Painting Your House in an HOA

The goals of most homeowners associations (HOAs) are to maintain and boost property values, provide services to their residents, and ensure a certain standard of uniformity is met from property to property. If you are a homeowner in a HOA community, you may be wondering how the HOA rules will affect you should you choose to change the exterior color of your house. This guide will take you through all the information you need to know to navigate painting your house in an HOA.

Why Does Your HOA Matter?

HOAs are organizations within a neighborhood, subdivision, etc that set and enforce a group of rules for those that live in that community. They can be found across the US, and while there is some variation from organization to organization they all tend to function in a similar way. The residents of that community comprise the board of the community’s HOA, so all rules and decisions are being made in-house so to speak. If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, odds are you were required to join it when you moved in. There are select HOAs that will allow a resident to opt out of joining, but for the vast majority of them it is mandatory. In joining this association, you would have been given a copy of the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R). This is the official rule book or handbook of HOAs, and it outlines everything you need to know about living in your community. It discusses the fee schedule for the HOA, what services are provided and when, how you will be contacted or how you can contact your HOA, what rules and bylaws you as a homeowner are required to follow, and how you can be punished for breaking those rules. This is more than a guideline – you would have signed a legally-binding document agreeing to the CC&R when you moved in. This means that any deviation from the rules in the CC&R can be subject to anything from written warnings to fines to even legal action. What does this mean for your paint color? As discussed, many of the rules set by HOAs focus on achieving a level of uniformity within the community. If you go and paint your house a bright purple, for instance, and it is not sanctioned by your HOA, you may face anything from recurring fees and penalties until the color is changed (at your expense) to forced correction of the paint color, or even a lawsuit for breach of contract. What your HOA says about your paint type and color absolutely matters, and the last thing you want is to get into a monetary or legal battle with them.

What Specifications Might Your HOA Require?

Some HOAs are very explicit in their CC&R about the exterior paint on their houses. Here are some of the rules and bylaws you may expect to find depending on your HOA:

Paint Color

The color of your house is one of the most noticeable things about your property. It can either make your house feel like an integrated part of the community at large, or make it stick out like a sore thumb. As you can imagine, your HOA works hard to ensure the former. Some HOAs will helpfully provide a color palette to choose from, or a strict set of guidelines to follow, i.e. no lighter than x shade and no darker than x shade in these specific colors. This takes away the ambiguity in the decision, and still gives you options while maintaining uniformity in the neighborhood.

The main exterior paint color isn’t the only thing that there will likely be guidelines for. Oftentimes you will find similar rules for the paint color of shutters, trim, gutters, fences, etc. Hand-in-hand with the color of the paint, the amount of gloss in the finish is also generally specified and regulated as well.

Paint Type

This is less common to see in the CC&R, but it is arguably as important for an HOA to have guidelines on as the color. Not all paints are created equal. A cheap, off-brand paint is not going to have the same curb appeal or durability as a high-quality paint. Specifying not only the color of the paint that is acceptable but also the brand(s) of paints that a homeowner can use has several benefits to both the homeowner and the HOA:

Durability – high-quality paints will last longer before starting to fade, chip, or otherwise look unkempt. They do not have to be repainted as frequently

Property value – high-quality paints cover a surface more consistently and with fewer blemishes, boosting property value and curb appeal

• Eco-friendly – most low-quality paints contain a higher quantity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can cause respiratory issues as they are drying in sensitive people and are also worse for the environment

With all this in mind, it is essential that an HOA only recommend reputable paint brands for their residents if they are going to provide such detailed guidelines.

Vendors or Contractors
While many HOAs will not care who you get to do the job as long as it is done well, some HOAs establish relationships with certain contractors or companies and will give their residents a list of preferred painters. Using one of these vendors will actually give you some protections if anything with the job goes awry, as they will have to answer to not only you as the homeowner but the HOA as well.

