HOA’s demanding green grass? Read them your rights

A homeowners association can’t legally require you to water your brown lawn or replace it.

If your homeowners association sends you requests to replace your grass, read on. According to both state and local laws, an HOA cannot legally require you to install, re-sod or irrigate turf grass.

The current dry spell (more than 40 days without effective rainfall) is the longest so far during current drought, which is now in its fifth year — rivalling the Texas drought of record from the 1950s. The Edwards Aquifer remains at historic low levels and there is scant rainfall expected in the near-term forecasts. The current pattern of dry weather has made itself the new normal, and it’s expected to continue.

That means installing turf sod now is not a wise choice. During Stage 3 watering rules (expected to continue into 2025) watering variances are simply not available for new sod watering, meaning new grass has to be watered in by hand.

HOAs are always looking to maintain neighborhood standards and working with their landscaping rules can be a complicated process at times. However, HOAs themselves are required to follow both state and local laws, and at times they may benefit from a reminder.

If you’re being served with demands from your HOA to replace your grass, share this information with them.

• City ordinance Section 34.275 (8) states that an HOA cannot require you to water your brown grass or replace it with new sod.
• The State of Texas Section 202.007, Property Code Subsection (a) states an HOA cannot prohibit or restrict a property owner from using drought resistant landscaping or water-conserving turf.
• SAWS utility service regulations (Section 4.3.6) followed by all SAWS water customers reiterates that dedicatory instruments like HOAs may not require turfgrass to be planted or irrigated.

In addition, remind them that since there are no irrigation variances available for re-landscaping during Stage 2 or Stage 3 watering rules, the new turf some HOAs are requesting would have to be watered in by hand. (Hardly a neighborly request.)

The drought has been tough on local landscapes. But keep calm and carry on. We’ve already made it through the toughest part of the warm season. During winter, landscape irrigation can typically be reduced to once a month in lieu of rain — and cutting back will definitely save you on your winter averaging.

As always, find neighborly ways to work with your HOA to achieve drought-resilient curb appeal. But don’t be fooled into installing grass just because you’ve received a letter from the HOA. Autumn is a great time to plant shade trees, and also a good time to add compost to remaining grass areas in order to improve your soil’s moisture-retaining capacity before next summer.

State law does allow HOAs to require a detailed description before new landscape plans and to ensure, to the extent practicable, compatibility with other landscaping in the subdivision. In particular, they can regulate the use of rock and gravel so do consult their landscape rules and follow the process before undertaking costly landscape installations.