For homeowners in Colorado Springs, selecting an exterior paint color often involves more than a trip to the hardware store. In communities governed by homeowners associations, covenants and design guidelines dictate permissible colors and materials, making pre-project approval a critical step. According to The Colorado Division of Real Estate's 2024 HOA Information and Resource Center Annual Report, Colorado has 8,362 active common interest community registrations, and approximately 2.7 million residents—about 46 percent of the state's population—live in such communities. This means that for nearly half of Coloradans, exterior painting projects are subject to association oversight.
The potential for conflict is significant. The same report notes that the HOA Center received 3,811 inquiries and complaints from 300 individuals in 2024. Among the complaint categories, improper or selective enforcement of covenants and failure to follow governing documents each appeared 67 times. These figures underscore that disputes over exterior appearance are not isolated incidents but a recurring issue that can escalate to the state level.
However, the state's ability to resolve these disputes is limited. The Division of Real Estate explicitly states that its HOA Center does not mediate or arbitrate on behalf of homeowners, board members, or community association managers, nor does it investigate or intervene in disputes between homeowners and associations. For homeowners, this means that reading and understanding governing documents before beginning a project is the most practical safeguard against costly mistakes.
Local painting company Simplify Painting, which has served the area since 2015, regularly encounters HOA approval requirements. Founder Tom Reber said, "In a lot of the communities we work in, the color question gets answered by the HOA before it gets answered by the homeowner. We'd much rather see the approved palette at the first walkthrough than find out after the first coat is on." The company's exterior painters colorado springs crews schedule work only after any required association approval is in place. Reber advises, "My advice to a neighbor is to pull the design guidelines and submit the request before booking a painter. A few weeks of approval time is a lot easier to plan around than repainting a house twice."
While exterior projects await approval, homeowners can proceed with interior work, which typically falls outside association review. colorado springs interior painting projects, including cabinet painting, can move forward on their own timeline. Simplify Painting offers complimentary estimates for these services.
The broader implication is that as Colorado's population in common interest communities continues to grow, the intersection of property maintenance and private governance will remain a source of friction. With state agencies unable to intervene in individual disputes, homeowners bear the responsibility of due diligence. For painting projects, that means reviewing covenants, obtaining approvals, and planning for potential delays—steps that can prevent the expense and hassle of repainting. As Reber noted, understanding the rules upfront is far simpler than correcting a violation after the fact.
