A neighbor says another owner's floodlight shines into their home. What should our HOA board do?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 25, 2026

How an HOA board handles a complaint about a neighbor's floodlight or security light: a night check, a light reading, cheap fixes, the letters and a lighting rule.

Part of the HOA board handbook: residents and communication.

The short answer

Treat it as a fixable problem before you treat it as a violation. Find the rule that covers it, go look at the light after dark from the complaining neighbor's side, and ask the owner for a specific fix: aim the head down, add a shield, or switch it to a motion sensor. Most of these end with a ladder and a shield or a new bulb. The board only needs the formal notice and hearing process when the owner refuses and your documents give you something to enforce. Two things make this harder than a noise complaint. The light is usually there for security, so the owner feels the board is asking them to be less safe. And the light is on every night, so the evidence is easy to get but the argument is personal. Rules vary by state, by city lighting ordinance and by your declaration and adopted rules. This guide is general education, not legal advice.

Find the rule before you write anything

Look in three places. First, the declaration's nuisance clause. Most say something like 'no activity that is a nuisance or annoyance to other owners,' and a floodlight pointed into a bedroom window can fit, but it asks the board to make a judgment call. Second, the architectural guidelines. Many communities require approval for new exterior fixtures, so check whether this light was approved, and if so, what the approval said about location and type. A light installed without approval is a cleaner case than a light the committee signed off on. Third, any lighting rule the board adopted, such as a requirement that fixtures be shielded or aimed down. Then check the city. Some cities limit how much light can cross a property line. Fairview, Texas, for example, caps light trespass at 0.20 footcandles at the property line in its District 2 and requires perimeter security lights to run on motion sensors. If your city has a rule like that, the neighbor can call code enforcement directly, and the board can say so. If none of the three documents covers it and the city has no ordinance, the board has nothing to enforce. Say that kindly and offer to ask the owner for a voluntary fix.

Look at it at night, from the neighbor's side

Set a time after dark and send one director, or two if the neighbors are already feuding. Stand on the complaining owner's lot or in the street, never on the other owner's lot. Take three photos: the fixture itself, the light landing on the neighbor's house or window, and a wide shot showing both homes. Note whether the head points above horizontal. A floodlight tilted even slightly above horizontal throws light across the yard and into the next house. If you want a number, a basic handheld light meter reads in lux or footcandles. One footcandle is about 10.76 lux, so Fairview's 0.20 footcandle limit is a little over 2 lux. Hold the meter at the property line facing the light, and take a second reading with the light off if the owner will flip it for you, so you know how much comes from streetlights and porch lights. A meter reading matters most where the city or your rule sets a number. Where the rule just says 'nuisance,' the photos and a written note of what the director saw usually carry more weight. Write the date, time, who looked, and what they saw in the complaint file that night.

Fixes that keep the owner's security

Go to the owner with a short menu, cheapest first, and make it clear the board is not asking them to go dark. Re-aim the head so it points down at the driveway or yard, below horizontal. Add a shield or hood on the side facing the neighbor. Swap the fixture for one that is fully shielded, meaning no light leaves above the bottom of the fixture. Texas law uses a similar idea for state-funded lighting: Health and Safety Code section 425.001 defines a cutoff luminaire as one that sends 2.5 percent or less of its light above the horizontal plane through its lowest part. That statute does not apply to a private home, but it is a useful benchmark to quote. Put the light on a motion sensor so it comes on when someone walks up and goes off after a few minutes. Lower the output or choose a warmer bulb. Each of these keeps the area lit when it matters. Ask the owner which one they will do and by when. If the owner agrees, write it down in a short email and go back after dark two weeks later to confirm.

When the owner says no: notice and hearing

If the owner refuses and your documents cover it, follow the same enforcement steps you would for any violation, and follow your state's notice rules exactly. Our guide on how an HOA board should handle a noise or nuisance complaint walks through intake, the complaint log and the courtesy letter in detail. The state rules in brief: in Texas, Property Code section 209.006 requires written notice by certified mail that describes the violation, gives a reasonable period to cure if it is curable, and tells the owner they may request a hearing under section 209.007 on or before the 30th day after the notice was mailed. A light that can be re-aimed or shielded is about as curable as violations get, so give a real cure date. In Florida, section 720.305(2) requires at least 14 days' written notice and a hearing before a committee of at least three members who are not officers, directors or employees, and caps a fine at $100 per violation and $1,000 total for a continuing violation unless the governing documents say otherwise. In Colorado, section 38-33.3-209.5(2) bars any fine unless the association has adopted a written fine policy with notice and a chance to be heard before an impartial decision maker. Section 38-33.3-209.5(1.7)(b) adds certified mail notice with 30 days to cure and an inspection before a fine, and caps total fines at $500 for a violation that does not threaten public safety or health.

If your rules say nothing, adopt a lighting rule

Boards that get one floodlight complaint usually get more, and fighting each one under a vague nuisance clause is slow. A short lighting rule makes the next one simple. Follow your bylaws and state law for adopting rules, and send the rule to every owner before you enforce it. A version you can adapt: 'Exterior lights on a lot must be aimed or shielded so that the light source is not directly visible from another lot or a street. Floodlights and spotlights must point below horizontal. Security lights brighter than a standard porch light must be on a motion sensor that turns them off within 10 minutes. Holiday lighting allowed under Rule 6 is exempt during the posted holiday period.' Leave out a footcandle limit unless the board is ready to measure it; a 'not directly visible' test is easier for volunteers to apply. If your city already sets a number, quote the city code in the rule instead of writing your own. Coastal Florida communities have another layer. Florida Statutes section 161.163 directs the state to designate sea turtle nesting areas and set guidelines for local beachfront lighting ordinances, and many coastal cities and counties restrict exterior lights during nesting season. Your rule should point owners to that ordinance rather than conflict with it. For a light the association owns, such as a streetlight, see our guide on handling a complaint about glare from an HOA streetlight.

A sample timeline and a request the board can copy

Day 0: the complaint arrives in writing and goes in the log. Days 1 to 5: a director looks at the light after dark and writes up what they saw. Day 7: a friendly letter or email to the owner with the fix menu. Day 21: a second look at night. Day 30: if nothing changed and a rule covers it, the board votes to send the state-required notice. After the cure period and any hearing, the board decides on a fine under its adopted schedule. A paragraph you can adapt for the first letter: 'A neighbor has told the board that the floodlight on the east side of your garage shines into their bedroom window. A director looked at it on the evening of October 14 and saw the light reaching the second-floor window of the home next door. Article 8 of the declaration prohibits conditions that are a nuisance to other owners. The board is not asking you to remove the light. Any one of these would solve it: aiming the head down toward your driveway, adding a shield on the east side, or putting it on a motion sensor. Please let us know by November 1 which you plan to do.' Don't name the neighbor. The owner will probably guess, but the letter should not confirm it.

Mistakes boards make

Sending a violation notice before anyone has looked at the light at night. Asking the owner to remove a security light when a shield would do. Treating a phone app reading as precise. Walking onto the owner's lot to take a reading. Citing a lighting rule that was never formally adopted or sent to owners. Enforcing against one floodlight while a director's own yard lights blaze until 2 a.m. Promising the complaining neighbor a result the documents don't support. And letting the complaint sit for a month, which turns a ten-minute fix into a feud. A night visit, a short fix menu and a written follow-up resolve most of these without a hearing.

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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