By Dave Jensen, CEO, CoPS on Doody · Commercial Pet Waste Station Service · October 2026
Common area maintenance in an HOA is the upkeep of everything the association owns or is responsible for under its declaration: grounds, walkways, parking, lighting, amenities, stormwater facilities, and the small things that residents notice first, like signs, trash areas, and pet waste stations. A checklist that works has three layers: a monthly walk, seasonal tasks timed to the weather where the community actually is, and annual and multi-year items that tie back to the reserve study.
DC-metro and Atlanta communities don't run on the same calendar. According to NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, the median first fall freeze at Washington Dulles comes around October 24, more than three weeks before Reagan National's (November 18), and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson doesn't see its median first freeze until around November 20. In spring, Atlanta's median last freeze, around March 15, comes a full month before Dulles's. The checklist below is split so each market can use the timing that fits.
Your declaration decides. It defines the common area, lists what the association must maintain, and sometimes splits responsibility for things like fences, driveways, or the strip of lawn between a sidewalk and the street. If you manage several communities, don't assume the answer carries over from one to the next.
In most communities the list covers the same families of work:
Many maintenance failures happen because no one owns the task. The landscaper mows around the pet waste station, the janitorial crew empties the can by the clubhouse, and nobody restocks the dispenser. Each vendor is doing exactly what the contract says, and the community still looks neglected.
A scope matrix fixes that by putting every recurring task on one page with a name next to it. Fill it in once, review it when a contract renews, and hand it to every new board member. The bracketed entries are examples; replace them with your own.
If a line has no name in the second column, you've found the next thing that will go wrong. The same test is useful when a landscaper or cleaning company offers to "take care of" pet waste as an add-on. Ask who restocks the dispensers, how often, and how you'll know it happened. Our post on why the landscaper shouldn't be managing pet waste stations covers the questions to ask.
Walk the community once a month with this list, ideally on a different day of the week each time so you see it the way residents do. Note every problem with a location and a photo, and open a work order before you leave the property.
☐ Turf mowed and edged; no bare or rutted patches
☐ Beds weeded and mulched; nothing blocking sight lines at corners or crosswalks
☐ Trees and shrubs: dead limbs, leaning trees, branches over walkways or roofs
☐ Irrigation (in season): heads broken, misaligned, or spraying pavement; wet spots that don't dry
☐ Drainage: standing water, erosion at downspouts, soil washing onto walks
☐ Trip hazards: lifted sidewalk panels, potholes, loose pavers
☐ Curb paint, parking stripes, and fire-lane markings legible
☐ Retaining walls and fences: leaning, cracked, or missing pieces
☐ Mailbox kiosks: doors close and lock; no damage
☐ Streetlights and path lights working (check at dusk at least quarterly)
☐ Community signs, rules signs, and pet waste signs legible and upright
☐ Speed, parking, and pool-rules signs where they belong
☐ Playground: surfacing in place and at depth, no broken or loose parts, no sharp edges; the CPSC's playground handbook says never to let loose-fill surfacing drop below 9 inches (6 inches for rubber mulch)
☐ Pool (in season): gates self-close and latch, safety equipment present, deck clean
☐ Courts and dog park: fencing, gates, surfaces, and benches
☐ Clubhouse and fitness room: doors and locks, restrooms, equipment condition
☐ Clubhouse life safety: fire extinguishers visually checked, emergency lights tested (see the annual items for intervals)
☐ Dumpster and trash enclosures: gates close, no overflow, no dumping outside
☐ Common-area trash cans emptied, lids intact, liners in place
☐ Pet waste stations: use the station check below
☐ Storm drain inlets clear of leaves, mulch, and trash
☐ Ponds and basins: no trash at the outlet, no erosion at the banks, no blocked overflow
☐ Nothing being dumped into storm drains (grass clippings, paint, pet waste)
Pet waste stations are small, and they fail quietly. A dispenser runs empty on a Tuesday, and by Friday a resident has emailed the board a photo. Check every station on the monthly walk, even if a vendor services them, because the walk is how you know the service is working.
☐ Dispenser stocked, and bags feed out one at a time
☐ Can emptied and liner changed; lid opens and closes
☐ Post plumb and solid in the ground; trash can upright
☐ No rust, loose bolts, or sharp edges
☐ No water pooling inside the dispenser, and the bags are dry
☐ Sign present and legible
☐ No waste on the ground nearby (if there is, the station may be in the wrong spot, or the area may need a second station)
☐ Station still sits where dogs are actually walked
The EPA's guidance on stormwater practices lists pet waste stations, with bag dispensers, signs, and trash bins, among the ways communities keep pet waste out of streams, and calls pet waste a leading source of nutrient and bacteria pollution in urban waterways. A station that's empty or broken isn't doing that job.
Some of these are design problems as much as service problems. Our sister company, Natural Pet Partners, designs station hardware around failures that service crews see in the field, like water getting into dispensers and cans that lean over time. Whatever hardware your community has, the checklist above will tell you which problems are service and which are equipment.
For the placement side of the check, see where pet waste stations should actually go, and for day-to-day upkeep, best practices for maintaining pet waste stations.
