Understanding Oregon SB 1551: your right to fire-harden your home, even inside an HOA
For years, one of the most frustrating calls we got went like this. A homeowner in a planned community wants to pull the bark mulch off the foundation, swap a wood fence gate for metal, and lay rock in the first five feet around the house. Smart, basic wildfire work. Then the HOA says no. The CC&Rs require bark, or a uniform wood fence, or living landscaping right up to the wall.
As of June 2026, that answer no longer holds up. Oregon Senate Bill 1551 changed the rules.
What the law actually does
SB 1551 (Oregon Laws 2026, Chapter 86) makes void and unenforceable any provision in a recorded deed restriction or HOA governing document that stops a homeowner from installing fire-hardened building materials, or from removing combustible materials that are not fire-hardened.
It applies to documents recorded before, on, or after the law took effect. Your CC&Rs being thirty years old gives the association no cover. The bill passed the Oregon Senate in February 2026, cleared the House in March, and took effect in early June. You can read the bill overview and the full enrolled text on the Oregon Legislature site.
In plain terms: if the work hardens your home against wildfire, your HOA can no longer ban it.
What counts as fire-hardened
The statute ties the definition to three recognized standards. A material qualifies if it meets the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, NFPA 1140, or the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home criteria.
That last one matters locally, because the IBHS standard requires a noncombustible Zone 0: the first five feet around your house converted to rock, gravel, or pavers, with combustible plants and mulch removed. Rock ground cover in that zone is a fire-hardened material under the law. So is removing a wood fence section that runs into the house.
The 90-day clock that works in your favor
This is the part most homeowners miss. When you submit an application to your HOA to install fire-hardened materials or remove combustible ones, the association has 90 days to respond in writing with a reasoned, specific denial or a request for changes. If they stay silent, drag it out, or send back a vague no, the application is approved by operation of law.
The burden flipped. It used to sit on you to win permission. Now it sits on the association to justify a denial, and that denial cannot be arbitrary.
What your HOA still controls
SB 1551 is not a free-for-all. Associations keep legitimate design review over appearance, dimensions, and placement, as long as those standards do not have the practical effect of banning the materials or forcing you into a far more expensive alternative. In practice that means you and the board can agree on a rock color and edging that fits the neighborhood while still achieving a compliant noncombustible five feet. Cooperation beats a fight, and the law is written to encourage it.
How to use it
If your association has been the obstacle, the path is straightforward. Put your request in writing. Describe the work, cite SB 1551 and the IBHS Zone 0 criteria, attach photos and material specs, and keep proof of the date you filed. That date starts the 90-day clock.
We do this with homeowners regularly, including the documentation that makes an application hard to deny. Our guide to defensible space under Oregon standards covers what the Zone 0 work itself involves.
One honest note: this is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. SafeHaven is a licensed general contractor, not a law firm. For anything contentious with your board, talk to an attorney.
SafeHaven Fire Defense is Central Oregon’s GC-licensed wildfire hardening company (Oregon CCB #259806), serving Bend, Sisters, Redmond, Sunriver, Tumalo, La Pine, and Deschutes County. . Call (541) 241-6157 or email [email protected] to schedule an assessment.
