"For Sale" Sign Law Trumps HOA Rules

  Question:  We have lived in a community in the Biltmore area of Phoenix for more than 10 years.  For years, the only “for sale” signs in our community were the same light brown and low to the ground.  In the past year or so, several of us have noticed a proliferation of “for sale” signs in various colors and sizes.  When we brought up the issue at our homeowners association meeting, all the homeowners except the real-estate agents that live in our community wanted to go back to the old “for sale” signs.  The president of our homeowners association said, however, that Arizona law allows each real-estate agent selling a home in our community to put up their own “for sale” signs.  Why is this law being forced down our throats?

  Answer:  With the support of the real-estate industry, there is now a law restricting regulation by homeowners associations of “for sale” signs.  This law states that a homeowners association can no longer regulate the color and design of “for sale” signs, or the size of “for sale” signs, unless larger than the industry standard size of 18 inches by 24 inches.