How should our HOA board handle political yard signs before and after an election?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 4, 2026

What Texas, Florida and Colorado HOA boards can enforce on political yard signs, when signs must come down after an election, and how to send notices fairly.

Part of the HOA board handbook: residents and communication.

The short answer

Enforce only the sign rules your state allows, enforce them the same way for every candidate, and wait until any protected window closes before you send a single letter. In Texas, a state law shields election signs from the 90th day before an election until the 10th day after it. In Colorado, the association cannot regulate yard signs by their message at all, only by number, size, placement and similar neutral factors. Florida has no political sign statute for homeowners' associations, so the declaration and the board's rules decide. Most sign fights after an election are not about the law. They are about a neighbor who thinks the board waited too long, or moved too fast, on a sign they dislike. A written rule with a fixed date, applied by date and not by candidate, ends most of those arguments before they start. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents, and this guide is general education, not legal advice.

What Texas, Florida and Colorado allow

Texas. The rule sits in the Election Code, not the Property Code. Section 259.002 was moved there from Property Code section 202.009 in 2019. Under 259.002(b), an association may not adopt or enforce a covenant that prohibits an owner from displaying signs for a candidate or measure on the owner's property from the 90th day before the election until the 10th day after it. During that window the association may still require signs to be ground-mounted and may limit an owner to one sign per candidate or measure (259.002(c)). Under 259.002(d) it may prohibit signs larger than four feet by six feet, signs attached to plants, lights, vehicles or other structures, painted architectural surfaces, signs with balloons, lights, streamers or sound, signs that threaten public safety or violate a law, and signs offensive to the ordinary person. Section 259.002(e) lets the association remove a sign that breaks one of those permitted rules. Colorado. Section 38-33.3-106.5(1)(c) of the Colorado Revised Statutes bars an association from prohibiting a sign displayed by an owner or occupant within the unit's boundaries or in a window, and from regulating yard or window signs by subject matter, message or content. Commercial signs can be banned. Everything else must be handled with content-neutral rules on number, placement, size or other objective factors. There is no election window in the Colorado statute. Florida. Section 720.304 protects certain flags, a flagpole and owners' right to assemble, but it does not mention political signs. A Florida association's sign rules come from its declaration and properly adopted rules, enforced through the fine process in section 720.305(2).

Write the rule before the next election

The time to fix a vague sign rule is the quiet year after an election, not October. Pull the declaration's sign clause and any rules the board adopted under it, then check each part against your state's statute. A rule the statute overrides is worse than no rule, because owners will quote it back to you. A workable rule covers five things: which signs it applies to, how many, how big, where on the lot, and how long. In Texas, build the timing around the statutory window and say the date plainly. In Colorado, write one temporary sign rule for all yard signs, whether they are for a candidate, a graduation or a garage sale, because a rule aimed only at political signs regulates by subject. Ask the association's attorney to review the draft and follow the rule-adoption steps in your documents. A motion the board can adapt: "I move that the board adopt the attached temporary sign rule, effective January 1, 2027, after the owner notice period required by our bylaws, and direct the secretary to post it with the governing documents and send it to all owners with the first dues statement of the year."

A sample Texas timeline for the November 3, 2026 election

Election day was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counting back 90 days, the protected window opened on August 5. The 10th day after the election is Friday, November 13, so the protection under 259.002(b) runs until then. - November 4 to 12: Do nothing about the existence of signs. Only the 259.002(c) and (d) limits apply, such as a sign on a common area tree or one larger than four by six feet. - November 9: Post a neutral reminder in the newsletter or community email that election signs may stay up through November 12 and should come down by November 13. - November 16 or later: A director or the manager drives the community once, on one day, and logs every remaining election sign by address with a dated photo, regardless of candidate. - That week: Send a friendly courtesy note to each logged address. - About two weeks after the courtesy note: Recheck the same addresses on one day. For signs still up, send the formal notice under Property Code section 209.006 by certified mail before any fine. It must describe the violation, give a reasonable date to cure and tell the owner they may request a hearing within 30 days. If a race goes to a runoff, a sign for a runoff candidate relates to the runoff election, so check that election's date before treating the sign as late.

Enforce by date and rule, not by candidate

Owners watch sign enforcement more closely than almost anything else a board does, and they read every letter as a political act. Protect the board by making each step mechanical. Inspect the whole community on a single day. Log every sign, not just the ones a neighbor reported. Send the same letter to every address on the list. Keep the log and photos with the violation records. Follow your state's notice steps exactly. In Florida, a fine requires at least 14 days' written notice of the right to a hearing before a committee of at least three members appointed by the board who are not directors, officers or employees, held within 90 days, under 720.305(2)(b). A violation cured before the hearing cannot be fined (720.305(2)(e)). Unless the documents say otherwise, the fine is capped at $100 per violation and $1,000 in total for a continuing violation. In Colorado, section 38-33.3-209.5(1.7)(b) bars daily fines, requires a certified-mail notice giving 30 days to cure, caps total fines for the violation at $500 and requires two 30-day cure periods before legal action. A sign blocking the view at an intersection may qualify for the 72-hour safety notice instead. A director who has a sign in their own yard should step back from deciding any sign case. Our guide on how an HOA board should run a violation hearing covers recusal and the hearing itself.

Candidates, the clubhouse and the association's own channels

Election season brings requests to use the common areas. Since September 1, 2025, Texas Property Code section 202.013 bars an association from prohibiting owners or residents from inviting qualified candidates and government officials to meet with residents in common areas the association makes available for meetings. The association may apply its usual rules on rental fees, deposits, occupancy, hours and reservations. The section does not apply to an association with 501(c)(3) status. Florida section 720.304(1) says an association may not unreasonably restrict an owner's right to invite candidates for public office to speak in common areas. Common areas are not an owner's lot, so the Texas and Colorado sign protections do not reach signs placed in the entrance median, the park or the pool fence. The association can remove those under its own rules. Do it the same day for every campaign. Keep the association's newsletter, email list, website and social media neutral. Announce a candidate forum if an owner books the room, but do not let a director use association channels to endorse anyone.

Wording you can copy

Newsletter reminder, Texas: "Thank you to everyone who voted on November 3. Under state law, election signs may stay up through November 12. Please remove yours by Friday, November 13. After that date, our rules on yard signs apply again, and we will check the whole community on the same day." Courtesy note: "During a community drive on November 16, we noted an election sign at your address. Our sign rule asks owners to remove election signs by the 10th day after an election. Please remove it within 14 days. If the sign is for a candidate in an upcoming runoff, reply to this note and we will update our records. This note is not a fine." Our guide on how to write an HOA courtesy violation letter has more on tone and what to include.

Mistakes boards make

- Quoting Texas Property Code 202.009 in a letter. The section moved to Election Code 259.002 in 2019, and an owner who checks will notice. - Sending letters during the protected window because a neighbor complained. - Inspecting only the streets where a complaint came from. - Writing a Colorado rule that applies only to political signs. - Pulling a sign off an owner's lawn without notice. Even where 259.002(e) allows removal, a notice first keeps the dispute about the sign and not about someone entering the lot. - Letting the campaign of a director's friend keep a sign in the entrance median for a week longer than everyone else. - Leaving the old sign clause in the declaration unreviewed for another four years.

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.

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