Colorado HOA flag and political sign rules

Before September 2021, Colorado protected only the American flag, flown according to the federal flag code, plus service flags. House Bill 21-1310 replaced that list. Now the association cannot prohibit a flag on your property, in a window of your unit, or on a balcony attached to it, and it cannot prohibit or regulate flags based on their subject matter, message, or content. A state flag, a pride flag, a sports flag and a Thin Blue Line flag all get the same treatment. Flags with commercial messages are the exception. The association may ban those.

The association may adopt reasonable, content-neutral rules on the number, location and size of flags and flagpoles. It cannot prohibit installing a flag or flagpole. So a rule that caps the number of flags and the height of poles can be valid, while a rule allowing only the American flag is not.

The sign rule works the same way. An owner or an occupant, which includes a tenant, can display a sign on property within the boundaries of the unit or in a window. The association cannot prohibit or regulate window signs or yard signs based on their subject matter, message or content, and it may ban signs with commercial messages. It may set reasonable, content-neutral rules based on number, placement, size, or other objective factors.

Political signs no longer have a section of their own. Before 2021, an HOA could ban political signs earlier than 45 days before an election and later than 7 days after it. That window is gone. The statute now treats a campaign sign like any other noncommercial sign, so a rule written only for political signs regulates them by subject matter, which the statute does not allow. The statute also sets no removal deadline after an election.

The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act covers condominiums, cooperatives and planned communities, and section 106.5 does not treat them differently. The flag rule names windows and balconies, which matters most in a condo building. Section 38-33.3-117 makes 106.5 apply to communities created before July 1, 1992, too.

The protection reaches your property, your windows and, for flags, an adjoining balcony. Hallways, lobbies, clubhouses and other common elements are outside it, so the association's general rules govern there.

Religious items on your front door follow a separate rule with its own limits. See the Colorado religious display page linked below.

Older Colorado rulebooks often still carry the pre-2021 language. Look for:

• A list of approved flags, such as only the US and Colorado flags. Since 2021 that is regulation by content.
• A political sign window such as 45 days before and 7 days after an election. The statute no longer allows it.
• Any rule letting the board reject a flag or sign because it finds the message offensive.
• A ban on flagpoles, or on flags in windows or on balconies.
• Neutral limits on number, size and placement. These are allowed, so note them if you plan to display something.
• Board minutes or violation letters about flags or signs.

Colorado changed this law five years ago, and many communities have not rewritten their rules since. A rulebook that still restricts political signs to an election window is a sign the board has not reviewed its documents against current law. That tends to show up in other places too.

An HOA Notes brief reads the declaration and the rules against 38-33.3-106.5, flags a restriction the statute overrides, and cites the page behind every finding.

Colorado Revised Statutes section 38-33.3-106.5(1)(a) (Flag display rights). An association cannot prohibit a unit owner from displaying a flag on the owner's property, in a window of the unit, or on a balcony adjoining the unit, cannot prohibit or regulate flags based on their subject matter, message, or content, and cannot prohibit installing a flag or flagpole. The association may prohibit flags bearing commercial messages and may adopt reasonable, content-neutral rules on the number, location, and size of flags and flagpoles; the statute does not protect flags on common elements outside the unit, its windows, or an adjoining balcony.

When you read the disclosure packet, watch for no flags banners or signs on any lot or unit exterior, only the American and Colorado flags may be displayed, flags limited to national holidays only, no flags on balconies or in windows, flagpoles prohibited, and board may remove any flag it finds offensive. HOA Notes flags each of these against the statute and tells you which restrictions are actually enforceable.