An owner wants to install a heat pump or mini-split. How should our HOA board review the request?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 20, 2026

How an HOA board reviews a heat pump or mini-split request: Colorado's 60-day rule, Florida's review limits, placement and noise standards, and approval wording.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Review it like any exterior equipment, approve it with a few written conditions, and do it fast. Most requests swap one outdoor box for a similar box in the same spot. The board decides where the outdoor unit sits, how it is screened, how the lines run up the wall, and whether a neighbor will hear it. In Colorado, state law voids rules that prohibit a qualifying heat pump, caps what conditions can cost, and deems the application approved after 60 days of silence. In Florida, the association may not even require review of a system nobody can see. Texas has no heat pump statute, so the declaration and your guidelines decide. Rules differ by state and by your governing documents, so have the association's attorney read any new standard. This guide is general education, not legal advice.

What Colorado, Florida and Texas say

Colorado. CRS 38-30-168 lists a heat pump system as a renewable energy generation device, and CRS 38-33.3-106.5(1.5) says an association shall not effectively prohibit one. The association may adopt aesthetic rules on dimensions, placement and appearance, but under 38-30-168(2)(a) those rules may not raise the cost of the device by more than 10 percent, cut its performance or efficiency by more than 10 percent, or require a review period longer than 60 days. An application not denied or returned for changes within 60 days is deemed approved, and any denial must give the basis in reasonable detail. Bona fide safety requirements are allowed. A separate section, 38-33.3-106.7, also bars effectively prohibiting heat pumps as energy efficiency measures. Neither section gives an owner the right to put the unit on general or limited common elements. One wrinkle: both sections borrow the heat pump definition from CRS 39-26-732, which covers ENERGY STAR certified, variable-speed, AHRI-matched systems installed by licensed contractors, and that section is set to repeal on January 1, 2027. Ask counsel how your community should read the definition after that date. Florida. Statutes 720.3035(1)(b)2 bars an HOA from requiring review of a central air conditioning, heating or ventilating system that is not visible from the frontage, an adjacent parcel, adjacent common area or a community golf course and is substantially similar to a system the association has approved or recommended. Section 720.3035(1)(c) bars requiring a building permit before architectural review, and 720.3035(4)(a) requires a denial to name the specific rule and the part of the plan that does not conform. Texas. Property Code chapter 202 protects solar panels and standby generators but says nothing about heat pumps. In an association with more than 40 lots, past the development period, section 209.00505 requires a written denial that explains the basis in reasonable detail and gives the owner 30 days to request a board hearing.

Know what you are approving

There are two common setups. A ducted heat pump looks like a central air conditioner: one condenser on a pad, connected to the furnace or air handler inside. A ductless mini-split uses a smaller outdoor unit that feeds one or more wall-mounted heads indoors. The U.S. Department of Energy describes the link as a conduit holding the power cable, refrigerant tubing, suction tubing and a condensate drain, which usually needs only a three-inch hole through the wall, and says the outdoor unit can sit up to 50 feet from the indoor unit. So an owner can often put the unit on a side wall or behind a fence instead of the front. Noise is the real neighbor issue, because a heat pump runs in January as well as July. DOE advises placing the outdoor unit away from windows and neighboring buildings, choosing a lower outdoor sound rating, and mounting it on a noise-absorbing base. Sound ratings under AHRI Standard 270 measure sound power at the unit in decibels, not what a neighbor hears at the fence, so use them to compare models, not as a property-line limit.

Write the standard before the next request

Put the rules in your design guidelines, adopted with the notice your documents and state law require. Location: side or rear of the home where practical, on the owner's lot, not on common area. In Colorado, test any location rule against the 10 percent cost and efficiency caps before adopting it; forcing a unit 40 feet around the house can fail both. Screening: when visible from the street, shrubs or a fence panel matching the home, set back far enough to keep the clearances in the manufacturer's installation manual. Line sets: run on the side or rear wall in a cover painted to match the siding, with no bare insulated tubing visible from the street. Mounting: ground pads or wall brackets. In snow country, allow the unit to sit on a stand or bracket, since DOE notes outdoor units may need to be raised above snow. Condensate: drained so it does not run onto a walk, driveway or neighbor's lot, which matters in winter when it freezes. Noise: anti-vibration pads and a unit located away from a neighbor's bedroom windows where the lot allows.

