What are Governing Documents?

 If you've ever asked a question about your HOA, you've probably heard some version of:

“Check the governing documents.”

But what exactly does that mean?

Is it the Declaration? 

The Bylaws?

The Rules and Regulations?

The Articles of Incorporation?

And if all those documents govern something, why does an HOA need so many of them?

An HOA doesn't operate under just one document. 

Different documents serve different purposes. Some establish restrictions affecting the property. Others explain how the Association operates. Still others provide more detailed standards or rules for community living.

Understanding those differences can make it much easier to know where to look when you have a question about your HOA.

Let's take a closer look.

What Are Governing Documents?

Think of the governing documents as the framework for how the Association and community operate.

Florida law defines an HOA’s “governing document” to include the recorded declaration of covenants, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and duly adopted and recorded amendments to those documents.

Homeowners may also encounter Rules and Regulations, architectural guidelines, resolutions, policies, plats, and other Association documents.

But they don't all serve the same purpose.

One document may tell you whether you can lease your home. Another may explain how many directors serve on the Board. Another may establish requirements for using a community amenity.

Therefore, if  someone tells you to “check the governing documents,” the next question may be:

Which document should I check?

What Is the Declaration?

The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, often simply called the Declaration or CC&Rs, is one of the most important documents affecting an HOA community.

The Declaration is recorded in the county's public records and contains covenants and restrictions affecting the property.

This is often where homeowners find provisions concerning how property may be used, maintenance responsibilities, assessments, architectural restrictions, leasing, pets, parking, common areas, and the Association's enforcement authority.

The Declaration contains recorded covenants and restrictions that apply to the property, not just to the person who owns it at the time.

When the property is sold, those applicable restrictions don't disappear simply because ownership changes. The new owner generally takes the property subject to the recorded covenants and restrictions.

This is why you may hear the phrase “the covenants run with the land.”

If you sell your home, the Declaration doesn't go with you. The next owner acquires the property subject to the recorded covenants and restrictions that apply to it.

That's why the Declaration is often an important place to start when a homeowner asks:

“Where does the HOA get the authority to require this?”

What Are the Articles of Incorporation?

Your HOA isn't only a collection of homes. The Association itself is generally organized as a Florida corporation.

The Articles of Incorporation help establish that corporate structure.

They may address the Association's purpose, membership, corporate powers, directors, and other fundamental provisions concerning the organization.

For many everyday homeowner questions, the Articles won't necessarily be the first document you reach for.

If you're wondering whether you can install a fence, for example, you're more likely to start with the Declaration and architectural requirements.

The Articles answer a different kind of question:

What is this Association as an organization, and what was it created to do?

What Are the Bylaws?

This is where homeowners sometimes begin mixing documents together.

The Declaration and Bylaws are related, but they generally don't serve the same purpose.

If the Declaration focuses heavily on the property, rights, obligations, and restrictions within the community, the Bylaws generally focus more on how the Association governs itself.

The Bylaws may explain how the Board is structured, how directors and officers serve, how meetings are conducted, what constitutes a quorum, and how certain voting and governance procedures work.

An easy way to understand the distinction is:

The Declaration helps govern the community and property.

The Bylaws help govern the Association.

That's a simplified explanation because the documents can overlap, but it's a useful starting point.

If your question is:

“Can I lease my property?”

you might start with the Declaration.

If your question is:

“How many directors are supposed to serve on our Board?”

the Bylaws may be the better starting point.

Knowing what you're trying to answer helps you know where to look.

What About Rules and Regulations?

Rules and Regulations can create another layer of confusion.

Homeowners sometimes assume that if the Board adopts something and calls it a “rule,” it automatically has the same authority as a provision in the Declaration.

It isn't quite that simple.

Rules often address the day-to-day operation of the community. They may establish procedures or requirements concerning parking, amenities, pool use, common areas, access, or other matters within the Association's authority.

But a rule doesn't exist in isolation.

The Association must have authority to adopt and enforce it. Depending on the issue, that authority may come from the Declaration, other governing documents, or applicable law.

So if you read a rule and wonder:

“Can the HOA actually require this?”

don't necessarily stop with the Rules and Regulations.

The next question may be:

“Where does the Association get the authority to make this rule?”

That can lead you back to the Declaration or other governing documents.

What About Resolutions?

Homeowners may also come across documents called resolutions.

A resolution is generally a formal action taken by the Board to document a decision, policy, procedure, or other action concerning Association business.

For example, a Board might adopt a resolution establishing procedures for implementing an existing provision of the governing documents or formally documenting an Association policy.

A resolution can look very official, and it is an Association action, but the word “resolution” doesn't give the Board new authority simply because it appears at the top of a document.

The Board must still have authority for what the resolution is intended to accomplish.

Therefore, when reading a resolution, a useful question is:

“What authority is this resolution implementing?”

A resolution may be an important Association document, but it isn't automatically the same thing as the Declaration, Articles of Incorporation, or Bylaws. And a Board cannot simply use a resolution to rewrite provisions that require a different process to amend.

The title of a document doesn't determine the extent of the Board's authority.

What About Architectural Guidelines?

Architectural guidelines are another good example of how Association documents can work together.

The Declaration may require Association approval before certain exterior changes are made and establish who has authority to review those changes.

In many communities, architectural review is handled by a committee operating under authority established in the governing documents. In others, the Declaration may create a separate architectural review body and give it specific decision-making authority.

That distinction matters.

Homeowners shouldn't automatically assume that every architectural committee operates the same way, or that the Board itself makes every architectural decision. The governing documents determine where that authority rests and how the review process works.

Separate architectural or design guidelines may then provide the more detailed standards used in reviewing applications.

