Menu

Board tool

Architectural Application Template

A fill-in application form for California HOAs, with a built-in clock for the statutory deadlines on solar, EV chargers and disaster rebuilds.

Fill In the Form Read the architecture and owner rights guide

Free board tool

Architectural Application

1. Owner and property

Who is applying and for which home.

2. Type of project

Check all that apply. Some projects have their own deadlines under state law.

3. Project details

A complete description is the fastest route to a decision.

4. Attachments

Check what you’re including.

5. Owner acknowledgments

For association use

Record the date received. It starts the clocks below.

Enter the date received and check the project type to see any statutory deadline.

Your entries stay in this browser tab and aren’t sent anywhere. This template is general educational information, not legal advice. Adapt it to your governing documents and review procedure, and have the association’s attorney review it before use.

How to use it

Using the Template

Date-stamp every application the day it arrives. For solar and EV chargers, that date starts a clock that can turn silence into approval.

Adapt the form to your guidelines once, then use the same version for every owner.

  1. Match it to your procedure. Make the sections, required attachments and submission address match your written review procedure.
  2. Point to your guidelines. Add the guideline sections and any pre-approved options owners can choose from.
  3. Have it reviewed. Ask the association’s attorney to review the form along with your procedure.
  4. Owners complete sections 1 to 5. They can fill it in here and print it or save it as a PDF, or print a blank copy.
  5. Record the date received. The association-use box shows any statutory deadline for the project types checked.
  6. Ask for missing information in writing, promptly.
  7. Send a written decision. A disapproval must give the reasons and explain how to ask the board to reconsider.
  8. File it. Keep the completed form and decision with the property’s records. This is good practice.

What the law says

The Rules Behind the Form

A disapproval must be in writing, explain why and describe how to ask the board to reconsider (section 4765).

The template follows California’s architectural review rules and flags the projects that come with their own deadlines.

  • A written procedure with deadlines. When the governing documents require approval, the association must have a fair, reasonable and expeditious procedure with prompt deadlines, decide in good faith, put decisions in writing and offer reconsideration by the board at an open meeting (section 4765).
  • Solar. Deemed approved if not denied in writing within 45 days, unless the delay comes from a reasonable request for more information (section 714).
  • EV chargers. Deemed approved if not denied in writing within 60 days, with the same exception (section 4745).
  • Replacement windows. Starting January 1, 2027, associations may impose only reasonable restrictions on window replacements (section 4754).
  • Disaster rebuilds. The association has 30 calendar days to say whether the application is complete, then 45 calendar days to approve it or send a full set of comments (section 4766).
  • Accessibility modifications. Owners submit plans, and the association can’t deny approval without good cause (section 4760).
  • Permits. Association approval doesn’t replace a city or county permit, and a permit doesn’t replace association approval.

The architecture and owner rights guide covers what an association can’t prohibit.

Sources

The Law Behind This Page

Every legal point on this page comes from the official text. Each link below opens it on the California Legislature’s website in a new tab.

Civil Code sections: 714 · 4745 · 4754 · 4760 · 4765 · 4766

Keep going

Related Resources

Architecture and Owner Rights

Review rules and what HOAs can’t ban.

How to Propose Changes to Your Property

An owner’s guide to getting approval.

Solar and EV Chargers

What California HOAs can restrict.

Maintenance Responsibility Matrix

Chart who maintains what.

All Board Tools

Checklists and worksheets for HOA boards.

California HOA Board Binder

The board templates in one free Word file.

Get help

Want Help Managing Applications?

A professional management company can log applications, track statutory deadlines and send written decisions on time, so the board can focus on the decisions themselves.

Explore HOA Management What does a management company do?

Last reviewed October 21, 2026. Civil Code sections cited: 714, 4745, 4754, 4760, 4765 and 4766. By the How2HOA Editorial Team. This template is general educational information, not legal advice. Adapt it to your governing documents, and have the association’s attorney review it before use.

Share this: