Alabama HOA ADUs & Modifications

Key Findings

Alabama says almost nothing about what a homeowner may build, and that silence is the whole story. No state statute steps in to override an association's authority over accessory dwelling units, solar panels, EV chargers, or landscaping. The recorded declaration — the CC&Rs — runs the show, checked only by a narrow band of federal rules and, for planned communities formed on or after January 1, 2016, by the thin procedural frame of the Alabama Homeowners' Association Act. Here is what that means, point by point.

1. The system splits by entity type, and the declaration sits at the center. Alabama regulates community associations through separate statutory tracks that turn on what kind of community you are and when it formed. None of those tracks substantively regulate architectural changes, ADUs, solar, EV charging, or landscaping. Architectural authority lives in the recorded declaration.
2. No ADU preemption. No Alabama statute reaches HOAs on ADUs. Whether an owner can build one turns on two things: the municipal zoning code and the recorded CC&Rs. And the CC&Rs can be stricter than the zoning code.
3. No solar, EV, or landscaping protection. Alabama has no solar-access or solar-easement statute that limits HOA authority, and no EV-charging or landscaping protection statute. An association may regulate or flatly prohibit these things through its declaration.
4. Federal overlays apply no matter what. Four federal regimes bind every association: the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, the FCC's OTARD rule, the Fair Housing Act's reasonable-modification requirement, and ADA Title III for common areas that serve as public accommodations.
5. Lawmakers and courts have been quiet. No qualifying bill in the 2024 or 2025 sessions amended § 35-20, § 35-8A, or § 35-8 on ADUs or modifications. Two recent appellate rulings touch covenant enforcement, but neither creates an ADU or modification right.

Details

Statutory architecture

Condominiums. A condominium created on or after January 1, 1991 falls under the Alabama Uniform Condominium Act of 1991, Ala. Code § 35-8A-101 et seq. (Acts 1990, No. 90-551), which tracks the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act. Section 35-8A-102(a) states plainly that "this chapter applies to all condominiums created within this state after January 1, 1991." Inside that act, § 35-8A-211 governs a unit owner's alterations "[s]ubject to the provisions of the declaration," which confirms the point: architectural authority stays document-driven.¹ A condominium created before that date falls under the predecessor Alabama Condominium Ownership Act, Ala. Code § 35-8-1 et seq.,² though a defined set of § 35-8A sections still reaches pre-1991 condominiums for events and circumstances that arise after 1991 — without invalidating provisions already in the declaration or bylaws.

Planned communities (non-condominium). The recorded CC&Rs govern these communities. Architectural authority sits in the declaration, and no separate planned-community architectural statute exists.

The Alabama Homeowners' Association Act, Ala. Code § 35-20-1 et seq. (Act 2015-292), took effect in 2015 and applies to homeowners' associations created on or after January 1, 2016 — plus any older association that opts in by electing coverage in its declaration (§ 35-20-3). It is a lean, procedural statute of 14 sections.³ It requires the association to organize as a nonprofit and to file its governing documents, including the original CC&Rs, with the Secretary of State (§ 35-20-5); it directs the association to compile, organize, and maintain "full and complete financial records of the association available to any member at a reasonable time and place" (§ 35-20-5(c)(3)).⁴ It grants the board specific powers, including authority to "[a]ssess reasonable penalties against a member for any violation of the declaration or rules adopted by the board of directors after the member is afforded the opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel before the board of directors" (§ 35-20-11(a)(2)).⁵ It gives the declaration priority over other governing documents (§ 35-20-8) and provides for liens on unpaid assessments (§ 35-20-12).⁶ What it does not do is just as important: it does not regulate ADUs, solar, EV charging, or architectural standards in any substantive way, and it does not displace the declaration's architectural-control covenant. Do not overstate its scope — but do not ignore it either. It is real, and it applies to HOAs formed on or after January 1, 2016.

Corporate scaffolding. An HOA organized as a nonprofit operates under the Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Law, Ala. Code § 10A-3-1.01 et seq., inside the Alabama Business and Nonprofit Entity Code (Title 10A), for corporate formalities only. Section 35-20-5(a) requires an HOA created on or after January 1, 2016 to organize as a nonprofit corporation under Chapter 3 of Title 10A. Condominium associations get more latitude: they may organize as profit or nonprofit corporations (§ 35-8A-301). Title 10A is a corporate-governance code, not an HOA architectural statute.⁷

The comparison: why Alabama is a "silent state"

Set Alabama next to the states that legislate in this space, and the contrast is sharp.

