How do we plan an HOA clubhouse renovation?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 24, 2026

How an HOA board plans a clubhouse renovation: owner survey, condition report, permits and asbestos, designer choice, bids, funding votes and the closure notice.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Decide what the clubhouse is for before anyone draws a floor plan. The order that works is an owner survey and a condition report, then a scope, then a designer, then bids, then the money and any vote, and only then a closure date. Boards that start with finishes and furniture usually learn halfway through that the roof, the HVAC unit or the restrooms needed the money first. Budget most of a year for a cosmetic refresh and 12 to 18 months for anything that moves walls or needs a building permit. One director should own the file from start to finish. Bid rules, voting rules and closure notice rules vary by state and by your declaration and bylaws, so read this as education and not legal advice.

Ask owners, then inspect the building

A short survey stops the project from becoming one director's taste. Ask how often each household uses the clubhouse now, what keeps them away, and which changes they would pay for. A question you can copy: 'The board is planning clubhouse work for next year. Rank these from 1 (most important) to 6: restrooms, kitchen, main room furniture and finishes, fitness room, heating and cooling, outdoor patio. Would you support a one-time assessment of up to $[amount] per home for the top two items? Yes, no, or need more information.' Put a hard dollar figure in that last question. Support that sounds strong in the abstract often disappears once owners see a number. At the same time, hire someone to look at what owners can't see. A general contractor or a building inspector can report on the roof, HVAC age, the electrical panel, water heater, plumbing leaks, windows and doors, and any water damage. Pull the reserve study and compare its remaining life figures with what the inspector finds. If the HVAC unit has two years left, replace it during the renovation, while the building is already closed.

Find out what the work will trigger

Three outside rules can change the scope and the schedule. Call the local building department first. Paint, flooring and furniture usually need no permit. Moving walls, adding outlets, relocating plumbing or changing a kitchen usually do, and the altered area generally has to meet the current code. Ask the department what drawings it wants and how long plan review takes, and put that time in the schedule. Second, asbestos. The EPA's asbestos NESHAP requires a thorough inspection of the area before a renovation, and it covers all facilities except residential buildings with four or fewer dwelling units, so a clubhouse is in. If regulated asbestos-containing material above the rule's thresholds (260 linear feet, 160 square feet or 35 cubic feet) will be disturbed, the owner or operator must notify the state agency or EPA before the work starts. Older floor tile, drywall texture and pipe wrap are the usual suspects. Pay for the survey before bidding so contractors price the same conditions. Third, accessibility. The Justice Department's ADA Title III manual gives the example of a condominium association that has long limited its party room to owners, residents and guests, and says that room is not a place of public accommodation. A rental office in a residential complex is one, and so is a pool that sells memberships to the public. If your association rents the clubhouse to outside groups or runs a sales or leasing office in it, ask your attorney whether those spaces are covered before the design is final. Either way, a renovation is the cheapest time to widen a restroom door or level an entry.

Architect or design-build

For finishes, furniture and fixtures swapped in place, a designer or a contractor's in-house design service is often enough. For anything that needs permit drawings, hire an architect or engineer who works for the association. Ask for three stages: a schematic plan owners can see, construction documents after the board approves the schematic, and help reviewing bids and site visits during construction. Design-build, where one firm designs and builds, can be faster and cheaper to manage, but the association loses the independent check, and the board can't bid the drawings to other contractors. If you go that way, get a fixed design fee, a line-item price before construction, and the right to take the drawings elsewhere if the price is too high. Our guide on how to plan a major HOA project covers consultant scope, bid comparison and closeout in more detail.

Bids, money and the vote

Bid the finished scope to at least three contractors, with alternates priced separately so the board can drop the patio or the fitness room without rebidding. State law may require it. Florida section 720.3055 requires competitive bids for any contract that costs more than 10 percent of the total annual budget, including reserves, with an emergency exception. Texas section 209.0052(c) requires an association that contracts for services costing more than $50,000 to solicit bids or proposals using a bid process the association establishes, and 209.0052(b) sets extra steps, including two outside bids, before a contract with a director, a director's relative or their company. In Colorado, look in the declaration and bylaws for a bid rule and follow it. Then line up the money. In Texas, 209.0051(h) bars the board from voting outside a noticed open meeting on special assessments, borrowing, budget amendments, or construction of capital improvements other than the repair, replacement or enhancement of existing ones. Renovating the clubhouse you have falls in the repair and enhancement group. A new wing or a new building does not, and a vote on it outside an open meeting would break the rule. Florida reserve accounts set up under 720.303(6) can be spent on other items only after a majority vote at a meeting with a quorum, taken in advance (720.303(6)(h)). In Colorado, 38-33.3-303(1)(a) lets the executive board act for the association unless the declaration, bylaws or statute say otherwise, so check your documents for spending or assessment caps. A motion you can adapt: 'Moved that the board approve the contract with [contractor] for the clubhouse renovation described in the construction documents dated [date], base bid plus alternates [numbers], for $[amount] plus a 10 percent contingency, paid $[amount] from the clubhouse reserve and $[amount] from the special assessment approved on [date].'

Close the building and tell owners

Colorado has a statute on point. Section 38-33.3-302.5, added by HB 22-1040 and effective August 10, 2022, allows an association to restrict access to a common element during repair or replacement only as far and as long as needed to protect people's safety or the work. For a closure longer than 72 hours, it must send each owner written or electronic notice as soon as reasonably possible, with the reason, the estimated reopening date and a phone number or email for questions, and post the same information at each entrance for the whole closure. Use the same checklist in any state. Close the reservation calendar for the construction window as soon as the contract is signed, and refund or move any bookings already taken. Notice wording you can adapt: 'The clubhouse will close on Monday, January 12, for the renovation the board approved on November 18: new restrooms, a new heating and cooling unit, and new flooring in the main room. We expect to reopen by Friday, April 24. Reservations during that period have been refunded. The pool and mailroom stay open. Send questions to [email or phone].' If the date slips, change the posted sign and email owners the same week. Our guide on how to write an HOA clubhouse rental policy covers the booking rules to update before reopening.

A sample timeline

Month 1: owner survey and condition inspection. Month 2: asbestos survey, building department call, reserve study review. Month 3: hire the architect or designer. Months 4 and 5: schematic plan, owner meeting to show it, board approval. Months 6 and 7: construction documents and permit application. Month 8: bids out with a site walk. Month 9: bids compared line by line, references called, funding vote and contract. Month 10: closure notice and reservation freeze. Months 11 through 14: construction, with a weekly check-in between the project director, the contractor and the designer. Then the final inspection, a punch list walk, the certificate of occupancy or permit sign-off where required, and reopening. After that, send the reserve study provider the replaced components, dates and costs.

Mistakes boards make

They pick finishes before fixing the roof and mechanical systems, then pay to tear up new flooring for a leak. They skip the asbestos survey, a contractor cuts into old tile, and the job stops. They let one director's spouse pick colors, which turns a building decision into a neighbor dispute. They approve a design-build price with no line items and no way to compare it. They order furniture and appliances after construction starts instead of asking for lead times with the bids, so the building reopens with folding chairs. And they tell owners about the closure after the dumpster arrives. Send the survey results, the plan and the dates early and more than once, and most of the complaints never come.

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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