Birmingham, AL HOA Rules: Board Governance (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Appendix C, Article 3, Sec. 3.10
- Association type
- Incorporated, unincorporated or nonprofit
- Membership
- Every lot owner in the subdivision
- Filing fee
- $100.00 per plat, plus standard fees
- Board power
- Elects board of directors, contractual authority
- Streets/drainage
- Private maintenance only; public upkeep prohibited
Summary
Birmingham requires any common-ownership subdivision, including gated and private-road developments, to form a property owners association before the city approves the final plat. Appendix C (Subdivision Regulations) Article 3, Section 3.10 mandates recorded deed restrictions and protective covenants, mandatory membership of every lot owner, and defined association powers: electing a board, budgeting a maintenance reserve, and voting to amend governing documents.
Property owners association. Common ownership subdivisions require relevant deed restrictions and protective covenants to assure the continuing usefulness, maintenance, operation and financing of the commonly held property by an incorporated, unincorporated or nonprofit property owners association composed of all owners of lots in the subdivision. The property owners association for each common ownership subdivision shall administer the terms of the covenants, and manage all aspects of the common property, including the following powers and duties: a) Election of a board of directors with contractual authority; b) As owner of common property, responsible for construction, maintenance and operation of improvements and facilities on common lots...; c) Designation of uses allowed and prohibited activities; d) Annual budget planning, with an adequate maintenance reserve fund, and legal authority for enforcement; and e) Voting procedures to amend articles, bylaws, and alter, add or dispose of common property, change its purposes and site improvements, or to terminate the common ownership community or the property owners association.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 3).
Full Breakdown
10 of Birmingham's Subdivision Regulations (Appendix C, Article 3) governs any subdivision that sets aside common areas for shared use, such as private parks, detention ponds, gated entries, private roads or storage facilities. Before the subdivision committee will approve a final plat for such a project, the applicant must record deed restrictions and protective covenants creating an incorporated, unincorporated or nonprofit property owners association that includes every lot owner in the subdivision. 2: electing a board of directors with contractual authority, owning and maintaining common lots, private roads, parks, accessory uses, utilities and easements, designating allowed and prohibited uses, adopting an annual budget with a maintenance reserve fund and legal enforcement authority, and voting to amend the articles and bylaws or to terminate the association.
The final plat and every deed must reference the recorded covenants, and the association's articles of incorporation and bylaws are reviewed by the director of planning, engineering and permits before the plat records. 00 filing fee for each common ownership subdivision plat, on top of standard subdivision fees, and requires a public hearing before the subdivision committee under the same notice procedures used for ordinary plats. Where the association covers a private-road subdivision, subsection C lets it erect guardhouses and gates at street entrances if it provides an emergency override, master key or gate code to police, fire, utilities and the school district.
Subsection D makes the association and its members responsible for all street, drainage and utility maintenance inside the common area: the final plat and every deed must state that maintenance of streets and drainage is a private responsibility and that public maintenance is prohibited, and the city will not take over those improvements unless the association proves to the city engineer and traffic engineer that they meet subdivision design standards and are in good repair.
Violations & Fines
The subdivision committee under the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits will not record a final plat for a common-ownership subdivision without the recorded covenants, incorporated association documents and the $100.00 filing fee; missing documentation stalls plat approval indefinitely. Once recorded, the covenants themselves, not the city, are the primary enforcement tool, but the city may withhold acceptance of streets and drainage for public maintenance until the association proves compliance with design standards to the city engineer and traffic engineer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Birmingham require a homeowners association for every subdivision?
What must a Birmingham property owners association's covenants cover?
Can a Birmingham homeowners association gate its private streets?
Who pays to maintain streets in a Birmingham common-ownership subdivision?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Birmingham
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