An ARC architectural request form is the application you file with your homeowners association’s Architectural Review Committee before changing anything on the exterior of your property. To get it approved on the first pass, submit a complete package: owner and property details, a specific written description of the work, your contractor’s license and insurance, manufacturer names and color codes for every visible material, a scaled site plan, current-condition photographs, and the processing fee, delivered through whatever channel your association designates. Most denials and delays trace back to vague descriptions or missing attachments rather than to the project itself.
When You Need to File One
The working rule is that any change visible from outside the home likely needs committee approval. That obviously covers additions, re-roofing, and fencing, but it also covers work homeowners routinely overlook: repainting (even in the same color, if the community’s palette has been updated), removing mature trees, adding retaining walls or permanent hardscape, converting lawn to gravel or artificial turf, swapping shingle profiles or siding materials, changing a front door color, replacing a garage door with a different panel style, and mounting exterior sconces, landscape lighting, or security cameras.
A few interior changes count too, because they alter the exterior view. Window treatments are the usual example — many associations require the street-facing side of blinds, shades, or curtains to be white or a neutral tone. If you’re unsure whether your project qualifies, call the management office before you order materials.
What to Put on the Form
Most associations publish the form through an online portal or hand it out at the management office. The fields are straightforward; the attachments are where applications succeed or fail.
Owner and Property Information
Enter your legal name, mailing address, phone, email, and the street address where the work will happen. If the property is held in a trust or LLC, list the entity and a contact person. Check the lot and block number against your deed before you submit — transposed digits can route the file to the wrong reviewer and cost you weeks.
Project Description and Timeline
Describe the work in plain, specific terms. “Replace existing wood fence along the rear property line with a six-foot vinyl privacy fence” tells the committee what it needs to know; “fence upgrade” does not. Include an anticipated start date and estimated completion date, and build in a realistic buffer. Committees use those dates to schedule inspections and track compliance.
Contractor Details
List the contractor’s business name, license number, phone, and email, and attach the general liability insurance certificate. Some communities require the association to be named as an additional insured on the policy for the duration of the project. If you plan to do the work yourself, say so on the form. Self-performed work is allowed in many communities but can trigger extra scrutiny or a larger performance deposit.
Materials and Specifications
This is where most applications run thin. The committee wants manufacturer names, product lines, and color codes for every visible material: paint, stain, roofing shingles, siding, stone veneer, fencing, and hardware. If you’re pulling from a sample book, note the sample number. For structural work, attach dimensional drawings or blueprints that show how the project fits within your property, with setback distances from lot lines and any common areas. Expect to be asked for physical samples of roofing tiles, siding swatches, or stone veneer, especially when the product isn’t on the community’s pre-approved list.
Site Plan and Photographs
Attach a site plan showing the property footprint, existing structures, and where the new work will go. Many committees accept a hand-drawn plan if it’s to scale and clearly labeled, though a professional survey is often required for additions, pools, and outbuildings. Include current-condition photographs of the area where work will happen, from each side the project will be visible. Photos of neighboring homes with a similar feature can support your case, though the committee is not bound by what it has approved before.
Fee
A non-refundable processing fee goes in with the application. The amount varies by community but commonly falls between $25 and $200 depending on the scope of the project. The form won’t be reviewed until payment clears, so submit the fee at the same time as the paperwork.
Submitting and What Happens Next
Send the completed package through the channel your association designates: an online portal, email to the management company, or hand delivery to the management office. If you mail it, use a method with delivery confirmation. Online systems typically issue a receipt and a tracking number automatically; save both.
Review windows generally run 30 to 60 days, though simple projects like repainting in a pre-approved color often move faster. Several states deem a request automatically approved if the association fails to respond within a statutory window, so check whether your state has such a provision before assuming silence means no. During review, a committee member may visit your property or ask for more information. Answer promptly, because most associations pause the clock while waiting on you.
Decisions come in writing in one of three forms: full approval, conditional approval, or denial. Conditional approvals usually require a small adjustment — a different color, a slight relocation, additional screening landscaping. Read the conditions carefully. Building the original plan instead of the approved plan is treated the same as building with no approval at all.
