# North Carolina HOA Landscaping Rules During a Drought (2026) > Under North Carolina General Statutes 47F-3-122, an HOA may not require the irrigation of landscaping, or fine an owner for failing to irrigate, during any period when the area is in a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought (as designated by the US Drought Monitor or the Secretary of Environmental Quality) and the Governor, a state agency, or a local government has imposed water conservation measures. There is an override: for covenants recorded on or after October 1, 2008, the association can still enforce irrigation during a conservation period only if the covenant says so in boldface capital letters on its first page. For a buyer, this means a brown lawn during a real drought is usually protected, but the covenant's recording date and front page decide whether the HOA kept the power to fine anyway. _Source: https://hoanotes.com/hoa/north-carolina/drought-landscaping/ | Last reviewed 2026-06-03_ ## When the exemption applies Two things have to line up for the protection to kick in. First, the area has to be in a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought under the US Drought Monitor or a designation by the Secretary of Environmental Quality. Second, the Governor, a state agency, or a local government has to have imposed water conservation measures. When both are true, the HOA cannot make owners water their lawns and cannot fine them for not doing it. The statute defines landscaping broadly: lawns, trees, shrubbery, and other ornamental or decorative plants. The override depends on the document. For covenants recorded on or after October 1, 2008, an association can still enforce irrigation during a conservation emergency only if the covenant spells that out in boldface capital letters on its first page. Without that notice, the exemption controls and a drought-season fine does not hold up. ## Why a buyer should care Parts of North Carolina move in and out of drought, and water restrictions follow. A community that fines for brown grass during a declared drought, with no first-page override in its covenants, is enforcing a rule it cannot back up. That is worth knowing if you are buying a home with a large lawn or thirsty landscaping. ## What to check in the disclosure packet Read these together before you make an offer: - The landscaping and irrigation standards in the CC&Rs and the rules. - The recording date of the covenants, since the override rule applies to post-October 2008 documents. - Whether any irrigation-during-drought override sits on the first page in boldface capital letters. - Board minutes for landscaping fines issued during a past drought. ## Why this matters to your offer Landscaping fines are a common friction point, and during a drought the law usually sides with the owner. Knowing whether your community kept the power to override that tells you what to expect the next dry summer. An HOA Notes brief reads the landscaping rules against the drought exemption, checks the covenant's recording date and first page, and cites the page behind each finding. ## What the statute says **North Carolina General Statutes section 47F-3-122 and section 47C-3-122** (Drought irrigation exemption). During periods when the US Drought Monitor or the Secretary of Environmental Quality designates the area as experiencing severe, extreme, or exceptional drought AND a government entity has imposed water conservation measures, the association may not enforce landscaping irrigation requirements or impose fines for failure to irrigate; for post-October 1, 2008 documents, a restriction claiming to override this must appear on the first page in bold capital letters. The association may enforce irrigation requirements outside officially designated drought and water conservation periods; for post-2008 documents with proper first-page bold notice, it may enforce irrigation requirements even during a declared water conservation emergency. ## North Carolina HOA drought landscaping: common questions ### Can a North Carolina HOA fine me for a brown lawn during a drought? Usually not. During a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought with water conservation measures in place, the HOA cannot require irrigation or fine you for not irrigating, unless the covenant overrides it with a boldface first-page notice. ### When does the drought exemption apply? When the area is designated as being in a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought by the US Drought Monitor or the Secretary of Environmental Quality, and a government has imposed water conservation measures. ### How can an HOA keep the right to require watering? For covenants recorded on or after October 1, 2008, only by stating the override in boldface capital letters on the first page of the document. ### What counts as landscaping under the statute? Lawns, trees, shrubbery, and other ornamental or decorative plants. ## Sources (verified 2026-06-03) 1. North Carolina General Statutes section 47F-3-122 (irrigation of landscaping), North Carolina General Assembly. Verified 2026-06-03. https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_47F/GS_47F-3-122.html 2. North Carolina General Statutes section 47F-3-122, FindLaw. Verified 2026-06-03. https://codes.findlaw.com/nc/chapter-47f-north-carolina-planned-community-act/nc-gen-st-sect-47f-3-122.html 3. Understanding North Carolina's law on landscaping irrigation during droughts, Law Firm Carolinas. Verified 2026-06-03. https://blog.lawfirmcarolinas.com/understanding-north-carolinas-law-on-landscaping-irrigation-during-droughts/ HOA Notes is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.