• California, Civ. Code § 4751: any provision of a governing document that "either effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the construction or use of an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit on a lot zoned for single-family residential use... is void and unenforceable" (effective January 1, 2020; it applies to planned developments, not condominiums or stock cooperatives). Reasonable restrictions still stand.⁸
• Colorado, HB 24-1152: signed May 13, 2024, with the ADU-allowance mandate for covered jurisdictions taking effect June 30, 2025. It added CCIOA § 38-33.3-106.5, so that any declaration, bylaw, or rule that restricts a qualifying ADU "is void as a matter of public policy" — and, per the Colorado Division of Real Estate's 2024 HOA Legislative Summaries, it reaches all common-interest communities, subject only to defined "Reasonable Restrictions."⁹
• Utah, § 57-8a-701 makes a declaration or association-rule prohibition on a solar energy system void and unenforceable for detached dwellings, allowing only limited restrictions on size, location, and placement.¹⁰

Alabama has none of these. Because it stays silent, the declaration governs by default.

Federal overlays (apply to all associations regardless of Alabama law)

• Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-243, 120 Stat. 572 (enacted July 24, 2006): under § 3, a covered association "may not adopt or enforce any policy, or enter into any agreement, that would restrict or prevent a member of the association from displaying the flag of the United States on residential property within the association with respect to which such member has a separate ownership interest or a right to exclusive possession or use," subject to reasonable time, place, and manner limits. One caveat: courts (for example, Murphree v. Tides Condominium, M.D. Fla. 2014) have found the Act creates no private right of action. Alabama backs it up with its own protection at Ala. Code § 35-1-5, which provides that "[n]otwithstanding any covenant, contract, or restriction to the contrary, a person may exhibit or display on his or her property a current flag of the United States not to exceed 40 square feet in size," and that any covenant barring such a display, "whether adopted before or after May 21, 2009, is void as a violation of public policy."¹¹
• OTARD Rule, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000: it bars restrictions — including any "homeowners' association rule or similar restriction" — that impair the installation, maintenance, or use of covered antennas and satellite dishes one meter or less in diameter, and certain fixed-wireless devices, within a user's exclusive-use area.¹²
• Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(A): discrimination includes "a refusal to permit, at the expense of the handicapped person, reasonable modifications of existing premises... if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises" — the resident pays, with a right to require restoration in rental settings where reasonable.¹³
• ADA Title III, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq.: it reaches common-area facilities that qualify as public accommodations. Residential dwellings themselves are not public accommodations, but association amenities that open to and solicit the general public can trigger coverage.¹⁴

Court structure and regulators

Trial-level disputes move through the Alabama Circuit Courts. Appeals go to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals (Ala. Code § 12-3-10), with discretionary review by the Alabama Supreme Court (Ala. Code § 12-2-7).¹⁵ Alabama has no dedicated HOA regulator and no HOA ombudsman. Real estate licensing falls under the Alabama Real Estate Commission (Ala. Code § 34-27-30).¹⁶ The Alabama Secretary of State keeps HOA registrations under § 35-20 but does not regulate how HOAs operate.¹⁷

Municipal ADU landscape

There is no statewide ADU rule, and treatment varies sharply from one city to the next. Some cities do not clearly permit anyone to live in an accessory structure at all.

• Huntsville: In 2024 the Huntsville Planning Commission advanced an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to add an "Accessory Dwelling Unit" framework. Per the Commission's published Notice of Public Hearing (heard May 28, 2024), the amendment would "[a]mend Zoning Ordinance ARTICLE 3 – DEFINITIONS, Section 3.1... to add the definition for Accessory Dwelling Unit; ARTICLE 10 – RESIDENCE 1 DISTRICT REGULATIONS, Section 10.1 – Uses Permitted, to add Accessory Dwelling Unit; and ARTICLE 73 – SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS, Section 73.8... and add regulations regarding Accessory Dwelling Units." The framework would allow ADUs in specified single-family residential districts, subject to lot-size and size caps, with a building permit required from Development Services.¹⁸
• Mobile: Mobile's Unified Development Code (Ordinance 64-26, adopted 2022) defines and permits accessory dwelling units — a "secondary, independent living facility located in, or on the same lot or Building site as, a single-family residence" — in residential zones (Chapter 64).¹⁹
• Contrast — restrictive or silent municipalities: Northport's zoning ordinance defines "dwelling unit" and references accessory dwelling units in limited contexts, but it does not broadly authorize ADU dwelling use across residential districts. Montgomery's zoning code does not yet mention ADUs explicitly. Some smaller jurisdictions permit accessory structures but bar anyone from living in them without a variance.²⁰

Here is the compliance point that matters most: municipal permission does not override the CC&Rs. An owner who secures a Huntsville or Mobile ADU permit still needs approval from the declaration and the architectural committee — and the HOA may lawfully say no.

