How should an HOA board handle a film crew or photographer asking to shoot on common area?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 20, 2026

How an HOA board answers a film crew or photographer who wants to shoot on common area: authority, location agreement, insurance, city permits, fees and notice.

Part of the HOA board handbook: residents and communication.

The short answer

Treat the request as a short-term license to use association property, not as a favor. Find out exactly what the crew wants to do and where, confirm the board has the authority to grant the use, and put the answer in a written location agreement signed before anyone unloads a truck. The agreement should name the dates and hours, the areas the crew may use, the parking plan, the insurance the production carries, the fee and deposit, and what happens if something gets damaged. If the shoot touches a public street, the city's film or right-of-way permit is a separate requirement the production has to handle. Rules differ by state and by your declaration, so read your own governing documents first. This guide is general education, not legal advice. It covers the board's side of the request. For the owner's side, when a production wants to film at someone's house, see our guide on whether an HOA can stop you from filming a movie or photo shoot at your home.

Sort the request before you answer it

Requests come in three sizes, and they need different answers. The smallest is a portrait photographer with one client who wants the gazebo or the pond at sunset for an hour. The middle is a real estate, commercial or student shoot with a few people, light stands and maybe a drone. The largest is a production company with a grip truck, a generator, catering and a crew of twenty or more. Ask the requester for the same facts every time: the company name and a contact, the dates and the hours including setup and teardown, the number of people and vehicles, the exact spots they want, any equipment that needs power or touches the ground, any drone, and whether there will be special effects, open flames or loud noise. Ask who owns the pavement, too. If the association owns the streets, the board controls parking and staging there. If the streets were dedicated to the city, the city's permit controls the street and the board controls only the common area and anything behind the property line.

Check that the board can grant the use and charge for it

In Colorado, the Common Interest Ownership Act gives associations these powers without specific language in the declaration. Section 38-33.3-302(1)(i) lets the association grant easements, leases, licenses and concessions through or over the common elements, and 302(1)(j) lets it impose and receive fees for the use, rental or operation of the common elements. One catch: section 38-33.3-117 does not extend the 302(1)(i) license power to communities created before July 1, 1992, so an older Colorado community should look to its declaration. In Texas, Property Code section 204.010(a)(8) and (a)(9) give the same two powers, but chapter 204 covers only subdivisions in a few large counties, mainly Harris County, under section 204.002. Most Texas associations must find the power in the declaration or bylaws. Florida's chapter 720 has no section that grants licenses or use fees outright. Section 720.303(1) points to the governing documents, and section 617.0302(9) lets a nonprofit corporation lease or use real property unless its articles or bylaws say otherwise. If your documents are silent or unclear, ask the association's attorney before you sign anything that runs longer than a day.

Write the location agreement

A production company will often send its own location agreement form. Read theirs, but keep a one-page association addendum that controls if the two conflict. The addendum should cover the dates, the hours on site with a hard stop, the map of areas the crew may use and areas that stay open to residents, where crew vehicles park and where they may not, a ban on blocking driveways, mailboxes, fire hydrants and gates, a rule that nothing is nailed, staked or taped to association property without approval, a cleanup standard with a walk-through before the crew leaves, a damage clause that makes the production pay for repairs, an indemnity in favor of the association, and the name and cell number of a production contact who will be on site the whole time. Name one director as the association's contact. The Texas Film Commission's permitting overview notes that filming on private property needs no state permit but does need permission from the property owner in a valid location agreement. In Texas, that means the board's signed agreement is the permission. Without it, the crew has nothing.

Insurance and city permits

Ask for a certificate of insurance showing commercial general liability, with the association named as an additional insured, before the agreement is signed. City requirements give you a sense of what is normal. Austin requires $500,000 per occurrence with the City as additional insured for filming on most City property. Denver's film rules require $1,000,000 with the City as additional insured and a certificate dated within 30 days of the first production day. Miami-Dade County also asks for at least $1,000,000 naming the County. Asking for the same $1,000,000 and the same additional insured wording for association property is reasonable for anything bigger than a portrait session. Our guide on how to check a vendor certificate of insurance walks through reading the form. City permits are the production's job, but ask for a copy. Austin requires a right-of-way permit for filming in the public right of way, including still photography. Denver does not require a permit for filming entirely on private property, and its rules allow the city to require notice to nearby residents. Miami Beach requires productions to notify directly affected businesses and residents.

Drones, fees and taxes

If the crew plans to fly a drone, ask for the pilot's FAA Remote Pilot Certificate and the drone's registration. The FAA requires both for drones under 55 pounds flown for work or business under Part 107. As the landowner, the association decides whether the crew may launch and land on common area, and can require that it stay away from the pool and the playground while people are there. Set a fee in advance rather than haggling each time: a flat day rate for large productions, a smaller rate for small commercial shoots, and a refundable damage deposit held until after the walk-through. A simple split is to let residents take personal photos on common area for free and charge only for commercial work. Taxes matter here. The IRS instructions for Form 1120-H say payments from nonmembers are not exempt function income. That income is taxed at a flat 30 percent rate after a $100 specific deduction. A location fee from a production company is payment from a nonmember, so give the treasurer the agreement and the deposit records, and tell your tax preparer about the income at year end.

Tell owners and adopt a standing rule

Once the agreement is signed, tell owners at least a week ahead. A notice can read: 'A production company will be filming at the north pond and the pool parking lot on Saturday, June 6, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The pool stays open. Crew vehicles will park only in the overflow lot. The on-site contact is [name, cell]. Please call [director, cell] with any problem on the day.' After one or two requests, write a standing rule so the next one does not start from zero. A sample motion: 'Move to adopt the Common Area Filming and Photography Rule, which requires a signed location agreement, a certificate of insurance of at least $1,000,000 naming the association as additional insured, the fee and deposit in the attached schedule, and at least seven days' notice to owners for any shoot using more than three vehicles.' In Texas, adopted rules are dedicatory instruments under Property Code section 202.001(1), and section 209.0051(h)(10) requires an open meeting with notice to owners to adopt one. In Florida, section 720.303(2)(c)2 requires 14 days' mailed or delivered and posted notice before a meeting that will consider rules on parcel use, so check whether your rule touches lots and not only common area.

Mistakes boards make

The most common mistake is a director saying yes in a text message. The crew shows up, there is no agreement and no insurance, and the board has no lever if a truck cracks a curb. The second is treating the city permit as permission. A city permit lets the crew use public property and says nothing about the association's land. The third is inconsistency. A board that waves through a director's friend and turns down the next request invites a fairness complaint, so apply the standing rule the same way to everyone. The fourth is skipping the walk-through. Walk the site with the production contact before the crew leaves, take dated photos, and sign off before you release the deposit. The last is forgetting the money after it arrives. Record the fee as nonmember income, keep the deposit separate until it is refunded, and file the signed agreement, the certificate and the photos with the association's records.

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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