How do we write an HOA snow removal contract?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 4, 2026

What an HOA snow removal contract should say: trigger depth, priority map, per-push vs seasonal pricing, deicer, damage, insurance and service logs.

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

What the contract has to pin down

A snow contract is short, but every vague line in it turns into an argument at 6 a.m. in January. Before anyone signs, the contract should answer eight questions in writing. What depth starts service, and where is it measured. What gets cleared first, and how many hours after the snow stops the vendor has to finish. How the vendor bills. Which deicer goes down, where, and at what rate. Where plowed snow gets piled. Who pays when a plow blade takes out a curb or a sprinkler head. What insurance the vendor carries. And what records the vendor hands over after every visit. If your current contract is a one-page proposal that says 'snow removal as needed, $X per visit,' it answers maybe two of those. This guide is written with Colorado in mind. Florida boards can skip it. Texas boards should read the section on ice-only callouts, because a hard freeze with no measurable snow never reaches a depth trigger.

Set the trigger and say how depth is measured

A common setup is plowing at 2 inches and walks at 1 inch, but the number matters less than the measuring rule. Name one spot on the property, such as the entrance median or the open lawn by the mailbox kiosk, and say depth is measured there. The National Weather Service tells its volunteer snow observers to measure in an open area away from buildings and trees, and where wind has drifted the snow, to take several measurements and average them while ignoring the biggest drifts and the plow piles. Borrow that language. Without it, the vendor measures the drift against the clubhouse wall and bills a push you did not need. Add a separate callout for ice: 'When freezing rain or refreezing meltwater creates ice on the priority walks, Contractor will apply deicer within 4 hours of notice from the Association, billed at the per-application rate.' That clause is the one that matters in Texas, where a winter storm can glaze the walks without ever reaching a depth trigger.

Priority map, completion times and where the snow goes

Attach a site map to the contract and number the areas. A typical order is the main entrance and any fire lane first, then the mailbox kiosk and clubhouse walk, then internal streets, then common sidewalks, then guest parking. Give a completion time for each tier, such as priority 1 open within 2 hours of the trigger and everything done within 8 hours after snowfall stops. Mark snow storage areas on the same map, and mark where snow may not go: fire hydrants, storm inlets, sight lines at the entrance, and the low spot that already floods. If the association owns frontage on a public sidewalk, find out what the city expects. Denver requires property owners to clear their sidewalks, including the adjacent ADA curb ramps at the corners, so list those ramps on the map too. Its fact sheet says businesses should start clearing as soon as snow stops and residences should clear by the next day, and after an inspector leaves a notice, a business gets 4 hours and a residence 24 hours before a recheck and a possible $150 fine. Ask your city which category a common-area frontage falls in and write that deadline into the contract. Denver also tells property owners not to push snow into the gutter or the street, where it refreezes in the shade. Put the same rule in yours.

Pick a pricing model with the numbers in front of you

Vendors usually offer one of four models. Per push charges a fixed price each time the crew plows. Per inch or per tier charges more for a 6-inch storm than a 2-inch one. Per event charges once per storm regardless of passes, with a cap on hours or inches. A seasonal contract charges a flat amount for the winter, often in monthly installments, and sometimes caps the number of events or inches before extra charges start. Which is cheaper depends on the winter, and winters swing hard. The National Weather Service's Boulder office puts Denver's long-term average, for records back to 1882, at 56.6 inches a season, but the record runs from 21.3 inches to 118.7. A treasurer who wants a steady budget line should lean seasonal. A board with healthy operating reserves can take per-push pricing and ride out a heavy year. Either way, pull the last three to five winters of invoices and count the pushes and applications. Then price each bid against that history. For example, if the property averaged 14 pushes and 10 deicer applications a year, a bid at $425 a push and $180 an application comes to about $7,750 in a normal winter. Compare that with the seasonal quote and its cap, and with what the per-push bid would cost in the heaviest winter on your invoices.

Deicer, damage and the fall walk-through

Name the product and the areas. Rock salt is the cheapest option, and it can damage new concrete, turf and plantings. Blended and magnesium chloride products usually cost more. Say which one goes on walks, which goes on streets, and whether the vendor may use sand. Decide whether the vendor pre-treats. Denver's fact sheet recommends putting deicer on sidewalks before a forecast storm, because it keeps snow and ice from bonding and makes removal easier. If you want that, write it in as its own line item with a trigger, such as a forecast of 2 inches or more within 24 hours, so the vendor does not bill a pre-treat for every flurry in the forecast. Then deal with damage before the first storm. In October, walk the property with the vendor, photograph curbs, sprinkler heads near pavement edges, light poles, mailbox posts and turf edges, and have the vendor set marker stakes along curbs and walks. The contract should say the vendor repairs damage its equipment causes, that the association reports damage in writing by a set date such as April 30, and that repairs are done by June 1. Without the photos, every chipped curb becomes a debate about whether it was already chipped.

Insurance and service logs are your defense

Plows are trucks on your property in bad visibility, so ask for commercial general liability, commercial auto covering the plow vehicles, and workers' compensation, with the association named as additional insured on the liability policy. Colorado's CCIOA, at CRS 38-33.3-313(1)(b), already requires the association to maintain, to the extent reasonably available, commercial general liability insurance for claims arising from the ownership, use or management of the common elements. The vendor's policy should be the first to answer a claim caused by the vendor's work, so the association's own policy and loss history stay out of it. Our guide on how to check a vendor certificate of insurance covers reading the certificate. Then require a service log for every visit: date, arrival and departure times, depth measured, areas cleared, and product and amount of deicer applied. Ask for it by email within 24 hours, attached to the invoice. When an owner or a guest slips on the clubhouse walk, the log is how the board shows what was done and when. Our guide on who is responsible for snow removal in an HOA explains why that record matters under the liability rules in different states.

Clauses you can adapt

Trigger: 'Contractor will begin plowing streets and parking areas when 2 inches of snow have accumulated, measured at the entrance median as an average of three readings excluding drifts, and will begin clearing walks at 1 inch.' Completion: 'Priority 1 areas shown on Exhibit A will be passable within 2 hours of the trigger. All areas will be complete within 8 hours after snowfall ends.' Records: 'Contractor will email a service log for each visit within 24 hours. The Association is not obligated to pay for any visit without a log.' Exclusions, stated so owners stop asking: 'Service does not include private driveways, private entry walks or the plow berm at the end of private driveways unless listed on Exhibit A.' Term: 'This agreement runs from November 1 through April 30. Either party may terminate on 30 days' written notice.' Rules vary by state and by the community's governing documents, and a lawyer should review a multi-year contract. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

A sample calendar and the usual mistakes

August: pull invoices, count pushes, update the scope and map. September: bids due, board votes at a noticed meeting, and the contract is signed with the certificate of insurance attached. October: damage walk-through with photos, stakes in the ground, the vendor's 24-hour contact number sent to owners. November 1: service starts. April 30: service ends and damage reports are due. June 1: repairs finished, and the board reviews the logs against invoices before deciding whether to renew. The mistakes are predictable. Boards sign an auto-renewing contract nobody reads again. They pay invoices without logs. They leave the driveway berm undefined and spend the winter fielding complaints. They let one director text the vendor to come back and redo a walk, which turns into a disputed extra charge. Name one board contact who calls the vendor, and send every change in writing.

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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