How do we write an HOA policy for owner remodels and contractor work?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 20, 2026

How an HOA board writes a construction policy for owner remodels: contractor hours, dumpsters and pods on private streets, damage deposits, debris and deadlines.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

Approval decides what gets built, the policy decides how

Architectural review answers one question: may this owner build this fence, pool or addition? It says nothing about the four months of trucks that follow. A construction policy covers that part. It sets when crews may work, where trucks, dumpsters and storage pods may sit, how debris and mud are kept off the street, who pays when a concrete truck cracks a curb, and when the project has to be finished. Most declarations let the board adopt rules like these. Colorado says so in statute: section 38-33.3-302(1)(a) lets an association adopt rules, and (1)(f) lets it regulate the use, maintenance and modification of common elements. Your authority still starts with your own declaration, so read it first. Rules differ by state and by community, and this guide is general education, not legal advice. Our guide on how to write HOA architectural guidelines covers the approval side. This one assumes the project is approved and the dumpster is on its way.

Pull the facts before drafting

Read the declaration articles on architectural control, nuisances, temporary structures, parking, and use of the streets and common area. Write down what they already say about construction and who has power to make rules. Then pull two or three years of complaints and violation letters about remodels. In most communities the same few problems account for nearly all of them: crews starting at 6:30 on a Saturday, a dumpster parked in the street for nine weeks, mud tracked down the main road, a portable toilet in the front yard, and a backyard pool project that ran a year past its start date. Write the policy to fix those problems and skip the ones you have never had. Two Florida limits shape the draft. Section 720.3035(1)(b) bars rules that limit or set requirements for the interior of a structure that is not visible from the frontage, an adjacent parcel, adjacent common area or a community golf course, so keep the policy on what neighbors see and hear outside. Section 720.3035(1)(c) bars requiring a government building permit as a condition of the association's review. Say instead that approval does not replace a permit and that getting one is the owner's job.

What the policy should say

Write each rule as a number an owner and a contractor can follow without calling the board. Work hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and no exterior work by contractors on Sundays or the holidays you list. Check your city noise ordinance; the stricter rule applies either way. Parking: contractor vehicles park on the owner's lot or along the owner's frontage, never on common turf, in front of a mailbox cluster or within the distance your fire code sets from a hydrant. Containers: roll-off dumpsters and storage pods sit on the owner's driveway, no larger than 20 cubic yards, with plywood or boards under the wheels to protect pavement, for up to 30 days with one written extension. Debris: the site is cleaned up daily, loose material is covered before wind or rain, and nobody washes concrete, paint or drywall mud into a street or storm drain. Portable toilets go beside or behind the house, not in the front yard. Digging: the owner or contractor calls 811 before any digging; the federal pipeline safety agency notes every state requires a call 48 to 72 hours ahead and that the service is free. Completion: exterior work is finished within 6 months of the start date unless the approval letter allows longer. Owners answer for their contractors, the same as for their guests.

Deposits, photos and damage

If the declaration or published guidelines authorize a refundable damage deposit, scale it to what the project can break. One workable schedule: no deposit for painting, roofing on the existing footprint or interior work; $500 for projects with a dumpster or heavy deliveries; $2,000 for pools, additions and anything with an excavator or concrete trucks. Those figures are examples for your board to set, not a standard. Book the money as a liability, not income, and keep a simple list of who paid what. Before work starts, the owner or contractor and a director walk the street, curb, sidewalk, gate and any common area next to the lot and take dated photos. Both sign the photo sheet. At the end, the same two people walk it again. Return the deposit within 30 days of the final walk, less only documented repair costs with the invoice attached. A deposit is security for damage, so do not keep it for a late dumpster unless the policy said so in advance, and never apply it to an unrelated dues balance. Our guide on whether an HOA can charge a construction or contractor deposit explains how owners read these rules, which is worth knowing before you write yours.

Adopt it the way your state requires

Follow the rule-adoption steps in your bylaws, then the state steps on top. In Florida, section 720.303(2)(c) requires written notice at least 14 days before any board meeting at which amendments to rules regarding parcel use will be considered, mailed, delivered or sent electronically and posted on the property. In Texas, section 202.006 of the Property Code requires a property owners' association to file its dedicatory instruments in the county real property records, and an instrument has no effect until it is filed, so record the adopted policy before you enforce it. In Colorado, section 38-33.3-209.5(1)(b)(VII) requires every association to have a written policy on how it adopts and amends policies and rules; follow yours. A motion the board can adapt: 'I move that the association adopt the Owner Construction and Remodel Policy dated November 1, including the work hours, container limits, damage deposit schedule and 6-month completion rule, effective for projects approved on or after January 1, and that the secretary record it and send it to all owners.' Making it apply to projects approved after a future date avoids fights with owners whose crews are already on site.

A sample project timeline

Day minus 30: the owner submits the architectural application, with the contractor's name, phone and planned dates. Day minus 7: approval issues with a one-page construction summary attached, and the board asks for the deposit and a contractor contact sheet. Day minus 3: pre-construction walk and photos; the owner gives neighbors on both sides a heads-up. Day 0: dumpster delivered to the driveway on plywood. Day 30: dumpster gone, or a written extension granted with a new date. Final day: the owner reports completion and a director checks the work against the approved plans and walks the street again. Thirty days after that: deposit refunded, with any deduction itemized in writing. Put each date in the project file so the next board can see what happened. A notice line for the approval letter: 'Your contractor may work 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. The dumpster must stay on your driveway and leave by [date]. Call [director] at [phone] with any questions before work starts.'

Enforcing it without a feud

Most problems end with a phone call to the owner, who calls the contractor. Make that the first step every time, and write down the date. If it continues, follow your state's enforcement process before any fine. Texas Property Code section 209.006 requires written notice before levying a fine, and the notice must tell the owner they are entitled to a reasonable period to cure a curable violation. Florida section 720.305(2) requires 14 days' written notice and a hearing before a committee of at least three members who are not officers, directors or employees, and no fine may be imposed if the violation is cured before the hearing. Fines there are capped at $100 per violation and $1,000 total for a continuing violation unless your governing documents provide otherwise. Colorado requires a written enforcement policy with notice and hearing procedures and a fine schedule under section 38-33.3-209.5(1)(b)(IV). The board has no power to stop a crew on the spot. If the problem is safety or an unpermitted structure, call the city building department, which does.

Mistakes to avoid

Charging the same $5,000 deposit for a paint job and a pool. Writing a completion rule with no date, so a half-built deck sits for two summers. Banning dumpsters in the street on a private road the association owns, then letting the director next door park one there for a month. Keeping a deposit to cover an owner's unrelated late dues. In Florida, writing rules for interior remodels nobody outside can see. In Texas, enforcing a new policy that was never recorded. Holding the refund until the owner asks twice. Letting the policy live only in the board's email, where the next owner and the next board never find it. Post it with the architectural application, attach the summary to every approval letter, and give it to buyers in the resale packet.

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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