How should our HOA board review an owner's request to build an ADU or casita?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 20, 2026

How an HOA board reviews an owner's ADU or casita request: Colorado and California override rules, Texas and Florida covenants, a checklist and approval wording.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Treat an ADU request like any other major architectural application, with one extra step at the start: find out whether state law has taken the decision partly out of your hands. In Colorado (in the cities and county areas the law covers) and in California, a covenant that bans an accessory dwelling unit on a single-family lot is void, and the board can only apply reasonable conditions. In Texas and Florida, no state statute overrides the declaration, so a one-dwelling-per-lot covenant still controls and the board applies it as written. Either way, the board's job is the same: read the documents, collect a complete application, decide within the deadline, and put the decision in writing with the reasons. Rules vary by state and by your own governing documents, and this guide is general education, not legal advice. Get the association's attorney on a big request, and on any denial in Colorado or California.

Check whether state law limits the board

Colorado. HB24-1152 added section 38-33.3-106.5(4) to the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act. In a 'subject jurisdiction' or a certified 'accessory dwelling unit supportive jurisdiction', no declaration, bylaw or rule may restrict the creation of an ADU on a single-unit detached lot in a way that section 29-35-403 bars a city from doing, and that applies to provisions adopted before May 13, 2024 as well as after. A subject jurisdiction is a municipality of 1,000 or more people inside a metropolitan planning organization, or a county area within a census designated place of 40,000 or more inside one (29-35-402(21)). Ask your city or county planning office whether you are covered. If you are, the association cannot require the owner to live on the lot, cannot require a new off-street parking space except in the narrow cases 29-35-403(3) allows, and cannot apply a 'restrictive design or dimension standard': stricter style, materials or landscaping than the house, no allowance for sizes between 500 and 750 square feet, wider side setbacks than the house, or a rear setback larger than the greater of five feet or the setback for other accessory buildings (29-35-402(18)). The board keeps 'reasonable restrictions', defined as conditions that do not unreasonably raise the cost, effectively prohibit construction, or extinguish the ability to build. California. Civil Code section 4751 voids any governing-document provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the construction or use of an ADU or junior ADU on a lot zoned single-family, using the same three-part test for what counts as reasonable. Texas. Nothing in the Property Code stops a deed restriction from banning ADUs. SB 673 (2025) would have limited city ADU rules, but its own text said it would not override deed restrictions or HOA rules, and it never passed the House. Florida. Section 163.31771 lets a city or county allow ADUs by ordinance but says nothing about private covenants. A 2026 bill requiring local ADU ordinances, SB 48, died in the House.

Read your own documents before the application arrives

Pull the declaration and look for five things: a single-family residential use clause, a limit of one dwelling per lot, rules on detached outbuildings (height, size, number), a minimum living area, and the leasing article. Then read the architectural guidelines for setbacks, roof pitch, materials and colors, and the deadline for the committee to act. Many declarations say an application is deemed approved if the committee does not answer in time. Write that date on the file the day the application comes in. In Texas, also check whether section 209.00505 applies: it covers associations with more than 40 lots once the declarant no longer controls architectural review. In Florida, section 720.3035(1) limits the committee to authority 'specifically stated or reasonably inferred' in the declaration or published guidelines, and requires the standards to be applied equally to every lot. If your guidelines say nothing about a second dwelling, the committee cannot invent a size cap on the spot.

What a complete ADU application includes

Ask for the same package every time, and post the list with the architectural form so owners know it before they hire a designer: 1. A site plan drawn to scale, showing the ADU, the house, lot lines, setbacks, easements and the driveway. 2. Elevations of every side, with height, roof pitch and the exterior materials and colors. 3. Floor area of the ADU and the main house. 4. The utility plan: where water, sewer and electric lines run, whether they cross common area or an easement the association maintains, and whether a separate meter is planned. 5. A drainage and grading plan if the slab changes how water leaves the lot. 6. Where cars will park, and where the dumpster, portable toilet and materials will sit during construction. 7. The contractor's name, proof of liability insurance, and the expected start and finish dates. 8. The city or county permit, or the application number if it is still pending. Do not ask who will live in the unit. A question about the occupant's age, family or relationship to the owner invites a fair housing complaint and tells the board nothing it needs. If your declaration restricts leasing, ask one neutral question instead: 'Do you intend to lease the ADU or the main house?'

A sample review timeline

Day 0: the manager or secretary logs the application, checks it against the list, and marks the deemed-approval date. Day 5: send the owner a written note listing anything missing. A clear 'incomplete' notice protects the board better than sitting on the file. Day 10 to 20: the committee walks the lot, checks the plans against the guidelines, and asks the association's attorney about any Colorado or California question. Day 25: the committee votes at a noticed meeting, or the board does if your documents reserve major structures to it. Day 30: the written decision goes out. In Texas, if 209.00505 applies, a denial goes by certified mail, hand delivery or electronic delivery, states the basis in reasonable detail and the changes that would earn approval, and tells the owner they may request a hearing within 30 days. The board then holds the hearing within 30 days of the request, with at least 10 days' notice, and may affirm, modify or reverse the decision. In Florida, a denial must state with specificity the rule or covenant relied on and the part of the plan that does not conform (720.3035(4)(a)).

Approval and denial wording the board can adapt

Approval with conditions: 'The Architectural Review Committee approves Application 2026-14 for a detached accessory dwelling unit at 118 Cedar Lane as shown on the site plan and elevations dated September 30, 2026, with these conditions: (1) exterior siding, trim and roofing to match the main house in material and color; (2) construction work limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; (3) no materials, equipment or vehicles stored on common area; (4) the owner repairs any damage to common area, streets or association utilities caused by the work; (5) work starts within 6 months and finishes within 12 months of this letter. This approval covers architectural review only. The owner is responsible for city permits and inspections.' Denial in a Texas or Florida community where the declaration bars a second dwelling: 'The committee denies Application 2026-14 because Article VII, Section 2 of the Declaration permits one single-family dwelling per lot, and the plans show a second dwelling with its own kitchen and bath. A detached studio or workshop without a kitchen that meets the outbuilding standards in Guideline 4.3 could be approved.' In a Texas community covered by 209.00505, add: 'You may request a hearing before the board on or before the 30th day after this notice was mailed.'

Mistakes boards make

The first is denying a Colorado or California ADU under a single-family covenant that state law has already voided, which hands the owner a strong claim against the association. The second is the opposite: approving a casita in Texas or Florida because a neighbor got one in 2019, without checking whether that approval was a written variance. Our guide on deciding an owner variance request covers how to keep one exception from becoming the rule. The third is letting the deemed-approval clock run out while the committee waits for a meeting. The fourth is approving the building and forgetting the utilities, then learning that the new sewer line crosses a common-area easement no one reviewed. The last is setting ADU-only rules on the fly. If the board wants standards for detached living units, write them into the architectural guidelines, adopt them with notice, and apply them to everyone. Our guide on writing HOA architectural guidelines walks through that process, and our guide on whether an HOA can restrict an ADU or tiny home covers the questions owners will ask.

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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