# Colorado HOA Xeriscape Rights After SB23-178 (2026)

> Under Colorado Revised Statutes 38-33.3-106.5, an HOA cannot prohibit an owner from using xeriscape or drought-tolerant landscaping, and SB23-178 (effective August 9, 2023) made the rules specific. For detached single-family homes, an HOA's landscaping guidelines cannot prohibit nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard, cannot unreasonably require hardscape on more than 20% of the landscaping area, and have to allow the owner an option that is at least 80% drought-tolerant plantings. The association also cannot ban vegetable gardens in the front, back, or side yard. It can still set reasonable design standards, but not ones that effectively force a live turf lawn. If an HOA violates these rules, an owner can recover at least $500 after written notice and a 45-day cure period.

_Source: https://hoanotes.com/hoa/colorado/xeriscape-landscaping/ | Last reviewed 2026-06-03_

## What SB23-178 changed

Colorado already barred HOAs from banning xeriscape, but SB23-178 put hard numbers behind it for detached single-family homes. The guidelines an HOA adopts cannot prohibit nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard, cannot unreasonably require hardscape on more than 20% of the yard, and have to give the owner an option that is at least 80% drought-tolerant plantings. Vegetable gardens are protected in the front, back, or side yard.

The association keeps some room to set reasonable design standards, like plant palettes or mulch types, as long as those standards do not effectively mandate a live grass lawn. And the law has teeth: an owner can recover at least $500 if the HOA violates these rules, after giving written notice and a 45-day chance to fix it.

## What to check in the disclosure packet

If you want a water-wise yard, read these before you make an offer:

- Landscaping rules that require a live grass lawn or ban rock, mulch, or artificial turf.
- Whether the rules respect the backyard turf, 20% hardscape, and 80% drought-tolerant limits.
- Any ban on vegetable gardens, which SB23-178 does not allow.
- Board minutes for landscaping fines tied to lawn conversions.

## Why this matters to your offer

Water-wise landscaping saves money and water, and in Colorado the law protects it. A rules document that still demands a live turf lawn is out of step with SB23-178, which is worth knowing before you buy a home you plan to xeriscape.

An HOA Notes brief reads the landscaping rules against SB23-178, flags a live-turf mandate or a vegetable-garden ban, and cites the page behind each finding.

## What the statute says

**Colorado Revised Statutes section 38-33.3-106.5(1)(i) and (i.5)** (Xeriscape and water-conserving landscaping rights). An association cannot prohibit an owner from implementing xeriscape (water-conserving) landscaping or from replacing traditional turf grass with drought-tolerant, low-water-use plants or ground cover on property the owner individually owns; given Colorado's semi-arid climate and water scarcity, this right is broadly construed and restrictions requiring maintained turf lawns are unenforceable. The association may impose reasonable design standards for xeriscape -- for example, color palette, plant species, or mulch type requirements -- as long as such standards do not effectively mandate live turf grass; it may require a landscape plan be submitted for administrative review (not subjective aesthetic approval).

## Colorado HOA xeriscape: common questions

### Can a Colorado HOA require a grass lawn?

No. An HOA cannot prohibit xeriscape or drought-tolerant landscaping, and for detached single-family homes it cannot effectively require a live turf lawn or ban nonvegetative turf in the backyard.

### How much hardscape can the HOA require?

Under SB23-178, an HOA cannot unreasonably require hardscape on more than 20% of the landscaping area, and it must allow an option that is at least 80% drought-tolerant plantings.

### Can a Colorado HOA ban my vegetable garden?

No. SB23-178 protects vegetable gardens in the front, back, or side yard of a detached single-family home.

### What if the HOA breaks these rules?

An owner can recover at least $500 after giving the association written notice and a 45-day period to cure the violation.

## Sources (verified 2026-06-03)

1. SB23-178 (water-wise landscaping in HOA communities), Colorado General Assembly. Verified 2026-06-03. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb23-178
2. Mandatory updates to HOA landscaping policies (SB23-178), WesternLaw Group. Verified 2026-06-03. https://www.westernlawgroup.com/blog/2023/6/21/mandatory-updates-to-hoa-landscaping-policies
3. The Colorado laws making drought-tolerant landscaping easier, Colorado State University. Verified 2026-06-03. https://engagement.source.colostate.edu/how-colorado-laws-make-drought-tolerant-landscaping-easier/

HOA Notes is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.