HOA Approval for a Patio Cover in Arizona

If your house is in an Arizona HOA, getting HOA approval for a patio cover usually comes before anything else. The same goes for new siding and for a change of exterior colors. The rules are in your community documents, and an architectural or design committee often does the review.

Start with your own documents

Read the CC&Rs and any design guidelines before work is scheduled. Look for anything on structures attached to the house, patio covers, distance from the lot lines, roof materials, siding and colors. If there’s a design guidelines book, ask for the current version, since guidelines can change. If you don’t have a copy of something, ask the association. In a planned community, state law gives it ten business days to let you examine its records (A.R.S. 33-1805).

Two examples: Sun City and Sun City West

Rules change from one community to the next. In Sun City, the single-family CC&Rs that the Sun City Home Owners Association enforces bar detached structures on a lot, so a freestanding cover is a different conversation from one attached to the house. In Sun City West, the CC&R Department says one backyard gazebo or pergola is allowed when it meets minimum criteria, and asks owners to contact it for the details.

What the committee usually wants to see

Forms differ, but expect questions like these:

A simple drawing or site plan showing where the cover or siding goes, with measurements
The material and style: solid or lattice, and the siding profile
Color names, plus a sample or photo if they ask for one
The height of the cover and how far it sits from the property lines
A photo of the house as it is now

At the estimate we can help with the details the form asks for: the product, the color names and the measurements. Sending everything in one package saves a round of questions back and forth.

Colors and siding

For paint, find out whether there’s an approved palette before you settle on a color. If the community uses color schemes, the body, the trim and the fascia may all have to come from the same scheme. Vinyl siding and aluminum trim come in set factory colors, so give the committee the actual color names rather than a paint chip that only looks close. See siding and painting for the work itself.

HOA approval for a patio cover: what Arizona law says

For planned communities, state law says approval of a construction project’s architectural plans can’t be unreasonably withheld (A.R.S. 33-1817). Board meetings and regularly scheduled committee meetings are open to members, who can speak before a vote (A.R.S. 33-1804). Condominiums fall under a separate chapter of state law, so check your condo association’s own rules.

If a violation notice does arrive, the association has to give notice and a chance to be heard before it can fine you, and you can answer in writing, by certified mail, within 21 calendar days of the notice (A.R.S. 33-1803). An owner who can’t settle a dispute with the association can file a petition with the Arizona Department of Real Estate, and an administrative law judge hears it. None of this is legal advice; for a real dispute, talk to an attorney.

Get it in writing

Wait for the approval in writing before work starts, and keep the letter with your house papers. If the committee asks for changes, such as a different color or a lower roof line, they’re far easier to make on paper than after the cover is up. And if the plan changes after approval, say a bigger cover or a new color, check whether the change needs its own approval.

The patio covers page and the gallery have photos of finished covers, siding and soffit and fascia you can use to show the committee what the work looks like.

Want a price for your house? Call (602) 678-3737 or ask for a free estimate.