An owner wants to keep backyard chickens or a beehive. How should our HOA board review the request?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 11, 2026

How an HOA board reviews a backyard chicken coop or beehive request: covenants vs. city code, what to ask for, coop and hive conditions, and approval wording.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Start with the declaration, not the coop drawings. If it limits animals to 'household pets' or bars 'poultry, fowl or livestock', most hen requests end there, and the committee's job is a short, polite denial that quotes the clause. If the documents are silent, or allow a few hens or hives with approval, the request becomes an ordinary exterior review: where the coop or hive sits, how big it is, how it is screened, and what keeps neighbors from paying for the owner's hobby in noise, smell, rats or stings. In Texas, Florida and Colorado we found no statute that overrides an HOA covenant on chickens, and Florida's state beekeeping agreement says deed restrictions control. City code still matters, because the owner has to meet it too, and the stricter of the two rules wins. Rules vary by state and by each community's governing documents. This guide is education, not legal advice, so send unusual requests, and any request framed as an assistance animal, to the association's attorney.

What state law says and leaves to you

Texas. No Property Code section protects backyard chickens from a covenant. HB 2013 in the 2025 session would have limited an association's power to prohibit or restrict chickens. It passed the House, then was left pending in the Senate Local Government Committee on May 19, 2025, so it is not law. Do not let an owner's printout of the bill change your answer. Your process still has to follow Property Code 209.00505 if the association has more than 40 lots and the development period is over: a written denial by certified mail, hand delivery or electronic delivery that explains the basis and the changes that would allow approval, plus the owner's right to ask for a board hearing within 30 days. Florida. Section 586.10(1) gives the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services authority over placement of registered managed honeybee colonies and supersedes ordinances of counties, cities and other political subdivisions. An association is none of those. The department's Beekeeper Compliance Agreement, adopted through Rule 5B-54.0105, says deed restrictions and covenants that prohibit or restrict managed colonies take precedence over chapter 586 and the department's rules. Section 586.045(1) requires every beekeeper with colonies in the state to register with the department. For architectural review generally, section 720.3035(1)(a) limits the committee to what the declaration or published guidelines state or reasonably imply, and 720.3035(4)(a) requires a written denial that names the rule relied on and the part of the request that does not conform. Colorado. CCIOA, the Common Interest Ownership Act, says nothing about poultry or bees, so the declaration and your rules decide. Section 38-33.3-209.5(1)(b) requires written policies for enforcing covenants and rules, with notice and hearing procedures, and your review process should match them.

Before you look at the application

Three documents answer most of the request before the committee meets. - The use restriction. Read the exact words. 'No livestock or poultry' covers hens. 'No animals other than customary household pets' almost always does too. Bees are rarely named, so check the nuisance clause and any ban on 'agricultural' or 'commercial' use. A covenant that says nothing about either leaves the question to your architectural guidelines. - The city or county code. Many cities cap the number of hens, ban roosters, require a permit or set coop distances from neighboring homes. Ask the owner to attach the code section or permit. The committee does not enforce city code, but it should not approve something the city will cite. - Past decisions. If the committee approved three coops in 2023, a denial now invites a selective enforcement argument. Pull the files and treat like requests alike. If the board wants to stop allowing them, change the written guidelines first and apply the new rule going forward. If the declaration bars poultry, deny the chicken request in writing within your deadline and quote the clause. Do not debate it. If it bars only roosters or caps the count, review the rest like any other structure.

What the application should ask for

Use the normal exterior change form and attach a one-page checklist. For chickens, ask for: - the number of birds, and written confirmation that none are roosters - the coop and run dimensions, height, material and color, with a product photo or drawing - a lot sketch showing the coop's distance from each property line and from the neighbors' homes - how feed is stored and how waste is handled - any city permit or the city code section the owner relied on For bees, ask for: - the number of hives and the hive type - a lot sketch showing each hive's distance from property lines, and the direction the entrance faces - the flyway barrier, if a hive is near a lot line - the water source for the bees - in Florida, proof of registration with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Do not ask for anything you would not ask of a garden shed of the same size, except the animal-specific items above. Paperwork the committee never reads looks like a backdoor denial.

