HOA glossaryGoverning documents

What are rules and regulations?

Standards adopted by the board under authority granted in the covenants — enforceable, but subordinate to them.

Also called: Community rules, Operating rules

Rules fill in the operational detail the covenants leave open: pool hours, guest parking, trash placement, signage dimensions, architectural submission requirements. They can be adopted and changed by the board without a membership vote, which is exactly why their authority is limited.

A rule is valid when the governing documents give the board power to make rules of that kind, it does not contradict the covenants or the statute, it is reasonable and applied consistently, and it was adopted through whatever process the documents and state law require. Rules that fail any of those tests tend to fail at the worst possible moment — after a fine, in front of a judge.

Several states also regulate how operating rules are adopted, including notice to members before adoption. Check the act named on your state's page before changing a rule that affects use of property.

Why it matters to a board

Keep a dated, adopted, published rules document. A rule nobody can prove was adopted is a rule you cannot enforce.

The common mistake

Adopting a rule that effectively creates a new restriction on use of a lot. That is usually a covenant amendment wearing a rule's clothing, and owners win those arguments.

Related terms

CC&RsThe recorded covenants that run with the land in a community, binding every owner to the same set of use restrictions and obligations.Governing documentsThe full set of instruments that binds an association and its members, read in a fixed order of authority.Violation noticeWritten notice to an owner that a specific covenant or rule has been breached, and the first formal step in enforcement.Selective enforcementApplying a covenant to some owners and not others, which is the most common and most effective defence against an enforcement action.Board resolutionA formal, recorded-in-the-minutes decision of the board, used to adopt policies that need to be provable later.Architectural reviewThe process by which proposed exterior changes to a lot are submitted, measured against published standards, and approved or denied.
General information, not legal advice. This entry explains what the term means, not what your association must do about it. Any notice period, cure window, fine cap, vote threshold or deadline comes from your recorded declaration and your state's act — those differ in all fifty states and are amended every session. Updated August 2026. Confirm the current requirements with an attorney licensed in your state before acting.
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