Kansas HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
Kansas regulates common interest association governance through the Kansas Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights Act, K.S.A. 58-4601 through 58-4614 and 58-4616 through 58-4623, which took effect January 1, 2011.1 The Act defines a common interest community as real estate described in a declaration where ownership carries an obligation to pay shared taxes, insurance, maintenance, improvement, services, or other common expenses, and it defines a unit as a separately owned or occupied physical portion of that community.2
Older condominium projects still intersect with the Kansas Apartment Ownership Act, K.S.A. 58-3101 et seq.; the current apartment-ownership bylaw statute remains expressly subject to the Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights Act.3 HOA civil litigation generally starts in Kansas district courts — the state trial courts — and then moves to the Kansas Court of Appeals and the Kansas Supreme Court.4
Kansas runs no dedicated HOA regulator; the Kansas Real Estate Commission states that it does not investigate homeowners association violations or adjudicate civil matters.5
Recent activity reviewed for this page is narrow, with a few 2025-2026 HOA-related bills and several unpublished appellate decisions.6 Within the national HOA landscape, Kansas remains a private-document and court-enforcement jurisdiction.
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Kansas Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights Act, K.S.A. 58-4601 et seq. Governs common interest community rights, duties, meetings, records, budgets, and enforcement.7
- Kansas Apartment Ownership Act, K.S.A. 58-3101 et seq. Remains the condominium article for apartment ownership projects, with bylaws subject to K.S.A. 58-4601 et seq.8
- Kansas Judicial Branch. District courts, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court form the relevant civil appeal path.9
- Kansas Real Estate Commission. KREC licenses real estate brokers and salespersons, but its complaint guidance excludes HOA violations.10
- Kansas Attorney General, Consumer Protection. The Attorney General runs the state consumer complaint intake portal.11
4. Kansas's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
Kansas's 2025-2026 bill file shows HOA-related proposals on solar installations and home-based businesses, but each of the three measures reviewed below died before enactment.12
SB 144 · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 144 died after introduction and Senate committee hearing activity. It would have limited HOA restrictive covenants on residential solar while preserving reasonable HOA rules.[13]
| Property managers | No new state solar procedure applies, but solar-request workflows remain a watch item. |
| HOA board members | Existing solar rules still run on governing documents and applicable law. |
| Community association attorneys | Check future drafts for common-element and limited-common-element treatment. |
| Homeowners | The bill did not create a new statewide rooftop-solar right. |
HB 2669 · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 2669 died in the House. As introduced, it would have barred unit owners associations from limiting or prohibiting rooftop solar energy conversion systems, while allowing reasonable placement rules that did not prevent installation or impair system function.[14]
| Property managers | Condominium and unit-owner solar requests still need document-specific review. |
| HOA board members | The proposal signals continued attention to solar limits, even without enactment. |
| Community association attorneys | Draft review should separate single-family HOA language from unit-owner association language. |
| Homeowners | The bill did not change current rooftop-solar approval rights. |
HB 2343 · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 2343 died on Senate General Orders. The Senate-amended version would have treated certain no-impact home businesses as permitted uses that could supersede some deed restrictions and common-interest-community documents entered into on or after July 1, 2025, with a carveout for clear HOA bylaw restrictions tied to likely noncompliance.[15]
| Property managers | Evaluate home-business complaints under existing covenants and local law. |
| HOA board members | The failed bill shows that use-restriction preemption may return in later sessions. |
| Community association attorneys | Review future drafts for retroactivity and HOA-bylaw carveouts. |
| Homeowners | The bill did not create a new state right to operate a home-based business in an association. |
Recent Court Rulings
Kansas's recent HOA appellate opinions are unpublished, but they show dispute patterns on maintenance duties, rental limits, fines, liens, and attorney fees.16
Restum v. Hawthorne Master Homeowners' Association
The Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for the association and held that the declaration required the HOA to maintain, repair, and replace developer-installed fences, including a privacy fence crossing individual lots. The practical point: boards should read maintenance covenants as a whole before they treat a component as owner responsibility.[17]
| Property managers | Fence and exterior-maintenance requests need text-based covenant review. |
| HOA board members | Budget planning may need to cover association duties outside obvious common areas. |
| Community association attorneys | Declaration structure and defined terms can control over board practice. |
| Homeowners | Maintenance obligations may depend on the full declaration, not location alone. |
Parkwood Hills Homes Association v. Ramakrishnan
The Court of Appeals affirmed a permanent injunction enforcing a covenant against leases or rentals shorter than six months and rejected waiver, selective-enforcement, and rule-entry arguments. The practical point: rental limits can hold up when the recorded covenant is clear and the association supports its injunction record.[18]
| Property managers | Short-term rental enforcement needs records of violations and owner notices. |
| HOA board members | Consistent enforcement helps defend rental-restriction decisions. |
| Community association attorneys | Injunction strategy should address waiver and selective-enforcement defenses early. |
| Homeowners | Recorded rental covenants can limit short-term rental use. |
Clements v. Cornerstone Residential Owners' Association
The Court of Appeals affirmed judgment against an association after finding that a lawn-installation covenant had not yet been triggered, the owner had maintained the lot during construction, and the resulting fines and lien were invalid. The court also awarded appellate attorney fees under K.S.A. 58-4621(a). The practical point: fine and lien authority depends on an actual covenant breach, not board frustration with construction timing.[19]
| Property managers | Violation letters should identify the precise covenant trigger and supporting evidence. |
| HOA board members | Fines and liens carry fee-shifting risk when the underlying violation is weak. |
| Community association attorneys | Pre-lien review should test covenant timing, proof, and statutory fee exposure. |
| Homeowners | Owners who prevail in HOA disputes may seek fees under the Kansas statute. |
Regulatory Developments
Kansas has no dedicated HOA regulator. The Kansas Real Estate Commission's complaint guidance makes that boundary explicit.
