A registered sex offender moved into our HOA. What can the board do?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 8, 2026

What an HOA board can do when owners report a registered sex offender: checking the registry, answering owners, neutral safety rules, and Florida's new pool rule.

Part of the HOA board handbook: residents and communication.

The direct answer

In most communities, the board cannot remove a registered person, block a sale or lease, or bar that person from the pool because of a registry listing. An owner's rights come from the declaration, and a listing does not cancel them. The board still has work to do. Confirm what the official record says, answer frightened owners with one consistent message, keep safety rules neutral, and send anything about conduct or legal compliance to the police or the supervising officer. Do not send a flyer in the association's name. Rules vary by state and by governing documents, and this guide is education, not legal advice. Call the association's attorney before the board takes any action aimed at one household.

Check the official record, and keep it small

The first report usually arrives as a screenshot. Have one officer check the state registry: the Texas Department of Public Safety site, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement site, or the Colorado Bureau of Investigation site. The national search at nsopw.gov links to those state records. Treat a match as a lead. Texas DPS warns that name searches are not always accurate and that only fingerprints positively tie a person to a record. FDLE says it does not independently confirm what it publishes. The Justice Department tells users of the national site to verify with the local agency. So compare the photo, the birth date and the address, and call the agency named in the record if anything looks off. A blank search proves nothing either. Colorado's site lists only certain registrants, and section 16-22-112(2)(a) has local police release information on other registered adults to people who live in their jurisdiction. Keep the result with that officer. It does not go to the owner email list or the newsletter.

Know what the government already tells neighbors

Notification is a government job. In Texas, Code of Criminal Procedure article 62.056 has DPS mail or deliver written notice when a person with a risk level of three moves, covering a three-block area in a subdivided neighborhood, within 10 days after the move. Lower risk levels do not get that mailing, so an owner may find a listing no neighbor was told about. In Florida, section 775.21(7) requires the sheriff or police chief to notify the community of a sexual predator's presence, and section 943.043 adds a public website and a toll-free number. If owners want more, ask the police department's community officer to answer their questions or attend a meeting.

What the board usually has no power to do

Read the declaration before anyone promises owners anything. Without a restriction on registrants, the board has no rule to enforce. Amending the declaration to add one is a legal question, not a drafting chore. In Mulligan v. Panther Valley, a 2001 New Jersey case over an amendment barring the highest-tier registrants, the appeals court reversed the judgment upholding it, refused to decide its validity on a thin record, and voiced concern about housing access and vigilantism. That is no green light, and we found nothing in the Texas, Florida or Colorado HOA statutes authorizing such a ban. Section 3604 of the federal Fair Housing Act does not list criminal history, but it protects spouses, children and other household members on the grounds it does list, so singling out a household carries its own risk. California Penal Code section 290.46(j) bars using information from its registry website for purposes relating to housing or accommodations, or a business's services, except to protect a person at risk, with damages and a civil penalty of up to $25,000. Our guide on whether an HOA can ban someone from the community explains why owners are the hardest group to exclude.

Answer owners with one message, and skip the flyer

A notice on association letterhead naming a resident looks like an official finding. If the record is stale or the name belongs to someone else, the association has published a false statement about a neighbor. Even a correct notice can feed threats against a spouse or a child. The Justice Department warns that using registry information to threaten, intimidate or harass may bring criminal or civil liability, and Texas DPS says much the same. Florida section 775.21(10)(d) makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly distribute false information as if it were a public record, or to alter a public record to misrepresent it. Colorado's section 16-22-112(1) says the information is not meant for retribution. Owners can search public records themselves. The board does not broadcast them. Use this reply for every inquiry: 'Thank you for telling us. The board has no authority to decide who may live here based on a registry listing, and we do not publish information about individual residents. State sex offender registries are public, and you can search them at nsopw.gov. If you saw something that worries you, call [police non-emergency number], or 911 in an emergency, and then let the board know if it happened on common property.' On any list or page the association runs, allow the registry link and remove posts with names, addresses or photos. Our guide on negative posts on Nextdoor or Facebook covers the groups the board does not control.

Tighten safety rules for everyone

Owners really want to know whether their kids are safe, and a registry check does not answer that. Colorado requires law enforcement to attach this warning when it releases registry information: 'Persons should not rely solely on the sex offender registry as a safeguard against perpetrators of sexual assault in their communities.' Check that the playground and pool sight lines are clear, gates latch, restrooms lock from inside, and lights work. Enforce the existing guest and child supervision rules at the pool. For children's events and programs, require two adults at every activity, no one-on-one time away from the group, and a registry check of every volunteer who will work with children, including directors (in California, ask counsel first because of section 290.46). Adopt changes at an open meeting and write them for all residents. Sample motion: 'Moved to adopt the Youth Activity Volunteer Policy as presented, applying to all volunteers at association programs for minors.' Do not name a person, in the motion or the minutes. Then enforce conduct. If someone follows children or makes threats, residents call the police, and the board handles any rule violation through its normal notice and hearing process.

Supervision, residency and eligibility rules

Some registrants carry conditions the board cannot see or enforce. Under Texas Government Code section 508.187, a parole panel can keep certain releasees away from places where children gather, and Local Government Code section 341.906 lets general-law cities restrict registrants within up to 1,000 feet of such places. If an owner suspects a violation, the call goes to the police or the supervising officer. Nobody should confront the person. Florida changed its law this year, and it reaches HOA amenities. Chapter 2026-17, effective July 1, 2026, added section 775.215(4), which bars people convicted of listed offenses with a victim under 16 from living within 1,000 feet of a school, child care facility, park, playground or public swimming pool. The definition of that pool expressly includes pools serving subdivisions, condominiums and townhouses, gated or not, unless the operator bars anyone under 18. It covers offenses on or after that date and people under the older residency rules who change their permanent residence after it. Whether it applies to a given person depends on facts the board does not have, so give the sheriff the pool and playground locations and let that office decide. A new amenity will not force anyone out, because the statute protects a resident when the facility comes later. Section 856.022(3) also makes loitering within 500 feet of congregating children a crime for people with listed offenses against minors. Board seats have their own rules. Texas Property Code section 209.00591(b) removes a director when the board receives documented law enforcement evidence of a felony or crime of moral turpitude conviction within the past 20 years. Florida section 720.306(9)(b) bars felons from the board until their civil rights have been restored for five years. A registry entry is not always a felony, so read the record with counsel. Florida section 775.21(10)(b) makes it a felony for a sexual predator with certain convictions to volunteer where children regularly congregate.

The first week, and mistakes to avoid

Day 1: one officer checks the registry and tells the president. Day 2: the president gives directors the reply above and names one person to send it. Day 3: call the attorney and the police community officer. Within 2 weeks: review the declaration, walk the amenities, and put neutral rule changes on the next open agenda. Discuss the person only with the attorney, in closed session if your state allows one for legal advice, and keep names out of the minutes. A director knocks on the door to 'welcome' the new owner and ask questions. The board adds a rule only one household could violate. The manager tells a prospective buyer about a neighbor. In Texas, article 62.056(e) says sellers, landlords and their agents have no duty to disclose registrants, so there is no reason for a board to volunteer it. The board promises the neighborhood is safe, which it cannot know. And no one logs the calls, so when an owner says the board ignored a report, there is nothing to show. Record the date, the concern and where it went, and keep that log with the association's legal files.

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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