Freeze dates drive most of the seasonal calendar. These are NOAA's median dates from its 1991 to 2020 climate normals for three reference airports.
A median date means the freeze comes later in spring, or earlier in fall, about half the time. Build in a cushion: start irrigation a couple of weeks after your reference airport's median last freeze, and winterize a couple of weeks before its median first freeze. Use the airport closest to your community, and if you sit between two, plan around the later spring date and the earlier fall date.
☐ Irrigation start-up after the last freeze: charge the system, check every zone, repair heads, and schedule any backflow test your water utility requires (in Loudoun Water's service area, an assembly removed for winterization has to be retested when it's reinstalled)
☐ Walk every tree after winter storms; schedule removals and pruning
☐ Mulch and spring planting; pre-emergent treatments on the landscaper's schedule
☐ Pressure wash walks, pool decks, and signs (in Atlanta, after the tree pollen peak)
☐ Pool: pre-opening inspection, repairs, and permits
☐ Clean storm drain inlets and pond outlets after leaf and winter debris
☐ Pet waste stations: replace worn signs, check posts loosened by frost heave, and review placement before spring walking season
☐ Irrigation audit during the first heat wave: coverage, run times, and leaks
☐ Pool operations: daily or weekly logs per your pool vendor and local health rules
☐ Storm season: clear inlets before big storms, check pond levels afterward, and walk for downed limbs
☐ Heat: shade and water at the dog park; check playground surfaces for heat
☐ Pet waste stations: long evenings bring more walkers, so bags run out faster; confirm service frequency still fits
☐ Leaf plan: who removes leaves from common areas, and when; keep leaves out of storm drains
☐ Irrigation shutoff and winterization before the first freeze
☐ Aeration and overseeding of cool-season turf (typical in the DC metro)
☐ Pool closing and winter cover
☐ Tree walk after leaf drop, when structure is easiest to see
☐ Budget: feed this year's log into next year's operating budget and reserve review
☐ Snow and ice contract signed before the first storm (DC metro especially)
☐ Snow and ice: confirm trigger depths, priority routes, and where plowed snow goes
☐ Limit deicer near turf and beds, and stock sand or a pet-safe deicer for common walks
☐ Freeze protection for exposed pipes, backflow assemblies, and clubhouse plumbing
☐ Lighting check during long nights; replace failed fixtures
☐ Pet waste stations: keep them reachable after snow, and plan a thaw cleanup for what the snow covered
These are the items that don't show up on a monthly walk but cost the most when they're missed.
Virginia requires both HOAs and condominiums to conduct a reserve study at least once every five years and to review the results at least annually (§ 55.1-1826 for HOAs, § 55.1-1965 for condos). In Maryland, an HOA that maintains common areas whose components cost at least $10,000 to repair or replace must update its reserve study at least every five years and fund reserves at the amount the most recent study recommends (§§ 11B-112.2 and 11B-112.3; §§ 11-109.2 and 11-109.4 for residential condominiums). Georgia and DC have no statutory requirement to conduct a reserve study or fund reserves, according to CAI's summary of state reserve laws, but a study is still the best way to plan for big replacements.
Use the monthly walk to feed the study. Note the condition of every reserve component you pass, such as paving, fencing, playground equipment, and pool surfaces, so the next study starts from facts.
Most of the water utilities we checked in the two metros require backflow assemblies to be tested on a schedule, and an irrigation system is a common reason a community has one.
If the association owns a pond, basin, or other stormwater facility, check whether the county has a recorded maintenance agreement that names the association as the responsible party. If it does, put its requirements on your calendar.
The CPSC's Public Playground Safety Handbook (July 2025 edition) doesn't set a fixed inspection frequency. It says to follow the manufacturer's schedule, and to inspect more often where a playground gets heavy use. Its Appendix A has a printable checklist covering loose or worn hardware, open S-hooks, cracks, rust, surfacing depth, and openings between 3.5 and 9 inches that can trap a child's head. Have the inspector sign and date each checklist, and keep injury records. One winter note from the handbook: loose-fill surfacing that freezes solid stops working as protective surfacing.
OSHA's rule for workplaces requires portable fire extinguishers to be visually inspected monthly and to get an annual maintenance check, and the Fairfax County Fire Marshal's business checklist asks the same of every extinguisher, along with monthly emergency lighting tests. NFPA's guidance on its Life Safety Code describes a monthly test of emergency lights for at least 30 seconds and an annual test for at least 90 minutes. Ask your fire protection vendor which standard your local fire marshal enforces for your building.
☐ Compare every vendor contract with the scope matrix before it renews, and close any gaps.
☐ Collect current certificates of insurance from every vendor that works on site. Our guide to the insurance a pet waste vendor should carry covers what to ask for.
☐ Walk the property with the board before budget season, using the year's log.
Every item you find on a walk goes into one log. Over a year, the log tells you which vendor is slipping, which problems keep coming back, and what next year's budget needs to cover.
