How should our HOA board handle an owner who wants to run a licensed child care home?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 21, 2026

How an HOA board handles an owner request to run a licensed child care home: Colorado's protection, Texas and Florida rules, insurance, parking and drop-off.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Find out three things before the board says anything: which state you are in, what kind of child care the owner plans, and what your declaration says about business use. In Colorado, the association cannot prohibit a licensed family child care home, but it can still enforce its parking, noise and architectural rules and require liability insurance that names the association. In Texas and Florida, no state statute stops an HOA from enforcing a valid covenant against home child care, so the declaration controls. California voids written restrictions that bar a family child care home. Whatever the answer, the board's job is the same: decide on the written record, attach conditions that deal with real effects such as traffic and insurance, and treat the next request the same way. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents, so this guide is general education, not legal advice. Have the association's attorney review any denial.

Ask for the right information

Owners often use "daycare" for very different things. Ask in writing for: 1. The license, registration or listing category, and the agency number once issued. 2. Maximum children at once, ages, and hours. 3. Expected drop-off and pick-up times and where parents will park. 4. Any exterior changes, such as a play structure, a fence the licensing agency requires, or a ramp. 5. A certificate of liability insurance, if your state or the board requires one. 6. Whether the home is rented. If so, the owner of record should sign the request. Do not ask for children's names, family details or inspection reports. The board needs to know how the use affects shared space, not who is enrolled. Keep the file with the architectural records, not in the open-meeting packet.

Colorado: licensed homes are protected

Colorado Revised Statutes section 38-33.3-106.5(1)(k) says an association shall not prohibit the operation of a family child care home licensed under part 3 of article 5 of title 26.5, whatever the declaration or rules say. The protection was added by SB 20-126 in 2020. The same subsection gives the board real tools: Rules still apply. Subsection (1)(k)(II) keeps the association's rules on architectural control, parking, landscaping, noise and other matters not specific to running a business. The board must make reasonable accommodation for fencing that licensing rules require. Insurance. Under (1)(k)(IV) the association may require liability insurance at reasonable levels set by the board, covering injury, death and property damage in the home, in other units and on the common elements. The association must be named as an additional insured, and the policy must be primary to the association's own coverage. 55+ communities. Under (1)(k)(III), the protection does not apply in a community that qualifies as housing for older persons under federal law. The protection covers licensed homes only. Section 26.5-5-304(1)(f) exempts a home caring for no more than four children, with no more than two under age two, from licensing. That home is not covered by (1)(k), but (1)(l), added by SB 24-134, separately bars associations from prohibiting home-based businesses, subject to reasonable rules on parking, noise, nuisance and similar matters. Ask your attorney before denying either kind.

Texas and Florida: the declaration controls

Texas Property Code chapters 202 and 209 contain no protection for child care homes. One point confuses boards: section 202.003(b) bars reading a covenant to prevent a "family home," but that term means a community home for people with disabilities under Human Resources Code chapter 123, not child care. For Texas, the question is what your declaration says about residential use, businesses and traffic. Texas licensing categories help you understand the request. Under Human Resources Code section 42.002(9), a family home cares for up to six unrelated children under 14 in the caregiver's residence, plus up to six school-age children after school, with no more than 12 in total. Section 42.052 requires a home caring for three or fewer unrelated children for pay to list with the state and a home with four or more to register. A group day-care home under 42.002(8) is licensed and serves seven or more. Section 42.049 requires license and registration holders to carry $100,000 per occurrence in liability insurance or give parents written notice that they do not. Florida sections 125.0109 and 166.0445 make a licensed or registered family day care home a residential use for local zoning, so the county or city cannot zone it out. Those sections address zoning, not private covenants, and chapter 720 says nothing about child care. As in Texas, the declaration decides. Section 402.302(8) caps a family day care home at, for example, six preschool children or ten children with no more than five of preschool age. Section 402.313 sets licensing or yearly registration with the state.

Conditions worth attaching

Where the board approves, or must approve, put conditions in a signed letter so everyone knows the terms. Common ones: Drop-off and parking. Parents park in the owner's driveway or legal street spaces, never in fire lanes, guest spaces assigned to others, or across a neighbor's driveway. Common areas. Children in care use the pool, playground or clubhouse only under the amenity rules that apply to guests, if at all, and only if the policy covers it. Insurance. A certificate each year, with the association as additional insured where your state allows it, as Colorado does. Exterior changes. Any fence or play structure goes through normal architectural review, with the licensing requirement treated as a reason to approve, not a reason to skip review. Signs. Follow the community's sign rules. A motion the board can adapt: "Move to approve the request of the owner of [address] to operate a licensed family child care home, subject to the conditions in the attached letter dated [date], including proof of liability insurance naming the association as additional insured within 30 days and annually after that."

If your documents allow a ban

In Texas, Florida and other states without a statute, a declaration that limits lots to residential use may let the board refuse. Before relying on it, check three things. First, whether the board has let other home businesses with client traffic operate, such as tutoring or a hair salon. An owner who is refused will point to those businesses and argue the rule was waived or applied unevenly. Second, whether the declaration actually bans businesses or only signs and commercial vehicles. Third, whether any city ordinance or state law gives the provider rights the board has not looked at. If the board denies the request, say which provision it relies on, in writing, and give the owner a chance to be heard if your documents or state law provide one. Our guide on whether an HOA can restrict a home daycare or family child care covers the owner's side, and our guide on whether an HOA can restrict home-based businesses covers the wider rules.

Mistakes boards make

Saying no by reflex in Colorado. A ban on a licensed home violates the statute, and the board's own rules on parking and noise give it what it needs. Calling every home daycare the same thing. A listed home with three children and a licensed group home with twelve have very different effects. Asking for too much. Children's records are not the board's business. Skipping the insurance step. If the association's policy may respond when a child is hurt on the playground, the board needs the provider's certificate on file before care starts. Deciding by email. Vote at a meeting and keep the conditions letter in the lot file so the next board knows what was agreed.

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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