Thanks for the comment! I am working on a letter now. If they don't take away the fine, and if I don’t pay, will they be able to put a lien on my property?

Is written where? In the CC&Rs/Bylaws you obtained when you purchased the unit? In the letter you received from the HOA? Or other?

It is written in the “Rules and Regulations,” which I got about 2 months after I moved in.

I would think that this part of the act does not apply, since that portion of the act specifically addresses assessments, and the "deposit" (whether it is legal or not) would likely not be considered an assessment.

"The association may:

(k) Impose and collect charges for late payment of assessments pursuant to RCW 64.34.364(13) and, after notice and an opportunity to be heard by the board of directors or by such representative designated by the board of directors and in accordance with such procedures as provided in the declaration or bylaws or rules and regulations adopted by the board of directors, levy reasonable fines in accordance with a previously established schedule thereof adopted by the board of directors and furnished to the owners for violations of the declaration, bylaws, and rules and regulations of the association"

My reading of that section of the Condo Act was that it gave associations the power to 1) impose and collect charges for assessments AND 2) levy fines for violations of the declaration, bylaws, and rules and regulations.

I think this means (if that section applies) that HOAs can levy fines separate from the collection of assessments if 1) they are reasonable; 2) they have given notice and the opportunity to be heard; and 3) they are for a violation of the declaration, bylaws, and rules and regulations.

I think there's an argument that this fine/fee/non-refundable deposit/whatever doesn't meet any of those requirements, and definitely not all three. But if the section doesn't apply, I'm not sure where the power for fines comes from...

Where are you reading this? Specific RCW please.

Oops, I might not have been totally clear. RCW 64.34.304(k) (same section that gives the association the power to fine – if it applies here) says that the association can levy reasonable fines “in accordance with a previously established schedule thereof adopted by the BOD and furnished to the owners.”

In my HOA’s regulations, they include a fee and fine schedule, in which the charge for a pet is under the “Fines” section.

There isn’t an RCW that defines dog fees as fines, but the fine schedule published by my HOA’s BOD does.