Kentucky HOA Architectural Review
Before we walk through the details, here is the quick reference — fifteen mechanics of Kentucky architectural review, each with its rule and its authority.
| # | Mechanic | Kentucky rule | Authority / citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Source of architectural authority | The recorded declaration, read together with the applicable act: the Planned Community Act for planned communities created after June 29, 2023; the Condominium Act for condominiums created on or after January 1, 2011; the Horizontal Property Law for condominiums created before January 1, 2011; nonprofit corporate law and the declaration otherwise | KRS 381.785–381.801; KRS 381.9101–381.9207; KRS 381.805–381.910; KRS Chapter 273; declaration |
| 2 | Statutory decision deadline for applications | None; the declaration governs | No statutory deadline; declaration |
| 3 | Deemed approval if association misses deadline | No statutory deemed-approval rule; declaration-dependent | Declaration |
| 4 | Written decision required | No statutory mandate; the declaration governs | Declaration |
| 5 | Written reasons required for denial | No statutory mandate; the declaration governs | Declaration |
| 6 | Owner right to a hearing or appeal | No architectural appeal track by statute; the declaration governs; the condominium good-faith obligation applies to 2011-Act condominiums | KRS 381.9123; declaration |
| 7 | Governing standard for decisions | A recorded covenant is enforced if it is valid, reasonable, and within association authority; for 2011-Act condominiums, the good-faith obligation and board-duty standards apply | KRS 381.9123; KRS 381.9170; case law; declaration |
| 8 | Solar energy devices | No HOA solar-access override; solar easements available by mutual written agreement only | KRS 381.200 (solar easement); no HOA solar override |
| 9 | Flag display | No separate Kentucky HOA carve-out confirmed; the U.S. flag is protected by federal law | Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, 4 U.S.C. § 5 |
| 10 | Political / campaign signs | Statutory protection for all planned communities; governing documents may not prohibit political yard signs, subject to reasonable time/size/placement rules | KRS 381.800 |
| 11 | Drought-tolerant / native landscaping | No state statute (verify); the declaration governs | Declaration |
| 12 | Antennas and satellite dishes | The federal OTARD rule limits restrictions on covered antennas and dishes one meter or less | 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000 |
| 13 | EV charging stations | No state statute (verify); the declaration governs | Declaration |
| 14 | Other protected items (rainwater harvesting, clotheslines) | No state statute (verify); the declaration governs | Declaration |
| 15 | Enforcement remedies for violations | No statutory fine cap; fines must be authorized by the governing documents and the applicable act and be reasonable; the Planned Community Act and the Condominium Act supply lien and enforcement mechanics; disputes proceed in Circuit Court | KRS 381.785–381.801; KRS 381.9101–381.9207; declaration |
Section 1: Overview
Kentucky sorts its community associations into four statutory tracks, and it sorts them by two things: the type of community you have and the date it was created. Across all four tracks, one point holds steady — the power to review an exterior change comes from the recorded declaration, not from any statewide architectural-review statute. Here are the four tracks. The Kentucky Planned Community Act (KRS 381.785 to 381.801) covers planned communities and took effect June 29, 2023.1 The Kentucky Condominium Act (KRS 381.9101 to 381.9207) covers condominiums created on or after January 1, 2011.2 The Kentucky Horizontal Property Law (KRS 381.805 to 381.910), which the legislature enacted in 1962, still governs condominiums created before that date.3 And general nonprofit corporate law under KRS Chapter 273 organizes most of these associations. None of these acts tells an association when it must decide an architectural application, none creates a deemed-approval rule, and none requires a written denial; the declaration sets those terms. On solar, Kentucky gives no HOA override and recognizes only solar easements that owners create by mutual written agreement,4 while it protects political yard signs by statute for planned communities.5 The state sets no dollar cap on fines — the governing documents and the applicable act have to authorize them — and Kentucky keeps no dedicated HOA regulator. When an architectural dispute reaches court, it starts in the Kentucky Circuit Courts and can move up to the Kentucky Court of Appeals and then the Kentucky Supreme Court, as the sections below explain.
