An owner wants to install a standby generator. How should our HOA board review the request?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 20, 2026

How an HOA board reviews a standby generator request: Texas and Florida limits, placement and screening rules, test hours, a review timeline and approval wording.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Plan to approve it with conditions. In Texas and Florida, state law takes a flat denial off the table for a generator that meets the association's written standards, and in most other places a denial with no stated reason invites a fight the board will not enjoy. The real work is setting those standards before the request lands: where the unit can sit, when it must be screened, when it can run its weekly test, and what paperwork the owner hands in. A board that has written specifications can answer a request in two weeks. A board that has none ends up negotiating every generator from scratch, usually after a neighbor has complained. Rules differ by state and by your declaration, so read both and have the association's attorney look over any new specifications. This guide is general education, not legal advice.

What Texas, Florida and Colorado allow

Texas Property Code 202.019 is the most detailed generator statute an HOA board is likely to meet. It covers a standby electric generator that runs on natural gas, propane, diesel, biodiesel or hydrogen, sits fully inside the manufacturer's sound-attenuating enclosure, connects to the house panel through a transfer switch, and is rated at 7 kilowatts or more. The association may not prohibit or restrict one, except through a list of permitted rules: code and manufacturer compliance, licensed contractors for electrical, plumbing and fuel connections, maintenance and repair of deteriorated parts, screening in set situations, reasonable test times consistent with the manufacturer's recommendations, a ban on running it as the home's main power source while utility power is on, rules on location, and a ban on placing it on association property. Several limits bind the board. A location rule is unenforceable if it raises the installation cost by more than 10 percent, or the cost of the electrical and fuel lines by more than 20 percent. Approval may not be withheld if the installation meets the permitted rules. The application cannot demand more detail than the association asks for any other exterior improvement. In a dispute, the side claiming noncompliance carries the burden of proof. Florida Statutes 720.3035(6) requires every HOA board or architectural committee to adopt hurricane protection specifications, and it lists exterior fixed generators and fuel storage tanks as hurricane protection. The association may not deny an application that conforms to those specifications, though it may require an owner to follow an existing unified building scheme for exterior appearance. Colorado's common interest ownership act lists items an association may not prohibit in CRS 38-33.3-106.5. That section protects renewable energy generation devices, which CRS 38-30-168 defines as solar, wind, geothermal and heat pump systems. A gas or propane standby generator is not on the list, so in Colorado the declaration and your design guidelines decide the question.

Write the specifications first

Adopt the standards as a written rule or design guideline, using whatever notice your documents and state law require for new rules. Keep them to a page. A workable set covers six things. Location: side or rear yard, on the owner's lot, not on common area, and not in front of the front building line unless the gas meter or panel location leaves no reasonable alternative. In Texas, measure any location rule against the 10 and 20 percent cost caps before you adopt it. Screening: required when the unit is visible from the street, or visible from a neighboring home or common area through an open side yard or a see-through fence. Texas lists those same triggers. Name acceptable screening, such as evergreen shrubs at least as tall as the enclosure or a fence panel matching the home. Testing: the weekly or monthly exercise cycle runs on weekdays between set daytime hours, inside the range the manufacturer's manual allows. Installation: licensed electrical and gas contractors, a building permit where the city or county requires one, and the manufacturer's installation instructions. Use: backup power only, not a replacement for utility service. Upkeep: the owner keeps the unit, enclosure, lines and screening in good repair and removes a unit that is abandoned or unsafe.

What the application should include

Ask for a site plan showing the pad, the distance to each property line, the nearest windows, doors and vents on the owner's home and the neighbor's home, the gas meter or fuel tank, and the transfer switch location. Ask for the manufacturer's spec sheet with the kilowatt rating, the fuel type and the published sound level. Ask for the screening plan, the contractor's name and license number, and a copy of the permit once issued, followed by the final inspection. Texas boards should check that this list asks for nothing beyond what the general architectural application already asks for every exterior improvement. If it does, add those items to the general form for everyone or drop them here. The building department, not the committee, judges code compliance. Florida shows why that matters. Leon County's summary of the Florida Building Code, Residential section M1905, says a permanently installed standby generator must be listed and labeled, installed per the manufacturer's instructions, anchored to resist wind, and set at or above the flood protection elevation in flood hazard areas. Exhaust must end at least 10 feet from doors, operable windows, eave vents and air intakes, or 5 feet if the manual allows it and carbon monoxide alarms are installed near sleeping rooms and near the opening closest to the exhaust. The committee should not try to rule on those distances. It should require the permit and keep the final inspection on file.

Townhomes, condos and tight lots

Generators get harder when the ground around the home belongs to the association or when two homes share a wall. Check the plat and declaration before the committee meets. If the only workable spot is common area or a limited common element, Texas lets the association bar placement on association property, and most declarations require a board decision, not a committee approval, before an owner uses common ground. If the board is willing, put the terms in a signed license or easement agreement: the owner pays for installation, maintenance, insurance and removal, and the right ends on sale unless the buyer signs on. Where homes share walls, look closely at the exhaust side. A unit that meets code at the owner's own windows can still sit 6 feet from a neighbor's bedroom, and the neighbor will notice the first Tuesday it runs. Ask the contractor to show the neighbor's openings on the site plan, and consider asking the owner to talk with the neighbor before the committee meets.

A review timeline

Day 0: the request arrives. Log the date, because many declarations deem an application approved if the committee does not answer within a set number of days. Find your number and work backward from it. Days 1 to 5: check the packet for completeness and send one written list of anything missing. Do not let missing items trickle in over weeks. Days 5 to 15: one committee member walks the lot, photographs the proposed spot from the street and from the nearest neighboring homes, and compares the plan with the specifications. Days 15 to 25: the committee decides and sends a written approval, conditional approval or denial with reasons. A denial should cite the specific specification the plan fails and say what would fix it. After installation: the owner sends the final inspection and a photo of the screening within 60 days, and the file is closed. If the owner disagrees with conditions, your guide on deciding an owner variance request covers how to run that hearing.

Approval wording to copy

Conditional approval: 'The Architectural Committee approves the standby generator shown on your site plan dated [date] at [address], subject to these conditions: (1) installation by licensed electrical and gas contractors under a permit from [city or county], with a copy of the final inspection sent to the association within 60 days of completion; (2) evergreen screening at least as tall as the enclosure on the street and neighbor-facing sides, planted within 30 days of installation; (3) automatic exercise cycles scheduled on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; (4) use for backup power only when utility power is unavailable; and (5) maintenance of the unit, lines and screening in good repair. This approval covers only the location and equipment shown.' Testing rule: 'Standby generators may run their automatic exercise cycle only on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., unless the manufacturer's instructions require a different schedule, in which case the owner will set the closest permitted time and notify the association in writing.' Adjust the hours to your community, and keep them inside what the manufacturer allows.

Mistakes boards make

Requiring the back corner of the lot when the gas meter is on the side. In Texas that can push the line cost past the 20 percent cap and make the rule unenforceable. Asking for engineered drawings for a generator when the committee approves patios on a sketch. Treating a neighbor's objection as a reason to deny instead of a reason to add screening or move the exhaust. Writing no testing rule, then fielding noise complaints at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. Approving a pad on common area with a handshake and no written agreement. Mixing up portable and standby units: a generator rolled out of the garage during an outage is a different question from a permanent unit on a pad. For the owner's side of the standby question, see our guide on whether an HOA can restrict a standby generator or transfer switch. Last, never adopting Florida's required hurricane protection specifications at all, which leaves the board with no conforming standard to measure a request against.

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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