A new bill could impact homeowners associations (HOAs) by establishing a right to display political yard signs, even if an HOA attempts to prohibit them.
House Bill 16 would still allow HOAs and local governments to impose “reasonable restrictions” on factors such as location, size, timing, and quantity of signs. However, outright bans would no longer be permitted.
“My view of HOAs, personally, is to delegate authority and responsibility for aesthetics, landscaping, and things of that nature,” said state Rep. Brian Lorenz, a Powell Republican.
The idea for HB 16 originated from a Democratic constituent who was prevented from displaying a sign supporting Vice President Kamala Harris due to HOA regulations.
“That’s not right,” Lorenz said. “It’s a free speech thing.”
Data from the Foundation for Community Association Research indicates that eight out of ten newly built single-family homes in the U.S. come with an HOA, with approximately 75 million Americans living under HOA governance. HOAs often enforce property restrictions, such as limitations on fence heights, house colors, and signage, while collecting fees for common area maintenance.
“You make a choice to be part of an HOA with full knowledge of what the restrictions are,” said Gary Daniels, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio. “But you’re talking a lot less about choice these days.”
Ohio law already prohibits HOAs from banning the display of U.S. and POW/MIA flags. A prior attempt by Republicans to expand this protection to include thin blue line flags failed in the last legislative session.
The ACLU of Ohio opposed the thin blue line bill for targeting specific speech but has not yet taken a position on HB 16’s broader restriction against HOA sign bans.
“Our concern was that they were putting their finger on the scale and saying only this one type of expression. Only pro-law enforcement,” Daniels said. “HB 16 doesn’t do that.”
Daniels noted, “I anticipate we won’t be an opponent on this because it doesn’t take sides. This is an improvement over the thinking in last session’s bill.”
Lorenz aims to have a first hearing by the end of the month and expects bipartisan support.
“It’s kind of a common-sense measure,” he said. “It’s a great bipartisan bill. It takes down barriers of free speech.”