Conditions for a coop

Write conditions aimed at the complaints neighbors actually make: crowing, smell, flies, rats and birds in the wrong yard. - Count and sex. Name the maximum number of hens and state that roosters are not permitted. - Location. The coop sits in the rear yard, not visible from the street, at a distance from lot lines that matches your guidelines or the city code, whichever is greater. - Enclosure. Birds stay in the coop or a fenced run and do not roam onto other lots or common area. - Pests. Feed is kept in sealed containers, and the coop is cleaned on a regular schedule. The CDC notes that droppings can attract insects, rodents and wildlife, and recommends a sturdy coop that keeps them out. - No sales. No eggs, birds or manure are sold from the lot, if your declaration bars business use. - Disease. USDA advises backyard owners to use covered enclosures and netting so the flock has no contact with wild birds, and to report sick birds to a veterinarian or a state or federal animal health official. A condition that the owner follows state animal health orders costs nothing and gives the board a basis to act during an avian influenza outbreak. Add a removal clause: the approval ends if the owner breaks a condition after written notice and a chance to fix it.

Conditions for a hive

Florida's Beekeeper Compliance Agreement is the most detailed public standard for hives on residential lots, and boards in any state can borrow from it. Its limits for non-agricultural land include: - Density. A lot of a quarter acre or less may hold 3 colonies. A lot over a quarter acre but under half an acre may hold 6. The agreement allows a temporary increase for swarm control for no more than 60 days. - Flyway barrier. A colony within 15 feet of a property line needs a barrier at least 6 feet high, such as a solid wall, fence or dense vegetation, parallel to the line and extending past the colony in each direction. The barrier forces bees to fly up and over the neighbor's yard. - Access. The area holding the colonies is fenced or otherwise closed off, with a gated entrance. - Water. The beekeeper keeps a water source available at all times so bees do not gather at neighbors' pools and birdbaths. - Inspection. The beekeeper checks each colony at least once a month. - Distance. No apiary within 150 feet of tethered or confined animals or public places where people gather, which in a dense subdivision can rule out a lot that backs onto a community pool or playground. In Florida a beekeeper on non-agricultural land has to sign and follow the agreement anyway. Elsewhere, write the ones that fit your lot sizes into the approval.

A review timeline and approval wording

Day 0: log the date the request arrived. Days 1 to 5: send one written list of anything missing. Days 5 to 14: a committee member looks at the proposed spot from the street and from the neighboring yards' side of the fence. Days 14 to 30: written decision. Use the deadline in your declaration if it is shorter, and check whether missing it counts as approval. Approval wording the committee can copy: 'The Architectural Committee approves the [chicken coop and run / beehive] described in your application dated [date] at [address], on these conditions: (1) no more than [number] [hens / hives], and no roosters; (2) the [coop / hive] stays in the location on your sketch, in the rear yard and at least [distance] feet from each lot line; (3) [birds remain in the coop or fenced run / a flyway barrier at least 6 feet high stands between the hive and the nearest lot line, and water is available to the bees at all times]; (4) the area is kept clean and feed is stored in sealed containers; and (5) you comply with all city, county and state requirements. The approval ends if a condition is not met within 15 days after written notice.' Denial wording should cite the clause: 'Article [number], Section [number] of the Declaration prohibits keeping poultry on any lot. The committee cannot approve the request.'

Mistakes boards make

Approving hens because the city allows them, without reading a declaration that bans poultry. A later board then inherits a coop it cannot enforce against without looking arbitrary. Denying a hive under a 'no livestock' clause that never mentions bees. Quote language that clearly fits, or treat the hive as a design review. Writing an approval with no count, so four hens become fourteen. Ignoring the coop next to the property line until the neighbor's complaint arrives, then trying to move it after it is built. Treating a request labeled as an emotional support animal like an architectural request; that goes through the accommodation process, and our guide on handling a reasonable accommodation request covers it. For the owner's side of the question, see our guide on whether an HOA can restrict backyard chickens or bees. If an approved flock turns into a noise dispute, our guide on handling a noise or nuisance complaint walks through the board's steps.

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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