What the application should include

Ask for a simple site plan or marked-up photo showing the outdoor unit, the line-set route up the wall, the distance to the property line and to the nearest neighboring windows. Ask for the spec sheet with the outdoor sound rating, the screening plan, the line-set cover color and the contractor's name. In Colorado, it is fair to ask whether the system is ENERGY STAR certified and variable speed, since those facts bear on whether the statute covers it. Leave code compliance, refrigerant included, to the building department. Under EPA's HFC rules, new residential split systems installed since January 1, 2025 must use refrigerant with a global warming potential of 700 or less, unless all of their components were made or imported before that date, and the common replacements, R-454B and R-32, are mildly flammable A2L refrigerants EPA lists as acceptable with use conditions. The committee should not write refrigerant rules. In Florida, do not make the permit a condition of starting review; ask for a copy of the final inspection after the work is done.

Condos, townhomes and shared walls

On attached homes, the wall the line set crosses and the ground under the pad often belong to the association. Colorado's statutes expressly leave common elements out of the owner's protection, and Florida condo law, section 718.113(2)(a), treats a material alteration of common elements as something the declaration controls, or 75 percent of voting interests if it is silent. If the board is willing to allow a wall penetration or a bracket on a common wall, put it in a signed agreement: the owner pays for installation, sealing the penetration, repairs to siding or roofing and removal, and the obligation passes to the next owner. In Texas condos, Property Code 82.107(b) makes each owner responsible for heating and air conditioning equipment serving only that unit, unless the declaration says otherwise, even where the equipment sits outside the unit.

A 30-day review timeline

Day 0: log the date the application arrives. In Colorado, the 60-day deemed-approval clock is running from this day. Days 1 to 5: send one written list of anything missing. Returning an application for modifications stops a Colorado deemed approval, so do it in writing and say exactly what is needed. Days 5 to 15: one committee member looks at the proposed spot from the street and from the nearest neighbor's side, and checks the line-set route. Days 15 to 30: send a written approval, conditional approval or denial. A denial names the guideline the plan fails and what would fix it. Owners often replace a failed system mid-heat wave, so let the committee chair approve a like-for-like replacement within a few days. After installation: the owner sends a photo of the finished work and the file closes.

Approval wording to copy

Conditional approval: 'The Architectural Committee approves the heat pump outdoor unit shown on your plan dated [date] at [address], subject to these conditions: (1) the unit is placed on the [side/rear] of the home as shown, on your lot; (2) refrigerant lines visible from the street run in a cover painted to match the siding; (3) the unit sits on anti-vibration pads or a bracket with vibration isolation; (4) condensate drains away from walks, drives and neighboring lots; and (5) you send a photo of the completed installation within 60 days. This approval covers only the equipment and location shown.' Guideline language for quick replacements: 'An owner replacing an existing air conditioner or heat pump outdoor unit in the same location with a unit of similar size may receive approval from the committee chair within five business days, provided the line-set and screening standards in this section are met.'

Mistakes boards make

Asking for drawings the committee would never ask for on a new air conditioner. Requiring a far corner of the lot that adds a long line run, which in Colorado can break the 10 percent caps. Letting a request sit for two monthly meetings and getting a deemed approval with no conditions at all. Reviewing a hidden, standard central system in Florida when the statute says not to. Telling an owner the system qualifies for the federal energy efficient home improvement credit: the IRS says that credit is not allowed for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. For the owner's side of the question, see our guide on whether an HOA can restrict a heat pump or mini-split condenser, and for appeals, our guide on how to decide an HOA owner variance request.

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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