Section 2: The architectural-review framework
2A. Source and scope of architectural authority
Architectural control in Kentucky starts in the recorded declaration — the covenants, conditions, and restrictions. That document usually hands review to the board or to an architectural committee, and it sets the standards, the application steps, and the remedies. So your first move is to identify the governing act, and that turns on two facts: the type of community and the date it was created.
For planned communities, the dividing line is June 29, 2023. A planned community created after that date falls under the Kentucky Planned Community Act, KRS 381.785 to 381.801. The legislature enacted it in 2023 through Senate Bill 120, Governor Andy Beshear signed it on March 20, 2023 (2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23), and it took effect June 29, 2023.6,7 This was Kentucky's first statutory framework for planned-community associations, and it addresses declarations, boards, budgets, assessments, liens, records access, open board meetings, and amendments.6 The Act also reaches existing communities, but only so far: KRS 381.786 makes every planned community subject to the Act, yet it keeps a provision valid when a document adopted or recorded before June 29, 2023 contains it — unless the Act specifically says otherwise.1 So a planned community created before June 29, 2023 still answers mainly to its declaration, the Kentucky Nonprofit Corporation Act (KRS Chapter 273), and common law, except where the Act expressly applies.
For condominiums, the dividing line is January 1, 2011. A condominium created on or after that date is governed by the Kentucky Condominium Act, KRS 381.9101 to 381.9207, which the legislature enacted in 2010 and drew heavily from the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act.2 A condominium created before January 1, 2011 stays under the 1962 Horizontal Property Law, KRS 381.805 to 381.910 — though the Condominium Act reaches some pre-2011 regimes, and a pre-2011 regime may amend its documents to adopt Condominium Act provisions.2 The Condominium Act does not apply to planned communities, and the Planned Community Act does not apply to condominiums.
Within each track, precedence runs in order: the applicable act, then the declaration, then the bylaws, then the board's rules and architectural guidelines. Get the type and the date right, because that is what tells you which act supplies the governance scaffolding around the declaration.
2B. The approval process and standards of review
Kentucky imposes no statutory application deadline, no deemed-approval rule, and no written-denial requirement for architectural decisions in any of the four tracks. Those procedural protections exist only where the declaration or the architectural guidelines create them. If an association's documents say nothing about timing, the association owes no statutory duty to decide within any set period.
The standard that governs a decision comes from covenant law. Kentucky courts enforce a recorded restriction as long as it is valid, reasonable, and within the association's authority, and architectural standards hold up better when they are objective, applied consistently, and grounded in the declaration. For a condominium under the 2010 Act, two statutory standards apply on top of covenant law. The first is the obligation of good faith in performing and enforcing duties (KRS 381.9123).8 The second is the board-member duty standard, which requires directors to act in good faith, on an informed basis, and in a way they honestly believe serves the association's best interests (KRS 381.9170).9
On enforcement, Kentucky sets no statutory dollar cap on fines. A fine has to be authorized by the governing documents and the applicable act, and it has to be reasonable. The Planned Community Act supplies a continuing lien and enforcement framework for planned communities,6 and the Condominium Act supplies lien and enforcement mechanics for condominiums.3 The practical sequence is the same every time: identify the governing act from the community type and creation date, then ground both the architectural process and any fine schedule in the declaration and that act.
2C. Statutory and federal limits on architectural authority
On solar, Kentucky gives an association no solar-access override. What the state recognizes is a solar easement that owners obtain by mutual written agreement under KRS 381.200(2), a statute that took effect July 15, 1982 and reads, in full: "A solar easement may be obtained for the purpose of ensuring access to direct sunlight. Such easement shall be created in writing and shall be an interest in real property that may be acquired and transferred and shall be subject to the same recording and conveyancing requirements, except that a solar easement shall not be acquired by prescription."4 That is a negotiated tool between property owners, not a limit on an association's power to restrict solar installations, and Kentucky has no solar-rights statute that overrides HOA architectural restrictions.
