Can my HOA stop me from clearing trees or brush for wildfire defensible space?
Reviewed by the OurHOA team · Updated July 2026
Colorado, California, and Washington limit how far HOA rules can block fire-safe clearing. What the law says and how to get the work done without a fight.
Why the two rulebooks collide
A lot of HOA landscaping guidelines were written for curb appeal: bark mulch in the beds, shrubs planted tight against the foundation, a matching wood fence that ties into the side of the house, and no tree comes down without architectural approval. Those happen to be close to the exact list of things a fire inspector wants gone from the area right around a home. So an owner can get a defensible space notice from the fire department in May and a violation letter from the HOA in June for doing what the first letter asked. Usually nobody on the board meant to create that trap. The guidelines simply predate the fire rules, and nobody went back to reconcile them.
Colorado wrote the clearest rule
Colorado's Common Interest Ownership Act, at section 38-33.3-106.5, says an association cannot prohibit an owner from removing trees, shrubs, or other vegetation to create defensible space around a home, as long as the work follows a written defensible space plan and goes no further than the plan requires. The plan has to come from the Colorado State Forest Service, a person or company certified by a local government to write one, or the fire chief, fire marshal, or fire protection district that covers the property. The owner registers the plan with the association before work starts, and the association can only require changes if whoever wrote the plan agrees to them. What the HOA keeps is control over the details of the job, meaning its standards for slash removal, stump height, revegetation, and contractors. In practice, that makes the order of operations simple: get the plan first, then hand it to the board.
California: fire law wins, and Zone 0 is arriving
California requires defensible space out to 100 feet around structures in fire-prone areas, through Public Resources Code section 4291 for state responsibility areas and Government Code section 51182 for very high fire hazard severity zones in local responsibility areas. The Davis-Stirling Act does not carve out every landscaping rule, but Civil Code section 4205 says that when governing documents conflict with the law, the law prevails, so a CC&R provision that would keep a home out of compliance with fire code is not something the association can enforce. Section 4720 separately bars an association from requiring a roof that violates state fire-retardant roofing standards. The bigger change is Zone 0, the ember-resistant first five feet around a home. The Board of Forestry approved the final regulations on August 19, 2026, pending a last review by the Office of Administrative Law, and existing homes get phased timelines: roughly three years to deal with mulch, wood chips, firewood, dead vegetation, and roof and gutter debris, and up to five years for items like combustible gates and fencing. Any California board whose guidelines require bark mulch against the house or a wood fence attached to it should start rewriting them now rather than waiting for the first owner to ask.
Washington, Utah, and states with no specific statute
Washington's HOA statutes say governing documents may not prohibit wildfire ignition resistant landscaping, defined as landscaping techniques or noninvasive plants that do not readily ignite. An association can still adopt reasonable rules about where that landscaping goes and how it looks, as long as those rules do not make it unreasonably expensive or effectively impossible. Utah's 2025 HOA reform bill, HB 217, also limited how associations can regulate fire-resistant materials in areas with heightened wildfire risk. In most other states there is no statute aimed at this, and the answer turns on your documents and on whether a local ordinance actually requires the clearing. A board that fines an owner for work a city or county fire code required is going to have a hard time explaining that to a judge, but an owner who clear-cuts well past what any inspector asked for has given up that argument.
Doing the work without starting a dispute
Start with something in writing from a fire authority: an inspection report, a defensible space plan, or a notice from the fire district or state forestry agency. Submit an architectural application anyway, attach that document, name the statute if your state has one, and ask for a quick turnaround because fire season does not wait for the next committee meeting. Keep the work tied to the plan, photograph the property before and after, and remember that a city tree ordinance or removal permit can apply on its own regardless of what the HOA says. If the committee denies the request, ask for the denial and the reason in writing, since that is what you will need if you appeal or bring in the fire district to talk to the board.
What the board owes on its own ground
Associations that own greenbelts, slopes, open space, or wooded buffers are property owners too, and the same clearance rules apply to that land. Treat the brush clearing as a recurring budget line, not a one-time project, and look at whether your community could qualify for Firewise USA, the NFPA's neighborhood recognition program, which some insurers recognize when pricing policies. Then fix the guidelines: add a defensible space exception, publish a list of fire-resistant plants and noncombustible ground covers that are pre-approved, and create a fast track for applications that come with a fire authority's plan. OurHOA gives self-managed boards one place to keep architectural applications, the plans attached to them, and each revision of the landscaping guidelines, which helps when an owner asks why their neighbor's clearing was approved in a week. The statutes and local fire rules differ a great deal from state to state and even county to county, so check with your local fire authority and association counsel before rewriting your rules or denying a request.
OurHOA is the friendly, affordable way self-managed communities keep dues, records, and reminders in one place. See how it works.
These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.