Academy/Common Rules & Restrictions
Exterior lighting
Who actually controls your floodlight, motion sensor, and porch fixture
There is no federal or general state law setting HOA exterior lighting rules. Fixture type, brightness, placement, and curfews come almost entirely from your association's own Declaration, CC&Rs, and rules. Some cities layer on their own glare, light-trespass, or dark-sky ordinances. Check both before you approve or deny a request.
No federal rule to point to
Unlike satellite dishes or the U.S. flag, exterior lighting has no dedicated federal statute protecting it or limiting it. The closest federal rule a homeowner might invoke is OTARD, the FCC rule that stops associations from unreasonably restricting small satellite dishes and certain antennas. It does not reach lighting fixtures at all.
"...any state or local law or regulation... or any private covenant, contract provision, lease provision, homeowners' association rule or similar restriction on property... that... unreasonably delays or prevents installation, maintenance, or use" of a covered antenna or dish is prohibited.
Source: 47 CFR 1.4000, Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) Rule, Federal Communications Commission (via Cornell LII)
That protection is defined narrowly, by device type. A homeowner cannot stretch it to cover a floodlight, a string of landscape lights, or a motion-sensor fixture. If a resident cites OTARD to defend a lighting choice, they are citing the wrong rule.
Your governing documents set the actual rule
With no federal or general state layer to defer to, exterior lighting sits squarely at the level of the Declaration and the board's own rules, the same layer that governs paint colors and fence styles. Most communities route lighting changes through architectural review: a homeowner submits the fixture, the board (or a committee acting on the board's delegated authority) checks it against the standards already on record, not against a standard invented on the spot.
A board that wants to regulate brightness, fixture style, or hours of use needs that standard written into the rules before it enforces against a specific homeowner. A rule applied only after the fact, to one resident's fixture, is harder to defend than one every owner could have read in advance.
Local ordinances can add a second layer
Some cities and counties regulate outdoor lighting directly, through glare, light-trespass, or dark-sky ordinances aimed at keeping bright light off a neighbor's property or out of the night sky. Whether your municipality has one, and what it requires, depends entirely on where you are. Check your local code, not just your CC&Rs.
When both layers exist, a fixture has to satisfy both. Board approval does not excuse a violation of the city's ordinance, and compliance with the city's ordinance does not excuse skipping the association's own architectural review. Treat them as two separate checks, not one.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A homeowner strings up a bright floodlight and tells the board OTARD protects it from removal. Is the homeowner right?
The board approves a homeowner's bright security floodlight, but the city's dark-sky ordinance caps outdoor glare below what the fixture produces. What controls?
A new board member asks which state statute sets the maximum brightness for HOA exterior lighting, so the board can copy it into the rules. What should they be told?
Sources
- 47 CFR 1.4000, Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) Rule, Federal Communications Commission (via Cornell LII)
Common Rules & Restrictions
Writing a new lighting rule? Check how security camera rules handle the same board versus city question.
Fixture type, brightness, and curfew rules are set by your own governing documents, and whether your city adds a dark-sky, glare, or light-trespass ordinance on top varies by location.