On political signs, KRS 381.800 bars an association's governing documents from prohibiting the outdoor display of political yard signs, subject to reasonable rules on placement, size, and manner. The statute fixes the display window in plain terms: "Signs shall be displayed no earlier than thirty (30) days before any special, primary, or regular election and no later than seven (7) days after that election unless a longer time period is provided by local ordinance."5 A 2025 amendment (2025 Ky. Acts ch. 32, House Bill 27) added subsection (2), which extends the protection to every planned community in the Commonwealth and provides that "any provision of any existing governing document of a planned community in contravention of subsection (1) of this section is void."10
Kentucky confirms no statutory carve-out for flag display beyond the federal Flag Act, and none for drought-tolerant or native landscaping, EV charging stations, rainwater harvesting, or clotheslines. The declaration governs those items. Three federal frameworks apply in Kentucky as they do everywhere, and they add to state law rather than replace it: the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 (4 U.S.C. § 5), which stops an association from preventing display of the U.S. flag, subject to reasonable restrictions;11 the FCC OTARD rule (47 C.F.R. § 1.4000), which limits restrictions on most antennas and satellite dishes one meter or less;12 and the Fair Housing Act's reasonable-modification right (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(A)), which lets an owner pay for a reasonable, disability-related exterior modification.13 These federal frameworks get a fuller treatment in our separate federal coverage.
Section 3: Compliance obligations in the architectural-review process
A. Adopting and maintaining architectural standards
In every track, the authority to adopt architectural standards is declaration-based; no Kentucky act dictates what the architectural guidelines must contain. Keep the standards objective and consistent, and they hold up under covenant law. For a 2010-Act condominium, the board that adopts and applies those standards is also bound by statute — the good-faith obligation (KRS 381.9123) and the board-duty standard (KRS 381.9170).8,9
B. Reviewing and deciding applications
The steps for reviewing an application, any decision deadline, and any deemed-approval consequence all come from the declaration; no Kentucky track makes them statutory. Still, a board acting on an application in a 2010-Act condominium has to meet the statutory good-faith and board-duty standards (KRS 381.9123; KRS 381.9170).9 And in a planned community created after June 29, 2023, the board-meeting and governance requirements are statutory under the Planned Community Act (KRS 381.785 to 381.801), even though the architectural-review process itself stays a matter for the declaration.6
C. Honoring statutory and federal owner protections
On solar, honoring an owner's solar rights is declaration-based, because Kentucky has no HOA solar override; the only statutory tool is the mutual solar easement (KRS 381.200).4 On political signs, allowing the display is a statutory obligation under KRS 381.800, which now applies to every planned community and voids any contrary existing provision.5,10 The federal overlays are statutory and run across all four tracks: the U.S. flag (4 U.S.C. § 5), covered antennas and dishes (47 C.F.R. § 1.4000), and disability-related modifications (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(A)).11,12,13
D. Enforcement and dispute resolution
Fining authority is declaration-based, and it also has to satisfy the applicable act; no Kentucky statute caps the dollar amount (KRS 381.785 to 381.801; KRS 381.9101 to 381.9207).6 Lien and collection mechanics are statutory within each track: the Planned Community Act gives planned communities a continuing lien, and the Condominium Act gives condominiums lien and foreclosure mechanics.3 When a dispute does not resolve, it is litigated in the Kentucky Circuit Courts, with appeals to the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity
4A. Recent bills
Kentucky's recent activity clusters around planned-community governance and political signs. Three signed bills carry the weight here.
