Bees & Your HOA: What Rights do Homeowners Have to Keep Bees in their Backyards?
When you first think about keeping bees in your backyard, you may initially start thinking about supplies, the bees themselves, hives, and space in your backyard. However, before you can even start assembling your beekeeping gear, one question must be answered: Am I even allowed to have bees on my property?
Your city or town may have rules and regulations regarding beekeeping, including if you are allowed to keep bees and how many hives you can keep. In addition to the municipality restrictions, your local Homeowners Association (HOA) may have its own rules.
Where in the United States can I keep bees?
It depends. Some states are friendlier toward beekeeping than others. A Georgia law says, “No county, municipal corporation, consolidated government, or other political subdivision of this state shall adopt or continue in effect any ordinance, rule, regulation, or resolution prohibiting, impeding, or restricting the establishment or maintenance of honeybees in hives,” meaning that no governmental agency in Georgia can prevent you from keeping bees.
Similarly, several towns in northern Virginia allow people to keep up to four colonies of bees in even a quarter acre. States like Florida allow people to keep honey bees after they register their honey bee colonies with the state government’s agricultural department.
HOA-Specific Regulations
Even though state-specific laws exist, there are specific regulations cited by HOAs or community ordinances that can preempt state laws and prohibit beekeeping. These layers of laws from the state, municipality, and HOAs obscure whether bees are allowed. In states like Georgia, Virginia, and Florida, beekeepers must follow the HOA ordinances.
Many HOAs and municipalities prohibit keeping livestock on properties. There is no universal standard that dictates if a locality classifies bees as livestock, so it depends on where you live. Furthermore, there may also be regulations specifically around insects.
Not only are there regulations around beekeeping, but there are regulations around setting up a business on a property, such as selling honey or wax products. HOAs have powers to limit business operations from one’s home.
Local Regulations
Zoning rules can also affect whether bees can be kept. A Colorado Spring ordinance indicated that beehives could be kept in the residential zone district if they weren’t a “nuisance” or “injurious” to the surrounding neighborhood. However, what this means exactly is unclear because there are no concrete definitions of a nuisance or injurious.
Because HOAs vary around the country, some HOAs may allow beekeeping, but some may not. It is up to you to do research to ensure that you are adhering to the rules and keeping your beekeeping activities as safe as possible.