HOA Architectural Review Committee: Role and Process

An HOA architectural committee reviews owners’ requests to change the outside of their homes, then approves or denies each request against the community’s recorded design standards. In many homeowners associations (HOAs), the committee makes that decision itself, with no separate board vote.

Owners usually meet the committee when they want to paint, add a fence, put up a shed, or replace a roof. Board members meet it when they appoint volunteers and set the standards those volunteers apply. Both sides need the same facts: where the committee’s power comes from, how a request moves through review, and what happens after a denial.

This is general information, not legal advice. Architectural review rules come from each community’s recorded documents and state law, and they vary by state, by community and by governing document. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.

What an Architectural Review Committee Does

An architectural review committee reviews owner applications for exterior changes and approves or denies each one against the community’s standards. The committee goes by several names: architectural review committee (ARC), architectural control committee, or architectural review board. All three names refer to the same job.

The requests that reach the committee typically involve paint, fences, sheds, additions, roofing and landscaping. The committee reads each application, compares it with the community’s standards, and issues a decision.

Many governing documents give the ARC direct authority to approve or deny architectural applications without a separate board vote, because the committee’s charter is itself the delegation of authority. Most other HOA committees are advisory only.

Most self-managed communities under roughly 75 to 100 homes get by with one or two standing committees, typically an ARC and a social committee. Our guide to which HOA committees you need covers the rest of the committee structure.

Where the HOA Architectural Committee Gets Its Authority

An HOA architectural committee has only the authority that its community’s recorded governing documents and state law give it. An association draws its power from two sources. The first is its recorded governing documents: the declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs), the bylaws, and any adopted rules. The second is state law. Neither the association nor any of its committees has authority beyond what those two sources grant.

For architectural review, the documents that matter most are the recorded declaration and any design guidelines. Together they set the committee’s authority and its procedure. If an owner wants to know what the ARC can review, how it must decide, or whether its decision stands without the board, the answer sits in those documents. Our overview of HOA governing documents explains each document and how they fit together.

Law sits above every community document. Where a valid federal or state law conflicts with a governing document or a board rule, the law controls.

The Review Process

The architectural review process starts with a written application from the owner and ends with a written decision from the committee, with a possible appeal to the board. The typical sequence has four steps:

1. The owner submits an application. The request describes the planned exterior change. Our architectural request form gives owners and boards a starting template.
2. The committee reviews the application. Members compare the request against the community’s design guidelines.
3. The committee issues a written decision. The result is one of three outcomes: approved, approved with conditions, or denied.
4. The owner may appeal to the board. An appeal is available where the governing documents or state law provide one.

The timing rules differ from one community to the next. Review deadlines are set by the governing documents or state law. The same goes for whether a request counts as approved when the committee misses a deadline, and for the steps of an appeal. Those rules vary, so no single deadline applies to every community.

Read the timing and approval clauses in your own recorded declaration and design guidelines, which our governing documents guide explains how to locate. Then submit the application early enough to absorb the longest review period the documents allow.

What Owners Usually Need Approval For

Owners usually need ARC approval for changes to the exterior of their property, including the common categories listed in the first section. The governing documents define the full list for a given community.

Common requests cover exterior paint, fences, sheds, additions, roofing and landscaping, each reviewed against the community’s standards.

Some projects raise their own questions beyond the committee’s design standards. Owners planning outdoor structures can read whether an HOA can make you remove a shed or fence. For panels on the roof, see whether an HOA can deny solar panels. For roofing material, see whether an HOA can deny a metal roof.

Running a Fair HOA Architectural Committee

A fair architectural committee applies the same written standards to every owner and records every decision in writing. Members are typically volunteer owners appointed by the board. Boards should adopt clear written standards so decisions are consistent.

Board-side practices that keep the committee consistent:

• Keep decisions in writing. A written decision tells the owner what the committee decided.
• Apply the standards the same way to every owner. Two identical fences should get the same answer.
• Disclose conflicts of interest. Members should disclose conflicts of interest, and our board conflict of interest guide covers how to handle it.

Inconsistent approvals invite selective enforcement claims. Our guide to selective enforcement in an HOA explains how those claims work.

Boards that lack written design standards can start from our HOA rules and regulations template. Any standard the board adopts still has to fit within the recorded declaration and state law.

If You Were Denied or Skipped Approval

An owner whose request was denied can often appeal to the board, and an owner who built without approval risks being asked to undo the change. The two situations call for different first moves.

After a denial, start with the written decision. It states the outcome. Next, look for an appeal procedure in the governing documents or state law, because the appeal steps vary by community. If the denial looks inconsistent with approvals given to other owners, collect the details of those approvals for the appeal.

The association may ask the owner to undo the change, and our guide on whether an HOA can force architectural changes covers that question. If the association also moves to fine the owner, state law may shape the process:

• Many states require written notice and a chance for a hearing before a fine becomes final.
• In Florida, Section 720.305 caps fines at $100 per violation and $1,000 in total for a single continuing violation, unless the governing documents set a different limit.
• In California, Civil Code Section 5850 generally bars a fine when the member cures the violation before the hearing or commits in writing to a cure plan.
• In Texas, Property Code Chapter 209 requires at least 30 days of written notice before a fine takes effect, along with a chance to cure and request a hearing.

Rules vary by state, by community and by governing document, so a licensed attorney in your state can tell you which rules apply to a specific dispute. Before your next exterior project, submit a written application to your HOA architectural committee and keep its written decision with your property records.