In Texas, architectural control committee rules come from three layers stacked on top of each other: your subdivision’s recorded covenants, the Texas Property Code, and federal law. The committee (usually called the ACC) reviews exterior changes to your home and enforces the community’s aesthetic standards, but it can only enforce restrictions that actually appear in the recorded documents, and several categories of improvement are protected by statute no matter what the covenants say.
Where the ACC Gets Its Authority
An ACC’s power comes from the declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) recorded against the properties in your subdivision. The declaration sets the committee’s structure, how members are appointed, and the scope of what it can review. Some declarations require members to be homeowners in the subdivision; others let the board appoint outsiders. Either way, the appointment process has to follow whatever the governing documents say.
The HOA board sits above the ACC. Because most Texas HOAs are nonprofit corporations, the board can delegate architectural decisions to a committee but keeps ultimate responsibility, which means it can also overrule an ACC decision, replace committee members, or dissolve the committee, depending on what the CC&Rs allow.
Once formed, the committee has to run on paper: hold meetings, keep records, and issue written responses to applications. Board meetings where ACC matters are discussed must be open to homeowners, with limited exceptions for executive sessions covering pending litigation, enforcement against specific owners, contract negotiations, and confidential attorney communications under Texas Property Code Section 209.0051.
What the ACC Can and Cannot Require
The ACC’s core job is approving or denying applications for exterior modifications: new construction, renovations, fencing, landscaping changes, and similar work. The committee can attach conditions to an approval, such as specific materials, colors, or construction timelines, as long as those conditions track restrictions that already exist in the declaration.
The hard limit on that power is that the committee cannot invent rules the covenants don’t contain. The Texas Supreme Court held in Tarr v. Timberwood Park Owners Association that courts will not “construe a property restriction into existence when the covenant is silent as to that limitation,” and that covenant language “may not be enlarged, extended, stretched or changed by construction.”1Justia. Tarr v Timberwood Park Owners Assn Inc If your declaration doesn’t prohibit a particular modification, the ACC lacks authority to deny it.
Architectural guidelines fill in details the CC&Rs paint in broad strokes: acceptable paint colors, roof materials, fence styles, driveway designs. Guidelines still have to be rooted in the recorded declaration to be enforceable, and their words carry “the meaning which they commonly held as of the date the covenant was written.”1Justia. Tarr v Timberwood Park Owners Assn Inc When the board amends the guidelines, the changes have to be adopted through the procedures in the governing documents and communicated in writing before enforcement begins.
Most declarations set a deadline for the ACC to respond to an application, commonly 30 or 60 days, and some include an automatic-approval provision if the committee misses that window. This varies widely, so check the exact language in your CC&Rs. A denial should identify the specific covenant or guideline the proposal violates. Vague denials that rest on personal taste rather than a documented standard are the kind of decisions courts have overturned.
Modifications the ACC Cannot Deny
Several Texas statutes and one federal rule protect specific property uses from HOA prohibition. In these categories, a covenant provision or ACC decision that bans the improvement is void, and you have strong ground to push back on a denial.
Solar Energy Devices
Texas Property Code Section 202.010 prohibits HOAs from banning solar energy devices. The ACC can still regulate placement: requiring rooftop panels to conform to the slope of the roof, limiting panels to the roofline height, and requiring frames or wiring to be in silver, bronze, or black tones. Prior ACC approval can be required, but the committee cannot withhold it if the installation meets the statutory requirements. If the ACC designates a specific spot on your roof, you can override that designation by showing an alternate location would increase estimated annual energy production by more than 10 percent, based on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s modeling tools.2State of Texas. Texas Property Code PROP 202.010
Rain Barrels and Drought-Resistant Landscaping
Section 202.007 bars HOAs from prohibiting rain barrels or rainwater harvesting systems. The association can regulate size, type, shielding, and materials of a visible system, as long as the restriction doesn’t make installation economically impractical. Rain barrels must be a color consistent with the home’s color scheme and cannot display non-standard language or content.3State of Texas. Texas Property Code PROP 202.007 Section 202.023 similarly stops HOAs from unreasonably denying or withholding approval for drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf.
