An owner wants to build an outdoor kitchen. How should our HOA board review the request?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 13, 2026

How an HOA board reviews an outdoor kitchen request: gas and fire clearance, 811 rules before digging, smoke, drainage, TX, FL and CO law, and approval wording.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Treat an outdoor kitchen as a small building project, because that is what it is. A grill island with a counter, a gas line, a sink and a couple of outlets touches more of the lot than a fence or a shed does. It puts fire next to the house, a trench across the yard, smoke over the neighbor's patio and sometimes a roof over all of it. The committee's job is placement, size, height, appearance and the effect on neighbors and common property. The city's job is the gas piping, the wiring and any roof structure. Keep the two apart in the approval letter, and make the city's permits a condition of the approval instead of something the committee pretends to check. Most requests should be approved with conditions within 30 days. The ones that deserve a hard look are kitchens on townhome patios, kitchens pushed against a side setback, and anything that drains a sink onto the ground. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents. This guide is education, not legal advice.

What Texas, Florida and Colorado law changes about the review

No statute in the three states gives an owner a right to an outdoor kitchen. The law shapes how the committee decides, not whether it may. Texas. Property Code 202.004(a) presumes the association's discretionary decisions are reasonable unless a court finds them arbitrary, capricious or discriminatory. In an association with more than 40 lots, once the declarant no longer controls review, 209.00505(d) requires a denial by certified mail, hand delivery or electronic delivery that explains the basis in reasonable detail, lists the changes that would win approval, and tells the owner they may request a board hearing within 30 days. Under (e) the board holds it within 30 days of the request with at least 10 days' notice. Florida. Section 720.3035(1)(a) limits review to what the declaration or its authorized guidelines state or reasonably infer about location, size, type or appearance. Section 720.3035(1)(c) bars the association from requiring a building permit before it will review the plans, so review first and condition the approval on the permit. If your guidelines list approved counter or stone finishes, 720.3035(2) lets the owner pick from that list without further narrowing. A denial must name the specific rule or covenant relied on under 720.3035(4)(a). Colorado. C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.5(3) bars rules that prohibit fire-hardened building materials on an owner's property, so a rule demanding a cedar-clad island over a masonry one is a problem. If an owner builds without approval, 38-33.3-209.5(1.7)(b)(III) requires a certified-mail notice giving 30 days to cure, caps total fines for a non-safety violation at $500, and allows legal action only after two consecutive 30-day cure periods.

Gas, power and fire: what to ask before you approve

Ask three questions and get the answers on the application. What fuel? A portable propane grill rolled into a masonry surround is one thing. A line run from the house meter is another. The 2021 International Residential Code, section R105.1, requires a permit to install or alter a gas or electrical system, while R105.2 exempts portable cooking appliances and counter tops as finish work. Local codes differ, and Florida cities use the Florida Building Code, so the owner should confirm with the city, but a fixed gas line or a new circuit almost always means a permit and an inspection. Who runs it? Require the name of the licensed contractor for gas and electrical work, and a certificate of insurance if the work will touch common area. How close to the house? The 2021 International Fire Code, section 308.1.4, bars charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices on combustible balconies or within 10 feet of combustible construction. It exempts one- and two-family dwellings, buildings protected by sprinklers, and small LP-gas devices with a container of about 1 pound of LP-gas. So the fire code does little for a detached house, but it matters for a townhome building of three or more units with wood balconies. For detached homes, a distance from the neighbor's fence or wall is a choice your guidelines can make. Write a number down if you want one, and apply it to every request.

Digging, buried lines and where the water goes

A gas line, a sink drain and a footing all mean a trench. Make the 811 call a written condition. In Texas, Utilities Code 251.151 requires anyone who will excavate to notify a notification center at least 48 hours before digging, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and no more than 14 days ahead. The chapter defines excavation as work with powered or mechanized equipment. Note 251.003(3): a line that serves only the owner and sits only on the owner's property is not covered, so the locator will not mark the owner's own irrigation or pool lines. Give the contractor your own map of HOA irrigation and lighting lines that cross or border the lot. In Florida, 556.105 requires notice at least 2 full business days before excavating. Section 556.108(1) exempts an owner digging on their own single-family property only to a depth of 10 inches, which a gas trench or footing will usually pass. Then ask where the sink drains. If the answer is a hose into the flower bed, send the application back and ask the owner to show a drain connection the city has approved. Ask the same about a solid roof over the kitchen: the water should land on the owner's lot, not the neighbor's.

Placement, smoke and the neighbors

A smoker or wood-fired pizza oven pointed at a bedroom window three feet past the fence line will produce letters to the board for years. Ask for a site plan that shows the kitchen, its distance to each lot line and easement, the neighbors' windows and patios on that side, and the height of any chimney, hood or roof. Compare it to the setbacks in your declaration and the plat. Reasonable conditions include keeping the island out of utility and drainage easements, holding it to the rear yard, capping the height of a roof or chimney, and finishing visible sides in materials that match the house. If a pergola or solid roof covers the kitchen, review it under the same standards as any patio cover. Our guide on reviewing an owner request to build a deck or patio cover has the height and drainage questions for that part.

Townhomes and condos: whose ground is it

On an attached product, find out who owns the patio before anyone looks at drawings. If it is a limited common element or common area, the owner is asking to build a permanent structure on property every owner shares. Check whether your declaration lets the board approve that alone or requires an owner vote. If the board approves, put four things in writing: the owner maintains, repairs and insures the kitchen and its gas and electrical runs; the owner pays to remove it if the association needs to reach the slab, a wall or a pipe; the kitchen stays with the unit and the duty passes to the next owner; and nothing ties into the building's shared gas or electric service without the board's separate written approval. Record or file the agreement the way your documents allow, so it survives board turnover.

A sample timeline and approval wording

Day 0: log the complete application with the date received. By day 5: send one written list of anything missing, not a series of requests. Days 5 to 20: a committee member walks the lot with the site plan. By day 30: issue a written decision, or sooner if the declaration sets a shorter deemed-approval period. After approval: the owner sends copies of the gas, electrical or building permits before work starts and the final inspection when it ends. Approval wording the committee can copy: "The Architectural Committee approves the outdoor kitchen at [address] shown in your application dated [date], on these conditions: (1) location, size and height as shown, at least [5] feet from each side lot line and outside all recorded easements; (2) visible surfaces finished in [material and color]; (3) you or your contractor notify 811 before any digging and repair any association irrigation or lighting line that is damaged; (4) all gas and electrical work is permitted and inspected as the city requires, with copies sent to the association; (5) sink and roof water drain to your own lot by a method the city allows; and (6) any roof, enclosure, added appliance or change in fuel needs a new application. The committee reviewed appearance and placement only. It has not reviewed the structural, gas or electrical design."

Mistakes boards make

Approving the grill island and missing the trench. The application shows a pretty rendering and never mentions the 40-foot gas run across the side yard and under the HOA's irrigation main. Ask how the gas and power get there. Writing an approval that sounds like a safety sign-off. A letter saying the plans "meet all requirements" invites the owner, and later a buyer, to treat the association as the inspector. Say what the committee reviewed and what it did not. Requiring a permit before review in Florida. Section 720.3035(1)(c) forbids it. Review first, then condition the approval on the permit. Forgetting the second phase. Owners often add a roof, a TV wall or a fireplace a year later. The approval should say any addition needs a new application. Treating every kitchen differently. Neighbors compare. If one owner was held to 10 feet from the fence and the next got 4, the file stops looking reasonable. Keep a one-page standard and use it. Ignoring an unapproved build. Our guide on what to do when an owner builds without architectural approval covers the notice and hearing 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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