Can an HOA ban an ADU in Arizona?
Arizona's ADU laws do not override private covenants: both say they do not prohibit restrictive covenants on ADUs made between private parties, so HOA deed restrictions can still limit them, although a city or county cannot make a covenant a condition of an ADU permit.
The statutes limit what cities and counties can do. They leave private agreements alone.12
The government side
A city or county cannot condition a permit, a license or the use of an ADU on adopting or implementing a restrictive covenant between private parties.12 It also cannot require its own restrictive covenant on an ADU on a lot zoned for a single-family home.12 The county statute makes one exception: the affordability restriction it may require on one unit when a lot of an acre or more gets the additional detached ADU.2
The private side
Both statutes state that they do not prohibit restrictive covenants concerning ADUs entered into between private parties. The county statute names shared well agreements as well.12 So a lot inside a homeowners' association can still be bound by its deed restrictions on ADUs, even where the city or county must allow them.
Read the recorded covenants before designing anything. The city's approval and the association's are two different questions.
Who publishes this
Kyrax Developments is a BC Housing-licensed builder based in British Columbia. It publishes this page as a reference to Arizona state law. The page is not legal advice and not an offer of construction services in Arizona. The city or county planning department has the final word on any specific lot.
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