Paying for the homeowners association dues is legal and necessary. It is because the payment collected from the dues are to be used for the daily expenses used by the community for the street lights, garbage collection, security personnel and other regular maintenance of the said subdivision. And this is the reason why the homeowners have signed the the clause under the Contract to Sell of their units to religiously pay the homeowners association dues. However, in Lancaster Residences, the Homeowners Association is handled and put up by the employees of its developer, Property Company of Friends, Inc. (Pro-Friends). In fact, the five seats for the board of directors and trustees of Lancaster Estates Homeowners Association (LEHOA) are all occupied by employees of Profriends under its Estate and Asset Management Division.

It is noted via Presidential Decree 957 that a Homeowners Association must not be handled by the developer. In this case, Pro-Friends. However, 100% of the Board of Directors of LEHOA are Pro-Friends employees. This makes LEHOA illegal under this decree.

It has also been said the the HOA dues must be collected separately and not by the developer. However, in Lancaster Residences and other Lancaster Estates project, the HOA dues is collected via the water bill from South Link Waterworks wherein the owner is a big stakeholder of the developer, Pro-Friends.

According to HLURB on the implementation of PD957

Can officers of a developer collect association dues or fees from homeowners for the maintenance and security of a subdivision?
No, because association dues or fees for the maintenance and security of a subdivision can only be collected by a property organized Homeowners Association with the consent of a majority of the lot or unit buyers actually residing in the subdivision project (Sec. 27 of PD 957)

It is very imperative that South Link Water Works must not meddle with the issues of a homeowners association especially if the existence of such HOA is questionable under the law and the act itself of them posing as collecting agent for LEHOA is illegal according to PD957. This must stop as homeowners should only pay a water bill for its water service.

http://lancasterresidences.blogspot.com/2013/05/homeowners-dues-illegally-being.html