own reserve account tracking its own aging infrastructure.
During the developer-controlled period, which typically lasts until a set percentage of units sell, the developer sets the initial assessment levels. Those are sometimes kept artificially low to help units sell. When control transfers to the homeowners, the new board often finds reserves underfunded and operating costs needing to rise. If one phase went through that transition years before another, the phases can land at meaningfully different fee levels even inside the same community.
Special Assessments and Reserve Health
Beyond regular dues, HOAs can impose special assessments, which are one-time charges for expenses the annual budget didn’t cover: a major roof replacement, structural repair after storm damage, or a lawsuit settlement. Special assessments follow the same allocation formula as regular fees. If your unit carries 1.5 percent of the common expense liability, you owe 1.5 percent of the special assessment. Some communities allow installment payments, which temporarily raises what you pay each month and can make your bill look different from a neighbor’s who paid in a lump sum.
Reserve funding sits behind a lot of this. Every HOA should maintain a reserve fund to cover eventual repair or replacement of major common elements like roofs, elevators, parking surfaces, plumbing, and pool equipment. The reserve is built up through a portion of your monthly assessment. A well-funded reserve lets the community absorb big repairs without a special assessment. An underfunded one forces the board to choose between a special assessment and a steep increase in regular fees. Many states require periodic reserve studies, which evaluate every major component, its remaining useful life, and its projected replacement cost, then calculate the annual contribution needed to stay on track.
When you’re comparing fees between two sections of the same complex that keep separate reserve accounts, differences in reserve funding can explain a lot. A section with newer infrastructure and a healthy reserve can hold fees lower than a section with aging systems and a depleted fund, even where unit sizes and amenities are similar.
How to Check Whether Your Fee Is Right
If your assessment looks off compared to similar units, you have a straightforward way to test it. Get a copy of the CC&Rs and the current budget. The declaration shows your unit’s allocated percentage of common expenses, and the budget shows the total being divided. Multiply your percentage by the total; the result should match your assessment. If the math doesn’t line up, you’ve found either a board error or a misunderstanding about your allocation.
Then request the association’s financial records. Most states require HOAs to make budgets, financial statements, and reserve reports available to owners on request. Compare the line items to what you actually see in the community. If the budget charges your unit for an amenity your section doesn’t use, and the CC&Rs don’t assign that cost to you, you have grounds for a conversation with the board.
If an informal conversation goes nowhere, put the dispute in writing and ask for a hearing. Many states require HOAs to offer alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, before either side files suit over assessments. Mediation brings in a neutral third party and is usually faster and cheaper than litigation. For small-dollar disputes, small claims court can also be an option without going through mediation first. Whatever route you take, keep paying the undisputed portion of your fee while the challenge is pending; stopping payment creates a separate and larger problem than the one you started with.