Legally, in USA, associations are not permitted to conduct background checks on 'new owners'. So, they would not be able to charge for such a search.
Individual unit owners may be able to conduct checks on prospective tenants.
Co-ops may be able to assess prospective investors, and this is made clear prior to the consummation of any purchase in a co-op.
Read your governing documents to determine how the fees should be charged, whether they should be charged to a limited number of owners, or to all owners in the association. Apparently, a citation was required to settle a difference of opinion among owners, or between owners and the board. Yes, this is association business, and yes, the fees should be charged to owners.
Norwegian Forest Owners Association was created in 1913.
National Association of Theatre Owners was created in 1965.
Not without the consent of the person the information concerns. Without consent the association is breaking the Data Protection Act, or a similar law depending on your country.
National Association of Women Business Owners was created in 1975.
It may not be legal for an association to be in the business of running background checks -- your association counsel can advise you. When an owner runs a background -- and financial check -- on a prospective tenant, as any landlord would do, the owner can produce a receipt as proof to the association that a background check was completed. There is no reason for the association to be privy to the contents of such a check. Common interest communities called co-ops, however, are a totally different form of real estate and these boards reserve the right to inspect any prospective buyer's background and financial situation.
If the association is registered in your state as a corporation, and the board is willing to spend assessment dollars to pay for such a check, this process must bear scrutiny. If the association owns space it wants to rent or lease, then the association's responsibility is to verify the person it intends to contract with as a tenant. This is not a general practice for an association, unless this process is documented in its governing documents, and therefore, background checks are obtained for all residents/ occupants.
They can if the streets are owned by the home owners' association rather than by a municipality.
Property Owners' Association (similar to Homeowners' Association)
A homeowners association cannot be a mandatory association without the consent of 100% of the property owners in the development attempting to establish an association. In addition to the consent of the property owners, the association must follow certain procedures and file the proper documents in order to subject the property to the association's rule.
If the 'neighborhood' is composed of owners in the association, then owners can vote to remove a set of directors. Your governing documents document this process. The association, however, requires leadership, so the owners will be required to elect a new set of directors to lead the business of the association.
They are all different.