An owner wants to put in an in-ground pool. How should our HOA board review the request?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 11, 2026

How an HOA board reviews an in-ground pool request: what to ask for, setbacks, drainage, contractor access over common area, Florida and Texas rules, sample wording.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Treat an in-ground pool as a construction project that happens to end in a pool. The look of the finished pool is rarely what goes wrong. The trouble comes from the dig: an excavator crossing the common area, a dump truck cracking the curb, dirt washing into a neighbor's yard, a pad of pump equipment humming under someone's bedroom window. Review those things with care and the rest is quick. No Texas, Florida or Colorado statute protects an owner's right to a pool the way those states protect solar panels or rain barrels, so the declaration and your written guidelines decide whether pools are allowed and on what terms. What state law does control is how you review and how you deny. Ask for a full packet, decide within the deadline in your documents, approve with written conditions, and collect a deposit if your guidelines allow one. Rules vary by state and by each community's governing documents. This is education, not legal advice, so send odd cases to the association's attorney.

What state law already decides

Florida. Section 720.3035(1)(a) limits architectural authority to what the declaration or other published guidelines state or reasonably imply, so find the clause that reaches pools or excavation before you write a single condition. Since July 1, 2026, section 720.3035(1)(c) bars the association from requiring a government building permit before it will review an application (added by chapter 2026-63). Review the plans now and make the permit a condition of approval. A denial must be in writing and state with specificity the rule or covenant relied on and the part of the proposal that does not conform (720.3035(4)(a)). Separately, chapter 515 says a new residential pool cannot pass final inspection without at least one safety feature listed in 515.27(1): a barrier meeting 515.29, an approved safety cover, exit alarms on doors and windows with direct pool access, self-closing and self-latching doors with the release at least 54 inches up, or a pool alarm certified to ASTM F2208. Section 515.29 requires a barrier at least 4 feet high on the outside, with gates that open outward away from the pool and are self-closing and self-latching. Texas. In an association with more than 40 lots, outside the development period, Property Code 209.00505 governs denials. The notice goes by certified mail, hand delivery or electronic delivery, describes the basis for the denial and the changes that would allow approval, and tells the owner they may request a hearing within 30 days. The board holds that hearing within 30 days of the request with at least 10 days' notice, and may affirm, modify or reverse. The section sets no deadline for the first decision, so your declaration controls that. Colorado. CCIOA has no pool rule, but 38-33.3-209.5(1)(b) requires written policies on enforcing covenants and rules, including notice and hearing procedures, and on resolving disputes with owners. Your design review procedure should sit inside those policies.

What the application should include

A pool request is the biggest file most small committees ever see, so give owners a checklist up front. Ask for: - a site plan drawn on the plat or survey, showing the pool, deck, equipment pad and fence, with distances to every lot line, the house and any easement - the pool contractor's name, license number where your state licenses pool contractors, and proof of liability insurance - the barrier plan: fence location, height, material, color and gate swing, or the alternative safety feature the owner will use - a grading and drainage sketch showing where surface water and any pool drain-down water will go - the equipment pad location and the pump and heater model, if known - the access route: which way the excavator and trucks come in, where spoil dirt goes, and where materials will be staged - planned start and finish dates State on the form whether the review clock starts when the request arrives or when it is complete, and make sure the declaration allows that choice. Then send one written list of everything missing within five business days.

Setbacks, easements and drainage

Pull the recorded plat before anyone walks the lot. Rear and side yards in many subdivisions carry utility or drainage easements, and a pool shell or deck poured across one can mean a utility tears it out later at the owner's cost. If the site plan crosses an easement, the committee should not approve that location. Ask the owner to move the pool, or to bring written consent from the easement holder, and say which in the letter. Check your guidelines' setbacks and the city's, and apply whichever is stricter. Then look hard at drainage. A pool and deck turn lawn into hard surface, and the grading work that comes with them can redirect water that used to run to the street. Ask the contractor to show that runoff still leaves the lot the way the plat intends. Ask where a future drain-down will go, and if the city restricts pumping pool water to the street or a storm drain, make that city rule a condition rather than writing your own. Equipment causes more neighbor complaints than the pool itself. Ask for the pad on the side of the house away from the nearest bedroom windows next door, or screened with a wall or shrubs, and say so in the approval.

Construction access over common area

This is where the board, not just the committee, has a decision to make. Many backyard pools on interior lots cannot be dug without crossing a greenbelt, a trail or a neighbor's yard. The owner has no automatic right to drive equipment over common area. If the board allows it, put it in a short signed access agreement: - the exact route, marked on a map - before-and-after photos taken together, with the date on each - a refundable deposit in an amount the guidelines set, held until the committee inspects the route - the contractor's liability certificate naming the association as additional insured - a duty to restore sod, irrigation, curbs and sidewalks within a set number of days - no work outside the hours your rules allow Calling 811 is the contractor's job, but put it in the conditions anyway. Texas Utilities Code 251.151 requires notice at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and legal holidays, and no more than 14 days ahead, for powered digging 16 inches or deeper (251.002). Florida's 556.105 requires at least 2 full business days. Association irrigation lines in a greenbelt usually are not on any utility map, so give the contractor your irrigation plan or mark the lines yourself.

Barriers and safety

The committee does not set the safety standard. The building code does, and the stricter rule wins. Where your guidelines and the code collide, approve a compliant barrier and use your authority on color, material and placement. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's barrier guidelines are a good plain-language check: the top of the barrier at least 48 inches above grade on the side away from the pool, no more than 4 inches of clearance at the bottom, and gaps between vertical members of no more than 4 inches. A committee that caps backyard fences at 42 inches has written a rule no pool can meet. Fix the guideline before the next pool request, not during it. Attach no condition that removes the owner's only compliant option. Our guide on whether an HOA can deny a pool safety fence covers that conflict from the owner's side, and our guide on what to do about a green pool at an owner's home covers what happens if a finished pool is later abandoned.

A review timeline and approval wording

Day 0: log the request and its date. Days 1 to 5: send the missing-items list. Days 5 to 15: a committee member walks the lot with the site plan and plat, and the board decides on any common area access. Days 15 to 30: written decision. Check your declaration's deadline first, since some deem a request approved if the committee misses it. Approval wording the committee can adapt: 'The Architectural Committee approves the in-ground pool, deck, equipment pad and fence shown on your site plan dated [date] for [address], on these conditions: (1) no part of the pool, deck or equipment sits within the [width]-foot [utility or drainage] easement shown on the plat; (2) the equipment pad is located as shown and screened by [wall or shrubs]; (3) the fence is [material and color], meets the building code and is in place before the pool holds water; (4) you obtain any required city or county permits before work starts and give the association a copy; (5) construction access follows the signed access agreement dated [date], including the [amount] deposit; and (6) work is finished within [number] months. Any change to the approved plans needs a new approval.' A denial should name the rule and the fix: 'The proposed pool deck extends 6 feet into the drainage easement shown on the plat. The committee will approve the same pool if the deck stays outside the easement.'

Mistakes boards make

Approving the pool and forgetting the route. The cracked curb and rutted greenbelt end up on the association's budget. Letting the contractor start before the access agreement is signed and the deposit is in hand. Approving a location that crosses an easement because the owner said the utility would never need it. Requiring a city permit before review in Florida, which the statute now forbids. Writing a fence rule that blocks a code-compliant barrier. Signing off at the final walk-through without checking the as-built deck and equipment pad against the approved plan. Approve nothing verbally, and keep the site plan, conditions, photos and inspection notes in the lot file for the next buyer's resale questions.

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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