For example, the Declaration might tell you that replacing your windows requires architectural approval. The guidelines might tell you which window styles, frame colors, materials, or other specifications are acceptable.

In that situation, the Declaration may establish the requirement for approval and who has authority to give it, while the architectural guidelines provide the standards used to evaluate the proposed change.

Reading only one may not give you the complete answer.

What Are Amendments?

This may be one of the most important things homeowners learn about governing documents:

The original document isn't necessarily the current document.

HOA governing documents can be amended.

An amendment changes, adds to, or removes provisions from an existing document.

Imagine that you find your Association's original Declaration from many years ago. You read the leasing provision and believe you've found your answer.

But several years later, the Association recorded an amendment,, changing that provision.

If you read only the original Declaration, you're working with incomplete information.

That's why researching an HOA question may require reading:

The original document together with all applicable amendments.

And some communities may have accumulated numerous amendments over many years.

It isn't enough to find a copy of the Declaration.

You want to know whether you're reading the current provisions that apply today.

Are All Association Documents “Governing Documents”?

No.

Homeowners sometimes use “HOA documents” to describe almost everything the Association has. But “governing documents” has a more specific meaning.

An Association also maintains many other records: contracts, financial statements, budgets, meeting minutes, insurance policies, invoices, correspondence, and other records documenting its business.

Those may be official records of the Association, but that doesn't necessarily make them governing documents.

Think about the difference this way:

Governing documents establish the framework of the community and Association, its authority, restrictions, rights, responsibilities, and governance.

Official records document the business and activities of the Association.

For example, the Declaration may establish the Association's responsibility to maintain a common area.

The landscaping contract may show who the Association hired to perform that maintenance and what the contractor agreed to do.

Both documents may be important, but they answer very different questions.

Which Document Should I Look At?

It depends on what you're trying to understand.

Suppose you want to install a fence.

The Declaration may tell you whether exterior alterations require approval. Architectural guidelines may tell you what type of fence is permitted. Association procedures may tell you how to submit your application.

One homeowner question may require looking at several documents.

Or suppose you're trying to understand how a vacancy on the Board is filled.

That question may lead you to the Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, applicable amendments, and Florida law.

That's why understanding HOA documents isn't about memorizing them.

It's about learning where different kinds of answers are likely to be found, and recognizing when you may need to keep looking.

What If Two Documents Seem to Conflict?

This is where homeowners should be careful about jumping to conclusions.

You may find one provision in the Declaration and another in the Bylaws or Rules that appears to say something different.

That doesn't automatically mean one of them is invalid.

Sometimes the provisions address different situations. Sometimes an amendment changed older language. Sometimes one document establishes general authority while another provides more detailed procedures.

And sometimes there may be a genuine conflict that requires closer analysis.

However, if two documents appear inconsistent, don't simply choose the provision you prefer.

First make sure you're looking at the complete and current documents, including applicable amendments. Then read the provisions together and in context.

If the conflict remains and the issue is significant, legal interpretation may be appropriate.

Where Can Homeowners Find Their Governing Documents?

A good place to start is the Association itself.

Depending on the size of the community, Florida law may require the Association to make certain documents available online. 

HOAs with 100 or more parcels must make specified Association records available through a website or downloadable mobile application. Those records include the Declaration and its amendments, the Articles of Incorporation and amendments, the recorded Bylaws and amendments, and the Association's current Rules. 

Smaller associations may also choose to make their governing documents available through a website or owner portal even when that statutory website requirement does not apply.

Regardless of the Association's size, governing documents are part of the Association's official records, and members have statutory rights to inspect and copy those records subject to Florida's official-records requirements. 

The Declaration and recorded amendments can also generally be found in the official records of the county where the community is located.

Wherever you obtain the documents, remember the lesson about amendments:

Finding the original document is only the first step. Make sure you're also looking for the amendments that may have changed it.

Do I Really Need to Read All of This?

Not from cover to cover tonight.

And you certainly don't need to memorize it.

The goal is to become familiar enough with your Association's documents so that you understand what they are, what they generally do, and where to look when something comes up.

When you receive a violation letter, want to make an exterior change, question an assessment, wonder how a Board procedure works, or simply want to understand one of your responsibilities, you'll have a better idea of where to begin.

That's very different from waiting until there's a disagreement and opening your Declaration for the first time.

The more familiar you become with the documents affecting your community, the easier it becomes to understand both your responsibilities as a homeowner and your rights as a member of the Association.

The Bottom Line

Your HOA doesn't have one document that explains everything.

The Declaration, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, amendments, Rules and Regulations, architectural guidelines, resolutions, and other applicable documents may work together to explain how your community operates.

They don't all serve the same purpose, and they don't all carry the same function or authority.

The Declaration generally tells you a great deal about the property, restrictions, rights, and responsibilities.

The Articles of Incorporation help establish the Association as an organization.

The Bylaws generally explain how the Association governs itself.

The Rules and Regulations may provide more detailed requirements for day-to-day community living within the Association's authority.

Resolutions may formally document Board actions, policies, or procedures within the Board's authority.

Architectural guidelines may provide detailed standards for changes to the property.

And amendments tell you what has changed.

Once you understand those different roles, the familiar advice to “check your governing documents” becomes much more useful.

You don't need to know every provision.

You just need to know where to start looking—and when one document may not tell the whole story.

Every HOA has its own governing documents, procedures, and unique challenges.

You don't have to learn everything today.

Knowledge builds confident homeowners.

Engaged homeowners build stronger communities.

Let's keep the conversation going.

Florida HOA Spotlight — Helping Homeowners Understand Their Communities... One Conversation at a Time.