Texas Condo Owners Are Still Paying $800 in Monthly HOA Fees 5 Years After Fire Destroyed Units

More than five years after a fast-moving fire destroyed their condominiums, nearly a dozen Texas property owners are still paying hundreds of dollars in monthly HOA fees and special assessments on their uninhabitable units while rebuilding drags on. 

The blaze ignited in March 2021 at Bayfront Towers, a 75-unit complex nestled in the Houston suburb of Nassau Bay, TX. According to ABC13, officials ruled the fire accidental after determining that it originated on a top-floor balcony, yet no specific cause was ever identified.

By the time firefighters extinguished the flames, 11 condos lay in ruins and 26 were left with smoke and water damage requiring remediation. 

Sarah Arends’ first-floor unit, which she purchased three years earlier for her retirement, was among the 11 that were destroyed in the fire. 

Despite being unable to live in her condo, Arends has been paying close to $800 a month in HOA fees to manage and maintain shared community spaces, totaling $10,000 a year. 

Speaking to Fox 26 Houston in August, Arends revealed that she was also hit with $38,000 in special assessments imposed by the board to finance the reconstruction of the ravaged condos. 

Since 2021, Arends, who lives on a fixed income, estimates she has spent $80,000 on a property where she can no longer live while paying out of pocket to rent elsewhere.

In all, Bayfront Condominium Association has raised more than $2.8 million in special assessments after exhausting its insurance payouts to fix up the damaged condos in the first two years after the fire, reported Houston Chronicle.

Stalled rebuilding

Bayfront HOA president Tom Benson, who also lost his condo in the fire, tells Realtor.com® in a statement that it took the board 18 months working through the Harris County Flood District to secure approval to rebuild the units at the existing elevation.

Once that was done, the broad hired an architectural firm to create drawings for the rebuild, but a company buyout delayed the process.

Finally in 2023, the board hired Sunrise Certified Services, a Houston-area contractor, to carry out the reconstruction, which was reportedly slated for completion by May 2026.

"We don't know if it's going to be a month, a year, five years, we don't know," said Arends.

Benson recently told KHOU11 that the contract signed with Sunrise more than three years ago was less than watertight and lacked penalties for missed deadlines. 

"The selected contractor has been a disappointment," the HOA president adds. "Timing to complete is now over a year late. We are working to transition to a new general contractor to finish the job and get owners back in their units before year end."      

Arends offered a blunter assessment of the contractor's work pace.

"I don't know what he's doing; he's just pooping along," she said.

Realtor.com reached out to Sunrise seeking comment but did not receive an immediate response.  

No relief in sight

Fed up with the prolonged wait, Arends has repeatedly called on the board to temporarily exempt the 11 displaced condo owners from paying monthly HOA dues. Her pleas have been rejected because the condo association's bylaws include no emergency fee-relief provisions.

The association is still required to meet all of its ongoing financial obligations, putting the burden on owners to pay regardless of whether their units are fit for habitation.  

"Like others, I'm frustrated with paying HOA fees while out of our unit due to the fire, but we are still an owner of a unit and the fees pay for insurance and maintenance of the building and property," Benson said in a statemwnt to Fox26. "It is our understanding that we are legally obligated to pay our fees as an owner."

The only way to avoid paying HOA fees is to sell, which is what some of the owners have already resorted to, with Arends looking to join their ranks as soon as her unit is rebuilt.

As of Wednesday, three units in the complex were listed for sale on Realtor.com, with one already under contract.

The hidden risks of HOA membership

As homeowners associations become increasingly common across the U.S., Bayfront Towers owners' ordeal serves as a cautionary tale.

HOAs do offer benefits, with the association often covering landscaping, snow and trash removal services, as well as the upkeep and repair of common areas like swimming pools and security gates. But there are also potential downsides buyers should be aware of before signing on the dotted line. 

Mandatory HOA fees cover services and amenities whether an individual owner uses them or not, and strict bylaws may dictate exterior paint colors, home renovations, and even pet ownership.

Owners also have to be prepared to open their wallets for special assessments if the HOA reserve fund runs too low to undertake major unexpected repairs. 

HOAs are on the rise

According to recent Realtor.com data, the share of listings with HOA feels reached 43.6% in 2025, up from 41.9% the year. Condos and townhomes are more likely to have HOAs than single-family homes, and new builds are more likely to have HOAs than existing homes.

Regionally, Sun Belt states dominate in HOA prevalence, with Nevada leading the pack with over 68% of listings.

At the metro level, Las Vegas has the highest level of HOA participation topping 60%, followed by Orlando, FL (56.4%), and Houston (55..3%).