How should our HOA board set guest limits, guest passes and guest fees for the pool and other amenities?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 28, 2026

How an HOA board sets guest limits, guest passes and guest fees for the pool and clubhouse, with TX, FL and CO rules, sample wording and a timeline.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Write one guest policy that covers every amenity. Base the guest limit on the real capacity of your busiest amenity, make the host owner responsible for every guest, and charge a guest fee only if it fixes a real problem such as crowding or wear. Before drafting, confirm two things in the declaration: that the board can make rules for the common areas, and that the declaration does not already set guest terms the board cannot change. In Colorado the rulemaking power also comes from statute. C.R.S. 38-33.3-302(1)(f) lets an association regulate the use of common elements, and 38-33.3-302.5(1) says it may not unreasonably restrict owners' access to them or their enjoyment of them. A guest rule is a limit on how owners enjoy the pool, so it needs a reason you can state. Rules vary by state and by each community's documents. This guide is education, not legal advice, so have the association's attorney read the final draft.

Do the capacity math first

Guest limits that come from another community's rule sheet tend to be wrong for yours. Start with the posted maximum bather load or occupancy for the pool and the clubhouse, which is usually on the pool sign or the operating permit. Then pull whatever records you have for the busiest days: gate or fob entry logs, the sign-in sheet, and complaints from last summer. Here is the arithmetic for an 80-home community with a posted pool load of 60. If 15 households show up on a hot Saturday, averaging two and a half residents each, that is about 38 people before any guests arrive. Four guests per household adds 60 more, and the pool is well over its limit. Two guests per household brings the total to about 68, still slightly over, which tells the board it needs a lower weekend number or a cap on total guests in the area at one time. On a weekday afternoon with six households, a limit of four guests is no problem. One more call before drafting: ask the insurance agent whether the general liability policy says anything about guests, outside groups or the number of people at the pool.

Decide the rules that matter

Keep the policy to a handful of decisions. Set the guest limit per household, and consider a lower limit on weekends and holidays. Require the host to be present for the whole visit, and set a minimum host age, such as 18. Decide whether guests need a pass. A simple version gives each household 20 guest visits per season and logs them at entry. Cover houseguests: a relative staying three weeks should be able to get a temporary pass with start and end dates instead of signing in as a guest every day. Cover tenants. Many declarations transfer the owner's amenity rights to the tenant for the term of the lease, and in that case the tenant hosts guests under the same rules and the owner does not use the amenities while the lease runs. Two groups should not count as guests at all. A caregiver who comes with a resident who has a disability may be needed for that resident to use the pool, and the federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3604(f)(3)(B), requires reasonable accommodations in rules and policies. A nanny or sitter supervising a resident's children is the other group; treat them like a household member while they are on duty.

Whether to charge a guest fee, and how much

A guest fee should cover wear and discourage the household that brings the same eight friends every weekend. It should not be a revenue line. First check that the declaration, or a fee schedule the board adopted under the declaration, allows use fees. Then price it from cost. Say the pool costs $24,000 a season for service, chemicals, utilities and its share of insurance, and the entry logs show about 4,000 visits. That is $6 a visit, so a $3 to $5 guest fee is easy to defend and a $15 fee is hard to defend. Sell guest passes in advance, online or as a punch card from the manager or treasurer, so no volunteer handles cash at the gate. Taxes need a quick check too. The IRS instructions for Form 1120-H list payments from nonmembers and members' payments for special use of facilities as income that is not exempt function income. Treasury Regulation 1.528-9 treats a member's yearly fee for a pool as exempt function income but not payments to use a building for an evening or a weekend. Guest fees likely land on the taxable side, so record them in their own income account and ask your tax preparer. Our guide on whether an HOA has to collect sales tax on amenity fees and rentals covers the state sales tax question.

Wording the board can copy

Adapt this policy text: 'Guests. Each household may bring up to four guests at a time on weekdays and two on weekends and holidays. The host must be at least 18, must stay with the guests for the entire visit, and is responsible for their conduct and any damage they cause. Each household receives 20 guest visits per season. Additional guest passes cost $4 per visit and must be bought in advance. A houseguest staying more than seven days may receive a temporary pass by registering their name and dates with the manager. Caregivers accompanying a resident with a disability, and sitters supervising a resident's children, are not counted as guests. Tenants who hold the owner's amenity rights under the declaration follow this policy in the owner's place.' A motion to adopt it: 'I move that the board adopt the amenity guest policy dated April 8, effective May 1, and direct the secretary to send it to all owners and tenants of record and post it at each amenity entrance.'

Enforcement and suspension in Texas, Florida and Colorado

Make the owner answerable for guests, because a guest will never receive a violation letter. Florida says this outright. Fla. Stat. 720.305(1) binds each member's tenants, guests and invitees to the governing documents and rules. Under 720.305(2) a fine may not exceed $100 per violation, or $1,000 in total for a continuing violation, unless the governing documents say otherwise, and (2)(a) allows a reasonable suspension of common area use for a member or the member's guest. Before either, (2)(b) requires at least 14 days' written notice of a hearing before a committee of at least three owners who are not directors, officers or employees or their relatives. Separately, 720.305(3) lets the association suspend use rights of a member who is more than 90 days delinquent, and of that member's tenants and guests, until the balance is paid. In Texas, Prop. Code 209.006(a) requires written notice by certified mail before the association suspends an owner's right to use a common area or levies a fine, and 209.006(b) gives the owner a reasonable cure period for a curable violation and the right to request a hearing within 30 days. In Colorado, C.R.S. 38-33.3-302(1)(k)(I) allows fines only after notice and an opportunity to be heard. For a first slip, a friendly email works better than any of these.

A timeline that lands before pool season

Do this in winter, when nobody is standing at the gate with four cousins. In January, pull the capacity numbers, entry logs and complaints. In February, the board drafts the policy and the treasurer prices any guest fee. In March, send the draft to owners with a comment deadline of at least 21 days, and take comments at an open board meeting. In April, adopt the final version by motion and have the attorney confirm the fee authority. In early May, send the policy to owners and tenants, update passes and the gate signs. In September, compare guest counts and fee income with what you expected, and adjust before next year.

Mistakes boards make

Copying the limit from the community down the road without doing the capacity math. Letting directors waive the limit for friends, which undercuts every later enforcement letter. Charging a fee no document authorizes. Banning child guests or setting adult-only hours that keep families out of the pool, which can raise a familial status problem under 42 U.S.C. 3604(b). Counting a resident's aide as a guest. Taking cash at the gate. Forgetting that a tenant may hold the amenity rights, so the policy reaches the wrong person. For outsiders who come in without any host, the problem is trespass, and our guide on how to stop trespassers from using the HOA pool or clubhouse covers that separately.

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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