Making Changes To Your Home

Our Villages of Dorchester HOA rules state that any time a homeowner would like to make a structural change to their property (i.e. adding a deck, fence, shed, or in any other way altering the physical appearance of their home or property), an Architectural Guidelines Application form must be submitted and approved before any work may begin. Please refer to the updated Architectural Guidelines document to see specific colors and exterior features that must be maintained in each individual village throughout VOD.

Architectural Change Control applications typically require additional documentation to show property boundaries, photos or renderings of what the finished project will look like, photos of doors/windows to be used, etc. prior to being approved. The ACC application process is managed by the Architectural Review Committee and is designed to maintain a visual control over the look of our community so as to enhance and preserve property values for all Villages of Dorchester homeowners.

Applications may be submitted online via email, and simple requests are typically approved within about a week.  More complicated requests may have to be reviewed by the Architectural Review Committee during an HOA Board Meeting, which are held on the 4th Wednesday of each month.

Steps to follow when making changes to your home:

  1. Download and complete the Architectural Guidelines Application
  2. Prepare all required documents including property plots, photos, renderings, etc.
  3. Email the application and supporting documents to arc@villagesofdorchester.org

Any changes made to a home’s exterior without submitting an application can subject the homeowner to additional fines and fees and/or may require the homeowner to remove or modify the structure to comply with HOA rules!