Performance Deposits
For larger projects, the association may require a refundable performance deposit before you break ground, commonly ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. The deposit guarantees that the finished work matches the approved plans and that the site is cleaned up afterward. When you finish, notify the association in writing and request a final inspection. If the work conforms and the site is restored, the deposit comes back, typically within 30 days of the inspection. If the work doesn’t match the approval, the association can use the deposit to correct the deficiencies and bill you for anything that exceeds it.
If Your Request Is Denied
A denial has to come with reasons. Those reasons are your starting point.
Begin informally. Call a committee member or the property manager and ask what specifically drove the decision. Often the objection is narrow (a color, a height, a missing document) and a small revision resolves it. Committee members can usually tell you what change would bring the project into compliance.
If an informal fix isn’t available, check your governing documents for an appeal process. Many communities let you appeal an ARC decision to the full board of directors, particularly when the committee is a subcommittee rather than the board itself. The usual steps are a written notice of appeal within a stated deadline (often 30 days), a board meeting where you present your case, and revised drawings, alternative materials, or expert opinions that address the stated concerns. Photographs of comparable projects already approved in the neighborhood help, even though they don’t bind the board.
If internal channels close, many states require or encourage mediation before anyone can file suit. Keep written records of every communication throughout the dispute; you’ll need them if the matter escalates.
What Skipping the Form Costs
Starting work without approval is the most expensive shortcut a homeowner can take. The association’s authority comes from the recorded Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions that bind every lot in the development, and courts consistently uphold that authority when the process is applied evenly.
Enforcement typically begins with a written violation notice and a deadline to either file a retroactive application or stop work. Ignore it and the board can issue a formal cease-and-desist, then begin levying daily fines, commonly $25 to $100 per day until the violation is cured. From there, the board may schedule an administrative hearing and pursue one of several remedies: ordering you to tear out the unapproved work and restore the property at your expense, placing a lien on the property for unpaid fines, or filing suit for injunctive relief.
Retroactive approval exists in some communities, but it isn’t guaranteed, and the violation itself can carry separate penalties even when the modification would have passed on its merits. Filing first is always cheaper.
Projects the Committee Cannot Block
Before you accept conditions on your approval, know that federal and state law limit what an association can refuse or restrict in several categories. You may still have to file the form, but the committee’s leverage is narrower than it is elsewhere.
Satellite Dishes and Antennas
The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rule prohibits any restriction that impairs your ability to install, maintain, or use a satellite dish one meter or less in diameter, an antenna for receiving video programming, or a mast supporting either device. It covers property you own or have exclusive use of, including single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes, and manufactured homes, and on condos and rentals it reaches exclusive-use areas such as balconies, terraces, and patios.1FCC. Installing Consumer-Owned Antennas and Satellite Dishes A restriction counts as an impairment if it unreasonably delays or prevents installation, unreasonably increases the cost, or prevents reception of an acceptable quality signal.2eCFR. 47 CFR 1.4000 – Restrictions Impairing Reception of Television Broadcast Signals Your association can suggest alternative placement, but only if the alternative doesn’t degrade the signal or make installation unreasonably expensive. If a rule violates OTARD, you can file a complaint directly with the FCC.
Disability-Related Modifications
The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse reasonable modifications a person with a disability needs for full enjoyment of the premises. The resident pays for the modification.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 Grab bars, widened doorways, wheelchair ramps, and curb cuts near accessible parking are common examples. The committee may ask for documentation from a medical professional showing the connection between the disability and the requested change, but it cannot require an increased security deposit or special liability insurance as a condition of approval.4HUD. Joint Statement on Reasonable Modifications
U.S. Flag Display
The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 bars condominium associations, cooperatives, and residential management associations from adopting or enforcing any policy that restricts a member from displaying the U.S. flag on property the member owns or has exclusive use of. Reasonable time, place, and manner conditions are still permitted, and the display must follow federal flag-display customs.5Congress.gov. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005
Solar Panels
At least 29 states have adopted laws limiting an association’s ability to prohibit or unreasonably restrict solar energy systems. Most define an unreasonable restriction as one that significantly increases installation cost, significantly reduces efficiency, or fails to offer a comparable alternative.6Kansas Legislative Research Department. State Regulations of Homeowners Associations Abilities to Restrict Solar Panels You may still need to file the ARC form, but check your state’s solar access statute before accepting a denial or an expensive condition.