“Take down the sign” and “flags aren’t allowed” are among the most common HOA demands — and among the most likely to be flatly illegal in Arizona. A.R.S. § 33-1808 overrides your community documents on flags, political signs, for-sale and for-rent signs, cautionary signs, and political activity. The section opens each protection with the words “notwithstanding any provision in the community documents” — meaning your CC&Rs don’t win, the statute does.
Flags your HOA cannot ban
An association may not prohibit the outdoor front- or back-yard display of any of these:
- The American flag or an official/replica flag of the U.S. uniformed services (displayed consistent with the federal flag code);
- The POW/MIA flag;
- The Arizona state flag;
- An Arizona Indian nations flag;
- The Gadsden flag;
- A first responder flag (law enforcement, fire, or paramedic/EMT, within the colors and wording the statute defines);
- A blue star or gold star service flag; and
- Any historic version of the American flag, including the Betsy Ross flag.
What the HOA can still do: adopt reasonable placement and manner rules. It may regulate the location and size of flagpoles, limit you to two wall-mounted holders, limit you to two flags at once, and cap flagpole height at your rooftop. But it cannot prohibit you from installing a flagpole in your front or back yard at all.
Political signs: protected for a defined window
An HOA cannot prohibit the indoor or outdoor display of a political sign on your property — with one timing exception. It may bar political signs only:
- Earlier than 71 days before a primary election;
- Later than 15 days after the general election; and
- For a candidate who loses the primary, later than 15 days after that primary.
On size and number: an HOA’s rules can’t be more restrictive than the local city, town, or county ordinance. If there is no local ordinance, the association cannot limit the number of political signs at all — only the total combined size, capped at nine square feet. It also can’t require political signs to be commercially produced or professionally made, can’t bar using both sides of a sign, and can’t regulate how many candidates or ballot measures a sign supports.
For-sale, for-rent, and for-lease signs
An association cannot prohibit or charge a fee for a for-sale, for-rent, or for-lease sign and sign rider on your own property — including a “for sale by owner” sign. The limits it can impose are narrow:
- The sign must be commercially produced (an HOA may bar homemade ones);
- Industry-standard size — no larger than 18 × 24 inches, with a rider no larger than 6 × 24 inches;
- For open houses, the association may prohibit them only before 8:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m., and may keep open-house signs off the common areas.
Children, petitions, and the right to assemble
- Cautionary child-at-play signs are allowed under defined conditions (residential areas, removed within an hour of children leaving, displayed only when children are within 50 feet, under three feet tall, professionally produced).
- An HOA can’t prohibit children who live in the community from playing on residential roadways under its jurisdiction where the speed limit is 25 mph or less.
- Door-to-door political activity and petition circulation — for candidates, ballot measures, initiatives, referenda, or recalls — cannot be prohibited on areas normally open to visitors. The HOA may only restrict it sunset-to-sunrise, require visible ID tags, and (in gated communities) require that non-residents be accompanied by a member.
- Members have the right to peacefully assemble and use the common areas to discuss community matters, including board elections and recalls, and may post notices of those assemblies on common-area bulletin boards.
What to do if your HOA tells you to take it down
- Identify which protection applies — flag, political sign, for-sale sign, or activity — and the specific subsection of § 33-1808 that covers it.
- Ask the association, in writing, for the legal basis of its demand. “Notwithstanding any provision in the community documents” means a CC&R citation is not a valid answer.
- Note the timing and size rules you must still follow — the statute protects the display, not every possible size, placement, or hour.
- For for-sale-sign violations, know the lien-forfeiture consequence under subsection (M), and keep a dated record of the demand.