What should an HOA board do when an owner builds without architectural approval?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 20, 2026

A board's steps when an owner builds a fence, shed or patio without HOA architectural approval: after-the-fact review, notice and cure, deadlines and removal.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

Two questions, kept apart

When a shed or fence shows up without an application, the board has two separate questions to answer. First: would we have approved this project if the owner had asked? Second: what do we do about the fact that they didn't ask? Boards that mix the two end up ordering a tasteful patio torn out to make a point, or waving through a 7-foot fence because the owner was apologetic. The usual sequence is to verify the facts, invite an after-the-fact application with a deadline, review the project on its merits, and only move to formal violation notices if the owner ignores the request or the project fails the standards. Rules vary by state and by your declaration, so read this as a general outline, not legal advice, and bring in the association's attorney before any lawsuit or removal.

Verify before you write anything

Start with the record, not the owner. Pull the lot file and the ARC log to make sure an application wasn't submitted and lost, or approved by a prior committee and never filed. Then read the declaration and the architectural guidelines for this exact item. Some declarations only require approval for structures, not for flat patios or plantings, and Florida section 720.3035(1)(a) limits an association's review authority to what the declaration or published standards state or reasonably imply. Florida also bars rules on interior changes that can't be seen from the street, a neighbor's lot, common area or a golf course, and (since 2026) bars requiring a building permit before the association reviews an application. Photograph the work from the street or common area with the date, and don't walk onto the lot without permission. Write down when the board first learned of it. That date matters later.

Invite an after-the-fact application

Most owners who skip review didn't know it applied, or thought a contractor handled it. Give them a clean way back in. Send a short letter that names the improvement, cites the section of the declaration that requires approval, and asks for a complete application within a set period, such as 30 days. Wording a board can adapt: 'Our records show a new storage shed at the rear of your lot. Section 7.2 of the Declaration requires Architectural Committee approval before any structure is built. Please submit an application with a site plan, dimensions, materials and color by [date]. The committee will review the shed under the same standards it applies to every request. If the application is not received by that date, the board may send a formal notice of violation.' Keep this first letter polite and factual. It is an invitation, not a fine, so it doesn't start the statutory notice clock in most states, and that keeps your later formal notice clean.

Review it as if it weren't built yet

The committee should judge the project against the written standards exactly as it would a new request. The fact that the owner already spent the money is not a reason to approve, and skipping the process is not a reason to deny. There are three outcomes. Approve as built, and note in the minutes that it was an after-the-fact approval. Approve with conditions, such as repainting to an approved color, adding screening shrubs within 60 days, or moving a shed off a drainage easement, with a deadline and a follow-up inspection date. Or deny, in writing, with specifics. Florida section 720.3035(4)(a) requires a denial to state with specificity the rule or covenant relied on and which part of the improvement does not conform. In Texas, associations with more than 40 lots must send a denial by certified mail, hand delivery or electronic delivery, describe the basis in reasonable detail, list the changes that would earn approval, and tell the owner they can request a board hearing within 30 days (Property Code section 209.00505(d)). Our guide on setting up an HOA architectural review committee covers how to run these reviews so decisions hold up.

Formal notice and cure, by state

If the owner doesn't apply, or the project is denied and stays, move to the enforcement steps your statute and fine policy require. In Texas, section 209.006 requires notice by certified mail before the association fines, suspends or sues over a violation. The notice must describe the violation, state any amount due, give a reasonable period and a specific date to cure if the violation is curable, and tell the owner they may request a hearing under section 209.007 within 30 days. Building out of line with approved plans is listed as curable, and if the owner cures within the period, no fine may be assessed. In Florida, section 720.305(2) requires at least 14 days' written notice and a hearing before a committee of at least three owners who are not officers, directors or employees. The committee only confirms or rejects the fine. Fines are capped at $100 per violation and $1,000 for a continuing one unless the governing documents say otherwise, and no fine may be imposed if the owner cures before the hearing. In Colorado, section 38-33.3-209.5(1.7) requires certified mail with a 30-day cure period, gives the owner two consecutive cure periods before legal action, caps total fines for a non-safety violation at $500, and bans daily fines. Our guide on how an HOA board should run a violation hearing covers the hearing itself.

Watch the deadline to sue

Waiting a season to see if the owner fixes it can cost the association its right to enforce at all. Colorado is the sharpest example. Section 38-33.3-123(2) says a suit to enforce a building restriction or compel removal of an improvement must be filed within one year from when the association knew, or with reasonable diligence should have known, of the violation. That is why the date you first saw the work goes in the file. Texas Property Code chapter 209 sets no deadline of its own, so in Texas the limit comes from general limitations statutes and case law. Wherever you are, ask the association's attorney which period applies before you let a violation sit. If a deadline is close, a board vote authorizing the attorney to file can protect the claim while talks continue.

Consistency is your best defense

Before demanding removal, walk the neighborhood and count how many similar items exist that nobody challenged. If there are eight unapproved sheds on the same street, singling out the ninth invites a selective enforcement defense. Florida section 720.3035(1)(a) requires the association to apply its standards reasonably and equitably to all owners, and Texas Property Code section 202.004(a) presumes a board's discretion is reasonable unless a court finds it arbitrary, capricious or discriminatory. If the street is full of sheds, the better move may be to update the guidelines, give every owner a window to submit, and enforce evenly from a set date. A motion the board can use: 'Moved that the association require after-the-fact applications for the unapproved structures identified in the October 2026 inspection, with applications due within 30 days of notice, and that the committee review each under the current guidelines.'

A sample timeline and common mistakes

Day 0: board learns of the work; photos and date go in the lot file. Day 1 to 7: file check and governing document review. Day 7: invitation letter with a 30-day application deadline. Day 37 to 75: committee decision, in writing, with conditions and dates if approved. Day 75 onward: formal statutory notice if the owner didn't apply or a denied project remains, then the cure period and hearing your state requires. Removal or a lawsuit only after board vote and attorney review, and inside any filing deadline. The mistakes that cost boards the most: sending a fine before a statutory notice, threatening removal in the first letter, denying without citing the rule, letting a Colorado violation sit past a year, and approving a neighbor's identical project last year without a word. Keep every letter, photo and vote in the lot file, so the next board doesn't start from scratch.

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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