Section 4A — Recent bills (2024–2025 sessions)

There are no qualifying bills to report. A review of the Alabama Legislative Information System (alison.legislature.state.al.us) for the 2024 and 2025 regular sessions turned up no bill that amended § 35-20, § 35-8A, or § 35-8, or that otherwise addressed ADUs, solar access, EV charging, architectural review, or modification authority for Alabama associations. Two bill numbers surface in secondary indexing, and neither is on point: HB 260 (2025 Regular Session) amends Ala. Code § 31-14-3 to expand the membership of the Alabama Job Creation and Military Stability Commission — a military-affairs bill with no HOA nexus; and SB 246 (2026 Regular Session) is a consumer-protection bill about unsolicited offers to purchase real estate and unfair service contracts, not architectural or ADU authority. Alabama simply runs low on HOA-specific legislation, and this window produced nothing that qualifies. (A separate 2025 real-estate licensing act, Act 2025-380, tightened brokerage rules and added an on-site condominium-manager exception effective in late 2025, but it does not reach architectural, ADU, solar, or modification authority and so does not qualify.)²¹

Section 4B — Recent appellate rulings (2022–2025)

Alabama's appellate courts are not rewriting HOA law from the bench. They are doing something more grounded: holding associations to their own procedures, and to a sense of proportion. Two recent decisions show the pattern — one on whether a foreclosure can stand when the owner was never properly named or noticed, and one on whether tearing down a finished house is the right answer to a setback violation. Neither creates an ADU or modification right; both turn on the declaration and on fair procedure.

Section 4C — Active legislative debates

We found no active Alabama proposal to create a state ADU statute, to enact a solar-access law, or to expand § 35-20 to reach architectural or ADU authority in the current window. There is none to report.

Recommendations

For boards and managers (immediate):

1. Treat the recorded declaration as the controlling authority for every ADU, solar, EV-charging, fence, paint, and landscaping request. Do not assume a state statute grants or restricts these rights — in Alabama, it almost never does.
2. Confirm your association's track and date. Work out whether you are a condominium (§ 35-8A for post-1990; § 35-8 for pre-1991) or a planned community, and whether § 35-20 applies to you (formed on or after January 1, 2016, or opted in). That answer dictates which procedural rules bind you.
3. Follow the § 35-20-11 notice-and-hearing procedure before you levy any fine if you are a covered HOA — give the member an opportunity to be heard and to be represented by counsel. Even non-covered or older associations should follow their CC&R hearing procedures, because Alabama courts scrutinize procedural regularity.^5,23

For ADU-specific requests:

4. Adopt a written ADU and architectural policy now, even though no statute requires one. Decide deliberately whether to permit, condition, or prohibit ADUs, and document the aesthetic and density rationale — that record is what a court will examine.
5. Tell owners in writing that a municipal ADU permit (Huntsville or Mobile, for example) does not substitute for architectural-committee approval.^18,19

For enforcement and litigation posture:

6. Before you pursue demolition or injunctive relief for a covenant violation, run the relative-hardship analysis: quantify the enforcement benefit and the violator's hardship, and document the covenant's purpose. Disproportionate remedies risk reversal.²²
7. Before you foreclose on an assessment lien, name and serve every record owner and interested party. Defective notice can void the sale.²³

Federal-compliance guardrails (all associations):

8. Never enforce a covenant to bar a U.S. flag (within the size and manner limits of § 35-1-5 and Pub. L. 109-243), a compliant antenna or dish in an exclusive-use area (OTARD), or a resident-paid reasonable disability modification (FHA § 3604(f)(3)). Audit your CC&Rs and rules for provisions that conflict.^11,12,13

Thresholds that would change this guidance: If the Alabama Legislature enacts an ADU-preemption statute, a solar-access statute, or an expansion of § 35-20 to reach architectural standards — or if the Alabama Supreme Court recognizes a new limit on architectural authority — reassess immediately. Monitor § 35-20, § 35-8A, and § 35-8 each session. Absent that kind of change, the declaration-centric analysis holds.