Kansas Real Estate Commission
The Kansas Real Estate Commission complaint guidance says KREC may discipline real estate licensees, but the agency does not adjudicate civil matters and does not investigate homeowners association violations. Kansas HOA disputes therefore remain primarily matters of governing documents, state statutes, private dispute steps, and court enforcement.[20]
| Property managers | KREC complaint filing does not substitute for HOA records, notice, and hearing process. |
| HOA board members | Boards should not expect a state HOA agency to resolve covenant disputes. |
| Community association attorneys | Intake should separate licensee-discipline issues from private association claims. |
| Homeowners | HOA grievances generally require private dispute steps, court action, or another applicable agency route. |
Active Policy Debates
The clearest Kansas HOA policy themes from the 2025-2026 docket are solar access over restrictive covenants and possible preemption of private-use limits for no-impact home-based businesses.21 Future proposals may turn on scope questions, including single-family communities, unit-owner associations, common elements, existing covenants, and bylaw carveouts.
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly will expand its Kansas coverage as new bills, appellate rulings, and agency materials emerge from Kansas primary sources. Federal frameworks — the FHA, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and OTARD — also affect Kansas associations, and federal coverage will live at /federal/ once that section opens.22
Footnotes
- Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 58-4601, Kansas Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights Act ↩
- Kansas Legislature, K.S.A. 58-4602, definitions ↩
- Kansas Legislature, Chapter 58, Article 31, Apartment Ownership Act; K.S.A. 58-3119, contents of bylaws ↩
- Kansas Judicial Branch, Kansas state courts; Kansas Court of Appeals; Kansas Supreme Court ↩
- Kansas Real Estate Commission, complaints and matters outside Commission jurisdiction ↩
- Kansas Legislature, SB 144; Kansas Legislature, HB 2669; Kansas Legislature, HB 2343; Kansas Court of Appeals, Restum v. Hawthorne Master Homeowners' Association ↩
- Kansas Legislature, Chapter 58, Article 46, Kansas Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights Act ↩
- Kansas Legislature, Chapter 58, Article 31, Apartment Ownership Act; K.S.A. 58-3119, contents of bylaws ↩
- Kansas Judicial Branch, Kansas state courts; Kansas Court of Appeals; Kansas Supreme Court ↩
- Kansas Real Estate Commission; Kansas Real Estate Commission, complaints ↩
- Kansas Attorney General, Consumer Protection complaint intake ↩
- Kansas Legislature, SB 144; Kansas Legislature, HB 2669; Kansas Legislature, HB 2343 ↩
- Kansas Legislature, SB 144, 2025-2026 Regular Session ↩
- Kansas Legislature, HB 2669, 2025-2026 Regular Session; HB 2669 as introduced ↩
- Kansas Legislature, HB 2343, 2025-2026 Regular Session; HB 2343, As Amended by Senate Committee ↩
- Kansas Court of Appeals, Restum v. Hawthorne Master Homeowners' Association; Parkwood Hills Homes Association v. Ramakrishnan; Clements v. Cornerstone Residential Owners' Association ↩
- Kansas Court of Appeals, Restum v. Hawthorne Master Homeowners' Association, No. 125,567, May 24, 2024 ↩
- Kansas Court of Appeals, Parkwood Hills Homes Association v. Ramakrishnan, No. 126,318, May 31, 2024 ↩
- Kansas Court of Appeals, Clements v. Cornerstone Residential Owners' Association, No. 128,198, December 26, 2025 ↩
- Kansas Real Estate Commission, complaints and matters outside Commission jurisdiction ↩
- Kansas Legislature, SB 144; Kansas Legislature, HB 2669; Kansas Legislature, HB 2343 ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Act overview; ADA.gov, Americans with Disabilities Act text; CFPB, Regulation F, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; U.S. Department of Justice, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act guide; Federal Communications Commission, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