An owner wants to put up a playset, trampoline or treehouse. How should our HOA board review the request?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 13, 2026

How an HOA architectural committee should review a playset, trampoline or treehouse: what needs approval, setbacks, Texas 209.015 adjacent lots and approval wording.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Review it as a placement question. The committee decides where the equipment goes on the lot, how tall it is and how much of it the street and the neighbors see. It does not decide whether the swing set is safe for the owner's children, and the approval letter should say that in plain words. Most declarations treat anything built or placed on a lot as an improvement, so a wooden playset with a fort and a swing beam usually needs approval and a plastic toddler slide usually does not. No Texas, Florida or Colorado statute protects backyard play equipment the way some statutes protect solar panels or flags. The review runs on the declaration and the guidelines it authorizes, plus each state's procedure for denials. Rules vary by state and by each community's governing documents. This guide is general education, not legal advice. Have the association's attorney read any denial before it goes out.

What Texas, Florida and Colorado add

Texas. Property Code 209.00505 sets the denial procedure for an association with more than 40 lots, except during a development period or while the declarant controls the architectural review authority or can veto its decisions. The denial goes by certified mail, hand delivery or electronic delivery. It describes the basis for the denial in reasonable detail, lists any changes required for approval, and tells the owner they may request a board hearing within 30 days. The board holds the hearing within 30 days of the request, with at least 10 days' notice. Texas also has a rule few committees know about. Under 209.015, an owner whose home sits on one lot and who also owns the lot next door may use that adjacent lot for residential purposes, and the statute's definition of residential purpose names a 'children's swing or playscape' alongside fences and pools. A provision in a dedicatory instrument that violates the section is void under 209.015(f). The association keeps its approval power under 209.015(c), including reasonable restrictions on size, location, shielding and aesthetics, and the owner must get that approval before building. When the owner sells the house, 209.015(d) requires them to transfer the adjacent lot with it under the same conditions or restore it so it could again hold a separate home. Florida. Section 720.3035(1)(a) limits review of location, size, type and appearance to authority the declaration or its published guidelines state or reasonably infer, and the committee must apply its standards evenly to every owner. Under 720.3035(1)(c), the association may not require a building permit as a condition of its review. A denial must identify the specific rule relied on and the part of the plan that does not conform, under 720.3035(4)(a). Colorado. The Common Interest Ownership Act, title 38, article 33.3, says nothing about play equipment. Review authority comes from the declaration and the design guidelines it authorizes.

Decide what needs an application

Most committee hours spent on play equipment go to items that never needed review. Put a short list in the guidelines and publish it. No application: ground-level equipment with no raised platform, such as a sandbox, a playhouse that sits on the ground or a small plastic slide, and anything the family puts away at night. Application required: any playset with a raised platform, fort or swing beam; any full-size trampoline; anything attached to a tree; anything taller than the community's standard fence height (pick a number, such as 6 feet, and write it down); and anything in a front or side yard. The form asks for a site sketch with distances in feet to the lot lines, house and fence, the model's spec sheet with its overall height, the canopy color, and for a treehouse, a photo of the tree and the floor height.

What the committee checks on the site plan

Setbacks. Find the declaration's setback for accessory structures. If it has none, use the city or county setback. In Florida, 720.3035(3) makes that the rule when the documents are silent, and a parcel has only one front for setback purposes unless they say otherwise. Height and sightlines. Compare the top of the swing beam or fort roof to the fence. A 10-foot slide tower behind a 6-foot fence shows above it from the street and from three neighbors' yards. A fort deck at 7 feet can look straight into the next patio, so ask which way the open sides face. Clearance. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's Outdoor Home Playground Safety Handbook (Publication 324) recommends placing play equipment at least 6 feet from any structure or obstacle, such as a house, fence, shed, tree or pole. For swings, it calls for a distance in front and behind equal to twice the height of the top bar. Both numbers make good placement conditions, and they keep the equipment off the fence line. Stop there. The same handbook covers surfacing depths, guardrail heights and opening sizes. A volunteer committee is not qualified to certify those, and an approval that reads like a safety inspection suggests a check that never happened. Send the owner the handbook link instead.

Trampolines and treehouses need a few extra questions

Trampolines. The CPSC trampoline safety sheet (Publication 085) tells families to place a trampoline away from structures, trees and other play areas, and not to use a ladder, because a ladder gives small children unsupervised access. The placement advice is the part the committee adopts: rear yard, inside the fence, clear of the house, sheds and trees. Add an anchoring condition. A full-size trampoline that blows loose in a thunderstorm can end up on a neighbor's roof. Treehouses. Confirm the tree stands on the owner's lot and not on the common area line, and check whether the declaration or a city ordinance protects it. Ask how the platform attaches and how high the floor sits. A good guideline caps floor height, for example at 8 feet, and requires the windows and open sides to face the owner's own yard. A treehouse with walls and a roof may need a building permit where a swing set does not. Tell the owner in the approval letter that permits are their responsibility, and in Florida do not hold the application waiting for one.

Review steps and a sample timeline

1. Log the application with the date received and the address. 2. Check it against the no-application list. If it is on the list, write back that week saying no approval is needed. 3. Check the sketch against the setbacks and the 6-foot clearance. 4. Look from the street. 5. For a treehouse, confirm tree ownership and any tree rule. 6. Decide in writing. Approve with conditions, or deny with the rule relied on and the change that would fix it. A timeline a volunteer committee can keep: Day 0. Application received and logged. Day 3. One committee member reviews the sketch and drives by. Day 10. Committee decides by email or written consent, if the bylaws allow it, or at the next meeting. Day 12. Approval or denial letter goes out. In Texas, a denial follows the 209.00505(d) notice rules. Read the declaration for a deadline. Some say an application not acted on within 30 or 45 days is deemed approved.

Approval wording you can copy

Have the attorney check this against your declaration once, then reuse it. 'The architectural committee approves the [playset / trampoline / treehouse] at [address] described in the application dated [date], subject to these conditions: 1. The equipment sits in the rear yard where shown on the site sketch, at least [__] feet from every lot line and at least 6 feet from the house, fence, sheds and trees. 2. No part of the equipment rises more than [__] feet above the ground. 3. Canopies and tarps are [approved color] and are replaced when faded or torn. 4. A trampoline is anchored to the ground with an anchor kit. 5. The owner keeps the equipment in good repair and removes it within 60 days after written notice that it has fallen into disrepair. 6. This approval covers location and appearance only. The association has not inspected the equipment for safety and is not responsible for its installation, condition or use.' For a Texas owner placing the playset on an adjacent lot they own, add: '7. The owner acknowledges Texas Property Code 209.015(d). On sale of the home, the adjacent lot transfers with it under the same conditions, or the owner restores it.'

Mistakes boards make

Enforcing a ban the documents do not support. A board rule against trampolines has to rest on authority in the declaration. In Texas, a ban on a swing set on the owner's own adjacent lot is void under 209.015(f), whatever the covenant says. Deciding the same request two ways. A 12-foot fort approved on one street and a 9-foot fort denied on the next hands the second owner a selective enforcement argument. Keep every approval with its height and a photo, and treat that file as the committee's precedent. Forgetting the rotting playset. The maintenance condition in the approval is what lets the board act when a swing set sits broken for two years. Handle it like any other violation, with written notice and a chance to cure. In Texas, follow Property Code 209.006 before any fine. For building the committee and its written procedure, see our guide on how to set up an HOA architectural review committee. If the playset is already standing, use our guide on how to handle an owner who built without HOA architectural approval.

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.

More on home & property

Or browse all home projects & property rules guides.