Caveats

• This is a compliance research summary, not legal advice. Association-specific outcomes turn on the exact language of the recorded declaration and the governing documents.
• We verified statutory citations against the official Alabama Code as reproduced through the Alabama Legislature's system and cross-checked them; effective dates reflect the enacting acts (Act 2015-292 for § 35-20; Acts 1990, No. 90-551 for § 35-8A).
• The Englund disposition entered December 19, 2025 appears to be a rehearing action rather than a separate merits opinion; the original merits opinion issued August 29, 2025. Pull the final released opinion before you cite it.
• Municipal ADU codes change often. Verify the current Huntsville, Mobile, Northport, or other municipal provision directly with the municipal code and planning department before you rely on it; the provisions summarized here reflect the most recent versions we located.
• The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act creates no private right of action, so flag disputes typically proceed under state law (including Ala. Code § 35-1-5) or as declaratory matters.
• Where we used secondary databases (Justia, FindLaw), they served only to cross-verify statutory language and case metadata against primary sources.

1. Ala. Code § 35-8A-101 et seq., Alabama Uniform Condominium Act of 1991 (Acts 1990, No. 90-551); see § 35-8A-102(a) (applicability) and § 35-8A-211 (unit-owner alterations subject to the declaration) ↩
2. Ala. Code § 35-8-1 et seq., Alabama Condominium Ownership Act (predecessor act governing condominiums created before January 1, 1991) ↩
3. Ala. Code § 35-20-1 et seq., Alabama Homeowners' Association Act (Act 2015-292); § 35-20-3 (applicability to associations created on or after January 1, 2016, and opt-in by election in the declaration) ↩
4. Ala. Code § 35-20-5, Organization of association; filing of governing documents with the Secretary of State; financial records (§ 35-20-5(c)(3)) ↩
5. Ala. Code § 35-20-11, Powers of the board of directors, including reasonable penalties after opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel (§ 35-20-11(a)(2)) ↩
6. Ala. Code § 35-20-8, Priority of the declaration over other governing documents; see also § 35-20-12 (liens for unpaid assessments) ↩
7. Ala. Code § 10A-3-1.01 et seq., Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Law (Title 10A); see also § 35-8A-301 (condominium association may organize as profit or nonprofit corporation) ↩
8. Cal. Civ. Code § 4751 (governing-document provision effectively prohibiting or unreasonably restricting an ADU or junior ADU is void and unenforceable) ↩
9. Colo. H.B. 24-1152 (2024), adding CCIOA § 38-33.3-106.5 (association restriction on a qualifying ADU void as a matter of public policy) ↩
10. Utah Code § 57-8a-701 (association prohibition on a solar energy system void and unenforceable for detached dwellings, subject to limited restrictions) ↩
11. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-243, 120 Stat. 572; Ala. Code § 35-1-5 (flag-display covenant void as against public policy) ↩
12. 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000, FCC Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) Rule ↩
13. 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(A), Fair Housing Act, reasonable modifications of existing premises at the resident's expense ↩
14. 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq., Americans with Disabilities Act Title III (public accommodations) ↩
15. Ala. Code § 12-3-10 (jurisdiction of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals); see also § 12-2-7 (Alabama Supreme Court review) ↩
16. Ala. Code § 34-27-30 et seq. (Alabama Real Estate Commission; real estate licensing) ↩
17. Alabama Secretary of State, Homeowners' Associations (HOA registrations under § 35-20) ↩
18. City of Huntsville, Zoning Ordinance (Code of Ordinances), Articles 3, 10, and 73 (accessory dwelling unit framework advanced by Planning Commission, Notice of Public Hearing heard May 28, 2024) ↩
19. City of Mobile, Unified Development Code (Ordinance 64-26, adopted 2022), Chapter 64 (accessory dwelling units) ↩
20. City of Montgomery, Code of Ordinances, zoning provisions (compare Northport zoning ordinance; ADU dwelling use not broadly authorized) ↩
21. H.B. 260, 2025 Reg. Sess. (Ala. 2025) (amending Ala. Code § 31-14-3; military-affairs bill, no HOA nexus); S.B. 246, 2026 Reg. Sess. (Ala. 2026) (consumer protection; unsolicited offers to purchase real estate); Act No. 2025-380 (H.B. 382), 2025 Reg. Sess. (Ala. 2025) (real-estate licensing; on-site condominium-manager exception) ↩
22. Englund v. Dauphin Island Prop. Owners Ass'n, Nos. SC-2024-0414 & SC-2024-0437 (Ala. Aug. 29, 2025) ↩
23. Ross v. West Wind Condo. Ass'n, No. CL-2025-0064 (Ala. Civ. App. July 25, 2025) ↩