How to Paint your House in an HOA
Now that you’ve learned more about what HOAs are, how they function, and the things they might look for or require of homeowners when it comes to painting their houses, let’s look at the exact steps you need to take to paint your exterior:

Step One: Consult Your CC&R and Bylaws
Some HOAs prefer for nothing to be left up to interpretation, and every detail about each decision you could make as a homeowner will be clearly and thoroughly outlined in your bylaws. If this is the case, then you already have most of what you need to get started! If your HOA’s bylaws tend to be a bit more vague, however, then you’ll want to gather some more information before you schedule the painters – which takes us to the next step.

Step Two: Contact Your HOA
Even if all the information you could want is already at your fingertips it is still a good idea to get in contact and tell your HOA what you are planning to do. You can cite the specific bylaws that allow for your paint choices, and let them know when you plan to have the work done. If your bylaws do not have as much information as you may want, you will definitely want to
contact your HOA instead of trying to fill in the gaps yourself. You can ask them for a list of approved colors if one is not provided, you can ask them if there are any preferred brands of paint or contractors to do the job, and you can ensure that each piece of your project has approval beforehand.

Step Three: Choose a High-Quality Paint
Now that you know your color, your HOA may say that they do not care what the brand of the paint you choose is as long as it falls within the color specifications. If this is the case, you are not going to want to reach for the cheapest can on the shelf for all of the reasons outlined above. If you are part of an HOA board, it would also be encouraged to consider adding guidelines for paint quality or brands to your bylaws.

Step Four: Have the Work Done
Once you have obtained the seal of approval from your HOA for your planned project, you can go ahead and schedule the job. Many HOAs will have a stipulation about what work can and cannot be performed by the homeowner, so if you are planning to make this a DIY adventure then be sure that there are no rules against that when you check in with your HOA ahead of time.

Step Five: Sign Off
Most HOAs will not require a formal inspection for the work once it is completed. In fact, since the residents of your neighborhood comprise your HOA board you will be “inspected” as they see your house on the day-to-day. Having said that, you can avoid ugly surprises by having someone from your HOA sign off on the work after it is completed. This way if any issues do arise you can address them in real time, not by getting a letter in your mailbox. This is where the HOA can have your back: if you used one of their vendors and something with the project was not done properly.

What to Do if You are Repainting the Same Color
If it has been some time since your house was last painted and the paint is starting to show signs of needing a touch-up, you may like the way your house looks and simply want to re-apply the same color that was used previously. In this case you generally do not need to get explicit HOA approval for the color, as it was already used. It is still advisable to give them a heads up about the project, however, for the purposes of checking for approved/recommended vendors, paint types, etc.

What to Do if Your Paint Isn’t HOA-Approved
Say you are browsing your local home improvement store, and you see a gorgeous paint color that you think would look wonderful on your home. It’s not a flashy or unconventional color, but after checking your HOA’s bylaws you see that it is not on the approved color palette. Unless you want an all-out war with your HOA (which ultimately is only going to cost you more money), do not ignore the bylaws and paint your house regardless. Instead, contact your HOA board or attend their next board meeting. You will generally have the opportunity to make your case for your chosen paint color. If there are other hues in the neighborhood that are similar to yours that are on the approved list, it would be good to cite those colors as part of your argument.

Your HOA may still come back and say that the color is not approved – or it may be voted on to be added to the list. Be advised that you are generally not going to get an exemption from your HOA; if the color is not going to be approved for everyone, then they are not very likely to let you use it alone.

Conclusion

Homeowners associations, HOAs, are a very common organization to come across as a homeowner. They provide many services to their community, and one of the most important ones is to regulate and enforce a set of standards for the exteriors of the homes there. If you decide to repaint your home a different color, you should contact your HOA and make sure that each step of your project is in compliance with their bylaws and regulations – or face steep consequences. You generally do not need to do this if you are repainting your home the same color, but it is still recommended. If you would like to paint your home a different color than one that is HOA sanctioned, you should absolutely seek their approval beforehand and see if you can have that color added to their acceptable list. If it does not get approved, then you should defer to the choices they have available to you.