Satellite Dishes and Antennas
The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rule preempts any HOA restriction that prevents or delays installation of a satellite dish one meter or less in diameter, an antenna for local television signals, or a fixed wireless antenna, as long as the device sits on property you own or exclusively control. Rooftops, balconies, patios, and fenced yards are all covered. The rule even prohibits requirements to get ACC approval before installing a covered antenna. An HOA can impose narrowly tailored safety restrictions, but the burden of proving a restriction is valid falls on the association, not you.4Federal Communications Commission. Installing Consumer-Owned Antennas and Satellite Dishes
Disability-Related Modifications
The federal Fair Housing Act requires HOAs to allow reasonable modifications to a home when they’re necessary for a person with a disability to have full use of the property. Wheelchair ramps, grab bars, widened doorways, and accessible landscaping fall in this category. You typically pay for the modification, but the ACC cannot deny the request on aesthetic grounds if it’s necessary to accommodate a disability. The association also has to make reasonable accommodations in its rules, such as waiving a no-front-yard-fences rule for a homeowner who needs a fenced area for a service animal.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing
Notice, Cure Periods, and Fines
Before an HOA can fine you, suspend common-area privileges, or take legal action for a covenant violation, it must send written notice by certified mail. Texas Property Code Section 209.006 requires that notice to describe the specific violation, state any amount claimed as owed, give a date by which a curable violation must be fixed, and inform you of your right to request a hearing within 30 days of the mailing date.6State of Texas. Texas Property Code 209.006 – Notice Required Before Enforcement Action
The cure deadline must allow a “reasonable period,” though the statute doesn’t set a specific number of days. If you fix the violation before the deadline, the association cannot impose a fine for it. Some violations aren’t curable by nature, such as one-time events like setting off fireworks or a health or safety threat; the notice process still applies, but there’s no cure period.6State of Texas. Texas Property Code 209.006 – Notice Required Before Enforcement Action If you already received notice for the same violation within the past six months, the association doesn’t need to send another before acting.
Texas does not cap the dollar amount of HOA fines. Many associations stack penalties on a per-day or per-occurrence basis, which can grow quickly during a prolonged dispute. The association may also place a lien on the property for unpaid fines and assessments. Associations with more than 14 lots must adopt written guidelines for alternative payment plans, letting homeowners pay off delinquent amounts in installments without additional monetary penalties. The minimum plan term is three months, and the association isn’t required to extend a plan beyond 18 months.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code PROP 209.0062
Foreclosure on an assessment lien is legally possible but faces significant procedural hurdles. The association generally cannot foreclose solely for fines unrelated to assessments, and Section 209.00505 limits when foreclosure can proceed at all. Once a lien is recorded, the stakes rise fast, and reviewing your governing documents with an attorney is worth the cost.
Hearings and Appeals
Most governing documents establish an internal appeal from ACC decisions to the HOA board. The homeowner submits a written appeal; the board either reviews the file or schedules a hearing, then upholds, reverses, or sends the decision back with instructions.
Separately, Section 209.007 gives you the right to a hearing before the board levies a fine or suspends privileges. Request the hearing in writing within 30 days of the enforcement notice, and the association has to hold it before taking action.6State of Texas. Texas Property Code 209.006 – Notice Required Before Enforcement Action The hearing requirement is one of the strongest protections in the code because it forces the association to justify its position in front of you before any money changes hands.
When internal steps don’t resolve the dispute, mediation is often required by the declaration and tends to be faster and cheaper than court. Some CC&Rs also contain binding arbitration clauses, which waive the right to a jury trial and deserve careful reading before you agree to anything. When the HOA or ACC has acted beyond its legal authority, applied rules selectively, or tried to enforce restrictions that aren’t in the recorded covenants, you can file suit in district court seeking an injunction or damages. Courts pay particular attention to whether the association applied its rules consistently: an HOA that enforces a fence-height limit against one homeowner while ignoring identical violations next door is exposed to a successful challenge.
Your Right to Attend the Meeting
Section 209.0051 requires HOA board meetings, including those where the board acts on ACC matters, to be open to homeowners. The board can move into executive session for pending or threatened litigation, enforcement actions against specific homeowners, contract negotiations, and confidential communications with attorneys, but it must give an oral summary of any decisions afterward and include them in the minutes in general terms. If your appeal is on the agenda, you have the right to attend the meeting, hear the board’s reasoning, and review the minutes. An HOA that decides architectural matters behind closed doors without a valid executive-session basis is violating the statute.