How long does an HOA have to approve or deny an architectural request?
By OurHOA · General information · Revised
The deadline usually comes from your declaration, not state law. How deemed-approval clauses work, when the clock starts, and what to do when the committee never answers.
The clock is usually in your own documents
There is no national rule giving an association 30 days to answer an architectural application. The number, when there is one, almost always comes from the declaration or the architectural guidelines, and 30, 45, and 60 days are the common choices. Some documents set a deadline with no consequence attached, which makes it a promise rather than a remedy. Others say an application not acted on within the period is deemed approved, which is a far stronger provision. Read the exact sentence before relying on it, because everything downstream depends on its wording: whether the period runs from receipt or from the committee's next regular meeting, whether it counts calendar or business days, and what the association has to do to stop the clock. If the documents are silent, the fallback in most states is a reasonableness standard, and silence alone is not approval.
What a deemed approval actually requires
Owners lose these arguments on proof far more often than on law. A deemed-approval clause typically depends on a complete application delivered the way the documents specify, and committees routinely restart or pause the period by requesting more information, which is usually permitted. The approval you get by default also covers only what was submitted: if the plans showed a six-foot fence and you built eight, the clause protects the six. A deemed approval does not cure a substantive problem either. It does not waive a setback in the declaration, override a use restriction, or substitute for a municipal permit, so an improvement can be deemed approved by the committee and still violate a covenant or a building code. Treat it as a procedural backstop, not a green light.
Where state law adds a timetable
A few states regulate the process itself. California Civil Code section 4765 requires the association's architectural procedure to be fair, reasonable, and expeditious, to provide for prompt deadlines, and to state the maximum time for a response to an application and to a request for reconsideration by the board; the decision must be in writing, and a disapproval has to include an explanation and a description of the reconsideration procedure. Section 4765(c) also requires the association to notify members annually of the requirements for approval. Texas Property Code section 209.00505 works on the back end rather than the front, requiring a written denial that describes the basis in reasonable detail, letting the owner request a hearing on or before the 30th day after the notice, and requiring the board to hold that hearing within 30 days of the request. Florida Statutes section 720.3035 limits an association's architectural authority to standards actually set out in the published governing documents, but does not impose a general response deadline, so in Florida the declaration is again where the clock lives.
Start the clock so you can prove when it started
Submit a complete package the first time: a site plan with dimensions and setbacks, elevations or manufacturer specifications, materials and colors, and the contractor's license and insurance. Send it the way the documents require, not the way that is easiest, and keep proof of delivery, whether that is a certified mail receipt, a portal timestamp, or a written acknowledgment from the manager. Ask in the cover note that the association confirm the date the application was received and the date a decision is due. When the deadline is close and nothing has arrived, write again, state the submission date and the provision you are relying on, and ask for a written decision. That short email is what turns a vague grievance into a documented timeline.
When the committee never answers
Silence is usually a scheduling failure rather than a decision, and the fastest fix is administrative. Ask the board to put the application on the agenda of its next open meeting, since a committee that cannot reach a quorum does not relieve the board of the duty to decide. If that does not work, send a written demand that identifies the application, the dates, and the provision, and asks for a decision by a specific date. Several states route disputes like this into alternative dispute resolution before court: in California, Civil Code section 5930 generally requires the parties to try alternative dispute resolution before filing an enforcement action about the governing documents. Building on the strength of a deemed approval you have not documented is the expensive path, because the association's response is an enforcement letter, and our guide on whether an HOA can make you remove an unapproved improvement covers how those usually end.
The approval is a record, not a moment
Whatever the answer is, get it in writing and keep it with the conditions attached to it, the drawings that were approved, and the date. Our guide on how HOA architectural review works covers the rest of the submission process. Associations create most of these disputes by accident, through a committee that meets irregularly, a manager change, or an application that arrives in one person's inbox and never reaches the file.
Sources
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.