An owner wants to cut down a tree on their own lot. How should our HOA board review the request?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 13, 2026

How an HOA board reviews an owner's request to remove a tree from their lot: dead vs healthy trees, arborist reports, TX, FL and CO law, replanting and approval wording.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

If your declaration or architectural guidelines require approval to remove trees, review the request like any other change to the lot, but sort it first. A dead or dangerous tree should be approved in days, not weeks, with a photo and a short note from an arborist. A healthy tree the owner simply dislikes gets the full review: why it has to go, what replaces it, and how the street will look afterward. Check the documents before anything else. Many declarations require approval for structures and say nothing about removing plants. If yours only covers planting, or only covers trees above a stated trunk size, the committee has nothing to approve for a small tree and should say so in writing instead of inventing a rule. The city may have its own tree rules, and they sit on top of yours. The committee approves or denies under the covenants. The owner deals with the city. 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

None of the three states gives an owner a general right to remove a tree over an HOA's objection. The statutes that people quote at the board mostly limit cities, not associations. Texas. Local Government Code 212.905(h) bars a city from prohibiting removal of, or charging a mitigation fee for, a tree that is diseased, dead or an imminent threat to people or property. Under 212.905(b), a city may not charge a mitigation fee for a tree under 10 inches in diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground on the owner's own one- or two-family home. Neither subsection mentions property owners' associations. On your side, Property Code 202.004(a) presumes the board's discretionary decisions are reasonable unless a court finds them arbitrary, capricious or discriminatory. In an association with more than 40 lots and no declarant control of review, 209.00505(d) and (e) require a written denial that explains the basis and the changes that would win approval, and a board hearing within 30 days if the owner asks for one. Florida. Statute 163.045 bars a local government from requiring a permit, fee, notice or replanting for pruning or removing a tree at a detached single-family home when the owner has a signed onsite risk assessment from an ISA-certified arborist or a Florida-licensed landscape architect showing removal is the only practical way to bring the risk below moderate. The section does not mention associations, so it does not cancel your approval requirement, but that report is the best evidence for a fast approval. Section 720.3035(1)(a) limits review to what the declaration or its authorized guidelines state or reasonably infer, and 720.3035(4)(a) requires a denial to name the specific rule or covenant and the part of the request that does not conform. Colorado. C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.5(1)(e) bars an association from prohibiting removal of trees, shrubs or other vegetation to create defensible space for fire mitigation, if the work follows a written plan from the Colorado State Forest Service, a locally certified planner, or the local fire chief, fire marshal or fire protection district, and goes no further than the plan requires. The owner must register the plan with the association before work starts. The association may require changes only with the consent of whoever wrote the plan, and it may apply its own standards on slash removal, stump height, revegetation and contractors.

Sort the request before you review it

Most tree requests fall into one of four groups. Dead, dying or hazardous. The USDA Forest Service publication How to Recognize Hazardous Defects in Trees lists the warning signs: dead wood, cracks, weak branch unions, decay, cankers, root problems and poor tree architecture. It defines a hazard tree as one with defects likely to cause failure that could strike a target such as a house, a car or a backyard. A tree like that over a roof is a liability for the owner and, if it falls toward common area, for you. Approve it quickly. Root or structure damage. Roots lifting a slab or a sidewalk, or limbs on the roof. Ask for photos and a contractor or arborist note. Part of a project. The tree is in the way of a pool, an addition or a driveway. Review the removal as part of that project and approve or deny both together. Preference. The owner is tired of leaves, wants more sun, or wants a view. These are the requests your guidelines exist for. Approve, deny or condition them on replanting, but decide them the same way every time.

What the application should include

Ask for these items on a one-page form so the committee is not chasing them one at a time. A site sketch or marked-up plat showing the tree, the house, the lot lines and any easement. The species, if known, and the trunk diameter measured at 4.5 feet above the ground. That is the height Texas uses in 212.905, so the owner may need the number for the city anyway. Photos of the whole tree and of any damage or defect. The reason for removal, in one or two sentences. For a dead or hazardous tree, a note from an ISA-certified arborist. In Florida, if the owner already has the signed risk assessment described in 163.045, accept that. Whether the tree is required by the declaration or the original landscape plan. Some declarations require a minimum number of front-yard or street trees per lot. The replacement plan, if one is required: species, size at planting and location. The contractor's name, and a certificate of insurance if the crew will cross common area or work over a shared fence. Confirmation that the owner checked city rules. Some cities protect large or heritage trees, and approval from the committee does not substitute for a city permit.

Conditions worth attaching to an approval

Replanting. If your guidelines require a minimum number of trees, require a replacement of a stated size within a stated planting season, from your approved plant list. In Florida, the replanting bar in 163.045(3) applies to local governments; whether your association can require replanting depends on your documents. Stump. Say whether the stump must be ground below grade and by when. Colorado associations can set stump height standards even for defensible space work under 106.5(1)(e). Debris. All wood and chips off the lot, the street and common area within a set number of days. Common area. No equipment, trucks or felled wood on common area without separate written permission, and the owner pays for any damage to irrigation, turf or curbs. Neighbors. If the tree straddles a lot line, the owner needs the neighbor's written consent, because the committee cannot approve work on a lot it was not asked about. City. Any city permit is the owner's responsibility, with a copy to the association before work starts.

A sample timeline and approval wording

Day 0: log the complete application with the date received. Within 3 business days for a dead or hazardous tree: one committee member reviews the photos and arborist note and issues the decision. Your guidelines can delegate this to the chair or the manager. Within 5 days for any other request: send one written list of anything missing. By day 30: issue a written decision on a healthy-tree request after a committee member looks at the tree, or sooner if the declaration sets a shorter deemed-approval period. After approval: the owner sends a photo when the stump is ground and another when the replacement is planted. Approval wording the committee can copy: "The Architectural Committee approves removal of the [species] tree, [diameter] inches at 4.5 feet, at [address], shown in your application dated [date], on these conditions: (1) the stump is ground below grade within [30] days of removal; (2) all wood and debris is removed from the lot, the street and any common area within [7] days; (3) no equipment or debris is placed on common area without separate written permission, and you pay for any damage to association property; (4) a replacement [species from the approved list], at least [size] at planting, is planted at the location shown by [date]; and (5) you obtain any permit the city requires. The committee reviewed this request under the association's covenants only. It has not assessed the tree's health or safety, and its approval is not a city permit."

Mistakes boards make

Sitting on an emergency. A cracked oak leaning over a bedroom does not wait for the monthly meeting. Write the fast-track path into your guidelines now. Treating a Florida or Texas city exemption as the end of the matter. Those statutes limit cities, and your covenants still apply. Denying a Colorado defensible space plan. If the owner registered a qualifying plan, 106.5(1)(e) leaves the committee with standards on slash, stumps, revegetation and contractors, and changes only with the plan author's consent. Asking the board to rule on tree health. Volunteers are not arborists. Ask for the report, and word the approval so it does not read as a safety finding. Enforcing a rule the documents do not contain. If nothing requires approval to remove a tree, a denial will not hold up. Approving heavy oak pruning in place of removal without checking the calendar. In Texas, the season matters for oak wilt. Read our guide on how to prevent and contain oak wilt in Texas HOA trees before you approve any cut into an oak. Letting an unapproved removal slide. If a tree comes down without a request, use the notice and hearing steps in our guide on how to handle an owner who built without HOA architectural approval, and ask whether the request would have passed before you fine anyone.

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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