Guides · California · architectural review

How long does a California HOA have to approve your project?

It depends on what you're building. California sets a hard written-decision deadline for two kinds of project, and for everything else it requires your association to set — and publish — its own.

The deadlines the law itself sets

Solar: 45 days. An association that doesn't approve or deny a solar application in writing within 45 days of receipt has approved it by operation of law. The solar guide goes through this in detail.
EV charging stations: 60 days. Same idea, a longer clock. The EV charger guide has the citations.

Both clocks can stop running while the association has a reasonable outstanding request for more information — which is why a complete first submission matters more than a fast one.

Everything else: your association's own procedure

There is no single statewide deadline for a fence, a roof, or a repaint. Instead, the Davis-Stirling Act tells every association to have a fair, reasonable, and expeditious procedure with prompt deadlines, and to state the maximum time it will take to respond to an application. That deadline is in your association's own architectural guidelines — so the real answer to “how long do they have?” is usually written down in a document you already have a right to.

Cal. Civ. Code § 4765(a)(4)

A California HOA must give you its architectural decision in writing, and a denial has to explain why and tell you how to ask for reconsideration (Civil Code § 4765).

A decision on a proposed physical change shall be in writing. If a proposed change is disapproved, the written decision must include an explanation of why it was disapproved and a description of the procedure for reconsideration.

Read the statute

Cal. Civ. Code § 4765(a)(5)

If your application is denied, you are entitled to have the board reconsider it at an open board meeting (Civil Code § 4765).

If a proposed change is disapproved, the applicant is entitled to reconsideration by the board at an open meeting of the board.

Read the statute

Cal. Civ. Code § 4765(c)

Your HOA has to send members a yearly notice of what needs architectural approval, including a copy of its procedure (Civil Code § 4765(c)).

An association shall annually provide its members with notice of any requirements for association approval of physical changes, describing the types of changes that require approval and including a copy of the procedure.

Read the statute

How to find your association's deadline

Check the annual notice of architectural requirements the association sends members.
Read the architectural guidelines or the declaration's architectural article.
Ask the manager, in writing, what the stated maximum response time is — and keep the answer with your application.

What starts the clock

Receipt of your application, not the date you mailed it and not the committee's next meeting. Submit it in a way that records when it arrived, keep that proof, and answer any information request quickly and in full.

If the deadline passes with no written decision

For solar and EV chargers, that can mean the application is treated as approved by statute. It is not a conclusion to reach casually: it depends on documented receipt, on no written denial having arrived, and on whether any information request was reasonable. Get the evidence together and talk to an attorney before acting on it. For other project types, a missed internal deadline is not an automatic approval — it is a reason to escalate to the board in writing.

wHOA handles this for you. We prepare the application, submit it the way your association accepts submissions, track the deadline that applies, and follow up until there's a decision. Free if your contractor works with us. Request a free pre-check or see how it works for contractors.

This is general information about the law in your state, not legal advice about your situation. Talk to an attorney before relying on it.

Statutes reviewed September 2026. Laws change; verify before relying on this.