SB 120 · 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23 · 2023 Regular Session
Senate Bill 120 created Kentucky's first statutory framework for planned communities, codified at KRS 381.785 to 381.801. It set the board, budget, records, meeting, assessment, lien, and amendment rules that surround the declaration — and the declaration is where architectural authority sits.[6],[7]
| Property managers | For any planned community created after June 29, 2023, apply the Planned Community Act's governance and lien rules alongside the declaration when you run architectural review and enforcement. |
| HOA board members | Confirm the community's creation date; the Act's board and meeting duties apply to communities formed after June 29, 2023 and reach older ones only in limited ways. |
| Community association attorneys | Check KRS 381.786 before you assume the Act overrides an older recorded restriction. |
| Homeowners | A new planned community now carries statutory records, budget, and meeting rights, but the architectural process still comes from the declaration. |
HB 472 · 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 150 · 2024 Regular Session
House Bill 472 added KRS 381.803, which lets a city petition a court to appoint a receiver for a planned community that fails to maintain infrastructure, a common area, a stormwater detention or retention area, or another facility it is legally obligated to maintain. It also lets the city recover what it spends to repair, renovate, maintain, or bring those facilities up to code.[14]
| Property managers | Deferred common-area and stormwater maintenance can now trigger a city receivership petition, so keep maintenance and reserves current. |
| HOA board members | Fail to maintain a required facility, and control can move to a court-appointed receiver with fee-setting authority. |
| Community association attorneys | A city now holds a statutory receivership route against a nonperforming planned-community association. |
| Homeowners | A city can seek a receiver if the association lets shared infrastructure fall into disrepair. |
HB 27 · 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 32 · 2025 Regular Session
House Bill 27 amended KRS 381.800 so that every planned community is subject to the political-yard-sign protection, and it made any contrary provision in an existing governing document void.[5],[10]
| Property managers | Stop enforcing any covenant that bans political yard signs; enforce only reasonable time, size, and placement rules. |
| HOA board members | A sign ban in an older declaration is now void; update your rules to the statutory display window. |
| Community association attorneys | The 2025 amendment removed the earlier grandfathering, so a pre-2023 sign prohibition no longer stands. |
| Homeowners | An owner in any Kentucky planned community may display political yard signs within the statutory window. |
4B. Recent rulings
No qualifying published opinion from the Kentucky Court of Appeals or the Kentucky Supreme Court — on HOA or condominium architectural enforcement, restrictive-covenant interpretation, the Condominium Act, or the Planned Community Act — turned up within the past 36 months. The on-point Kentucky appellate decisions from that window carry a "not to be published" designation and do not bind, so we report none here as authority.
4C. Active legislative debates
No specific pending Kentucky bill affecting architectural authority or the carve-outs could be verified as active as of this update, so we report none. The recent pattern is clear enough: the action has centered on planned-community governance (SB 120, HB 472) and on political signs (HB 27).
Section 5: National positioning and related coverage
Kentucky reads as a recently modernized, multi-track state, not a single-statute one. It modernized its condominium law in 2010 by borrowing from the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, and it added its first planned-community statute in 2023 — which sets it apart from states that have run a single comprehensive common-interest statute for decades. Its defining feature is that four-track structure, sorted by community type and creation date, with the June 29, 2023 line for planned communities and the January 1, 2011 line for condominiums. For a multi-state operator, the practical takeaway is straightforward: in Kentucky the governing act depends on both the type of community and its creation date, the declaration governs the architectural-review process itself, and the state protects political yard signs by statute while giving no HOA solar override. That places Kentucky between a no-carve-out state such as Georgia and a carve-out-heavy state such as California, which stacks statutory solar, landscaping, and EV-charging protections on top of the declaration.
Our Kentucky Architectural Review coverage updates quarterly as the Kentucky General Assembly and the Kentucky appellate courts act. Federal frameworks — the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act, the FCC OTARD rule, and the Fair Housing Act — apply to Kentucky associations on top of state law, and we cover those in a separate federal section.
- KRS 381.786, Planned communities subject to KRS 381.785 to 381.801; filing of declaration (effective June 29, 2023) ↩
- KRS 381.9103, Application and construction of KRS 381.9101 to 381.9207 (Condominium Act; January 1, 2011) ↩
- Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 381 (Horizontal Property Law KRS 381.805–381.910; Condominium Act KRS 381.9101–381.9207; continuing lien KRS 381.799) ↩
- KRS 381.200, Deeds construed to include buildings and appurtenances; solar easements (effective July 15, 1982) ↩
- KRS 381.800, Display of political yard signs; conditions; existing contrary provisions are void ↩
- 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23 (Senate Bill 120), the Planned Community Act ↩
- Kentucky General Assembly, 2023 Regular Session, Senate Bill 120 record page ↩
- KRS 381.9123, Obligation of good faith (Kentucky Condominium Act) ↩
- KRS 381.9170, Discharge of board member's duties; standards for monetary damages and injunctive relief ↩
- 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 32 (House Bill 27), amending KRS 381.800 ↩
- 4 U.S.C. § 5; Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-243) ↩
- 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000, FCC Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rule ↩
- 42 U.S.C. § 3604, Fair Housing Act (reasonable modification right at § 3604(f)(3)(A)) ↩
- Kentucky General Assembly, 2024 Regular Session, House Bill 472 record page (2024 Ky. Acts ch. 150) ↩