A checklist is also a budget tool. A problem that keeps coming back on the log usually means a contract needs a different scope, or a piece of equipment belongs in the reserve study. And a task nobody owns may need a budget line of its own. The Budget Season posts on assessing your pet waste program before budget season and the seven elements of a community pet waste program show how to turn walk notes into a recommendation a board can approve.
Whatever your declaration says the association owns or must maintain. That usually means grounds, walkways and parking, lighting, amenities such as a pool or playground, trash areas, pet waste stations, signage, and stormwater facilities.
All owners do, through assessments. Routine upkeep comes from the operating budget, and replacement of major components, like a pool surface or a parking lot, comes from reserves.
Walk the whole community at least monthly, with seasonal tasks on top. For playgrounds, the CPSC's handbook doesn't set a fixed frequency; it says to follow the manufacturer's schedule and to inspect more often where use is heavy. Under OSHA's workplace rule, fire extinguishers get a monthly visual check and annual maintenance.
Usually, yes, if the trees are on property the association owns or maintains under the declaration. Trees on individual lots are generally the owner's responsibility, but check your documents, because some declarations assign front-yard trees or streetscape trees to the association.
Maintenance keeps a component working: patching, cleaning, adjusting, replacing small parts. A reserve item is a major component the association expects to replace on a schedule, such as a roof, a pool surface, or pavement, and your reserve study sets aside money for it year by year.
Common area maintenance works when every task has an owner, the community gets walked every month, and the seasonal work happens on your market's calendar rather than a generic one. The scope matrix and the checklists above cover all of that.
Keep one log. By next budget season, it will be the most useful document you have.
Sources, all retrieved October 2026
NOAA NCEI 1991 to 2020 climate normals (stations USW00013743, USW00093738, USW00013874): https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/normals-annualseasonal/1991-2020/access/
Code of Virginia § 55.1-1826: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter18/section55.1-1826/
Code of Virginia § 55.1-1965: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter19/section55.1-1965/
Maryland Code, Real Property §§ 11B-112.2 and 11B-112.3: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp§ion=11B-112.3&enactments=false
Maryland Code, Real Property §§ 11-109.2 and 11-109.4: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=grp§ion=11-109.4&enactments=false
Community Associations Institute, Summary of State Reserve Fund Laws (Sept. 2024): https://www.caionline.org/getmedia/4cebbffb-2761-4c42-98d3-0404098782de/Summary-of-State-Reserve-Fund-Laws-Sept24.pdf
U.S. CPSC, Public Playground Safety Handbook (July 2025): https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/325_PublicPlaygroundSafetyHandbook2025_7-30-25_1.pdf
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.157: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.157
Fairfax County Fire Marshal, Business Occupancy Guidelines: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fire-ems/fire-marshal/business-occupancy-guidelines
NFPA Journal, NFPA 101 column (July 1, 2020): https://www.nfpa.org/news-blogs-and-articles/nfpa-journal/2020/07/01/nfpa-101-july
Fairfax County cross-connection control: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/landdevelopment/crossconnections
Fairfax Water Cross-Connection Control Program Manual (June 2021): https://www.fairfaxwater.org/sites/default/files/CCCPM%20Final.pdf
Loudoun Water, Cross-Connection and Backflow: https://www.loudounwater.org/residential-customers/cross-connection-backflow
DC Water backflow fact sheet (2019): https://www.dcwater.com/sites/default/files/bpif_fact_sheets%202019.pdf
Gwinnett County Backflow Prevention Manual: https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/static/departments/water/pdf/Backflow_Prevention_Manual.pdf
DeKalb County Backflow Prevention: https://dekalbcountyga.gov/departments/watershed-management/business-services/backflow-prevention
City of Atlanta Watershed Management, meter purchases: https://atlantawatershed.org/meter-purchases/
Fairfax County private stormwater facility maintenance: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/stormwater/maintenance-and-inspections/private-facility-maintenance
Loudoun County Codified Ordinances § 1096.02: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/loudouncounty/latest/loudounco_va/0-0-0-9754
Montgomery County DEP stormwater inspections: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/department-environmental-protection/water/clean-water-montgomery/stormwater-management/inspections-stormwater-management
Frederick County pond maintenance guidance (Aug. 2023): https://frederickcountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/300403/oes_bmpbro_pond_81723
Gwinnett County Development Ordinance Ch. 800: https://library.municode.com/ga/gwinnett_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=APXAUNDEOR_CH800STMA
DeKalb County Code § 25-363: https://library.municode.com/ga/dekalb_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CODECO_CH25WASESEDI_ARTVSTUT
Cherokee County Development Ordinance § 6.16 (rev. Dec. 2020): https://cherokee.novusagenda.com/AgendaPublic/AttachmentViewer.ashx?AttachmentID=16228&ItemID=5003
City of Atlanta Watershed Management, stormwater ordinance Q&A: https://www.atlantawatershed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/QA-Responses_Final.pdf
U.S. EPA, Stormwater Best Management Practice: Pet Waste Management (Feb. 2023): https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-01/bmp-pet-waste-management.pdf
Disclaimer: This checklist is general guidance, not engineering, legal, or safety advice. Follow your governing documents, your vendors' contracts, and the requirements of your county and water utility.
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