What are the HOA governing documents?

Typically the recorded plat, the recorded declaration of covenants, the articles of incorporation, the bylaws, and the rules and regulations adopted by the board.

Which HOA document controls when two conflict?

Generally the higher document in the hierarchy: statute first, then the recorded plat and declaration, then articles of incorporation, then bylaws, then board-adopted rules. A rule that contradicts the declaration is usually unenforceable.

HOA governing documents, in order of authority

Most disputes inside a community association are not really about fences or paint. They are about which document wins.

A reference for boards and community managers · general information, not legal advice

The full set

Document	Who created it	Where it lives
Plat or survey map	The developer	Recorded with the county
Declaration (CC&Rs)	The developer	Recorded with the county, by book and page
Articles of incorporation	The developer	Filed with the state
Bylaws	Developer, then amended by owners	Sometimes recorded, sometimes not
Rules and regulations	The board	Board minutes and resolutions
Architectural guidelines	The board or committee	Usually adopted as rules

The hierarchy

State and federal law. A covenant conflicting with statute is unenforceable however it was recorded. Solar access, satellite dishes, flags, service animals and rental restrictions are all areas where legislatures have overridden covenant language.
The recorded plat and declaration. These run with the land and bind every owner, including ones who never read them.
Articles of incorporation. They establish the association as a legal entity.
Bylaws. How the association governs itself — meetings, quorums, elections, terms.
Rules and regulations. Adopted by the board, and the easiest to change or challenge.

A board cannot fix a problem in the declaration by passing a rule. If the declaration permits something, a rule forbidding it is usually unenforceable — however sensible the rule.

Why the order decides arguments

An owner asks whether they can run a short-term rental. The rules say no; the declaration is silent. That is not a close question in most states — the board created a restriction it may not have had authority to create.

Run it in reverse. The declaration caps fences at four feet; a board resolution allows six with committee approval. The resolution does not survive contact with the declaration unless the declaration grants the committee that latitude.

Amendments are where the record breaks

Each document can be amended on different thresholds — often a supermajority of owners for the declaration, a simple majority for bylaws, a board vote for rules. What goes wrong is not the amendment but the record afterwards: the amended declaration is recorded, the office copy is not replaced, and for a decade half the association is reading a superseded document.

Any serious document system therefore keeps superseded versions readable rather than deleting them, so a decision made in 2019 can still be understood against the rules in force in 2019.

Practical checks for a manager

Confirm the declaration you are reading is the recorded one, by book and page, not an undated office copy.
Check whether amendments exist and whether they were recorded. Unrecorded amendments to a recorded declaration are frequently ineffective.
Before enforcing a rule, find the provision that gave the board authority to adopt it.
When the documents are silent, say so. Silence is an answer, and usually the correct one.

Next: how covenants, bylaws and rules differ →