If you’re like many people, you know that buying a home in a community that has a homeowners association means that you’ll have to abide by certain rules – but did you know that these associations (commonly called HOAs) have some limitations? Here are five things they can’t do.

5 Things Your Homeowners Association Can’t Do

Your HOA can restrict what colors you can use when you repaint your house, tell you that you have to keep your dog on a leash or that you can’t park an RV in the street – but there are five things your HOA can’t do:

  1. Make you do – or prohibit you from doing – anything that’s not listed in the CC&Rs
  2. Take down your satellite dish
  3. Prohibit you from growing native plants in your yard
  4. Prevent you from going to court
  5. Stop you from filing objections or asking for new rules

Here’s a closer look at each.

HOA No-Go #1: Make you do – or prohibit you from doing – anything that’s not listed in the CC&Rs

When you become part of a homeowners association, you agree to abide by the association’s rules – and those are clearly outlined in the HOA’s Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, or CC&Rs. If something isn’t in there, it’s not “outlawed” by your HOA. For example, if there’s no regulation that says you can’t have a pink mailbox, you can have a pink mailbox’ if the HOA doesn’t like it, it’ll have to pass a bylaw that says pink mailboxes aren’t allowed in the community before it orders you to take it down.

HOA No-Go #2: Take down your satellite dish

Thanks to the Federal Communications Commission’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule, you’re allowed to have your satellite dish up at your home. Your HOA can’t force you to take it down – even if there are antenna restrictions in your CC&Rs. (Those old restrictions are likely relics from the 1990s, before the FCC rule went into effect.) 

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HOA No-Go #3: Prohibit you from growing native plants in your yard

In the state of Texas, you’re legally allowed to grow native plants in your yard – even if the HOA doesn’t like them. You can push back if your HOA has a rule against agave plants, for example, because Texas state law protects your right to grow environmentally friendly plants in your own space.

HOA No-Go #4: Prevent you from going to court

Even if your HOA’s CC&Rs say that you aren’t allowed to take the association to court, that’s not the case. That doesn’t mean you should go straight to court if the HOA does something you don’t like, though; you should always try to go straight to the board. You can demand a hearing with the HOA board any time you’d like – but if they don’t give you time to speak your mind, you can take your issue to court. 

Pro Tip: If you’re thinking of taking your HOA to court, remember that the people on the board are likely your neighbors. You should always try to resolve your issues at the lowest level – that is, with the HOA board – before heading to the legal system for justice.

HOA No-Go #5: Stop you from filing objections or asking for new rules

All members of an HOA are entitled to file objections, lodge complaints and ask for new rules to be put in place. You pay HOA dues, which means you have the right to a say in what happens in and around your neighborhood. The catch: You have to follow the proper procedures, and make sure you file your objections in a timely manner.

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