Does California’s Nonfunctional Turf Ban Apply to Your Home?
No — not to an individual residential property. California’s nonfunctional turf ban, Water Code section 10608.14 (Assembly Bill 1572), prohibits using drinking water to irrigate nonfunctional grass on commercial, industrial, and institutional properties and on common areas owned by homeowners’ associations. The State Water Board states plainly that the ban does not apply to residential properties, including homes inside an HOA.
What it does apply to is closer to home than many people realize. If you live in an HOA community, the grass along the entry, the parkway strips, and the areas around signs and walls may be covered — and HOA common areas have a compliance deadline of January 1, 2029.
What Does the Nonfunctional Turf Ban Actually Prohibit?
It prohibits one thing: irrigating nonfunctional mowed grass with potable water. According to the State Water Resources Control Board, the law covers properties owned by commercial, industrial, and institutional entities, homeowners’ associations, common interest developments, community service organizations, and similar entities. Cemeteries are excluded.
Three limits on the law matter as much as the prohibition itself. The Water Board’s official FAQ confirms that the law does not require anyone to remove grass — it only restricts watering it with drinking water. It does not prohibit using drinking water on trees and other perennial non-grass plantings. And it applies to potable water specifically, meaning water treated to be safe for human consumption.
Does It Apply to Homes in an HOA?
Not to the homes themselves. The Water Board’s FAQ states that residential properties, including residential properties within homeowners’ associations, are not subject to AB 1572.
Homeowners considering synthetic grass on their own lot should also understand California’s separate HOA rules for artificial turf.
Common areas are a different story. The FAQ defines common areas as portions of a property that are not assigned or allocated to the exclusive use of the occupants of an individual dwelling unit, and those areas are covered. In practice, that is the landscaping the association owns and maintains, not the front yard of your own home.
This distinction matters in communities where it is easy to confuse the two — for example, where a planting strip sits in front of a home but is maintained by the association.
What Counts as Nonfunctional Turf?
Turf is mowed grass used as a ground cover. Whether it is functional depends on how it is used, not on the grass itself.
| Type of grass area | Classification under the ban |
|---|---|
| Sports fields and park areas where people gather | Functional |
| Grass used for community gatherings or informal recreation | Functional |
| Grass within street rights-of-way and parking lots | Nonfunctional |
| Grass enclosed by fencing or barriers that keep people out | Nonfunctional |
| Grass bordering signs, buildings, or sidewalks | Nonfunctional |
The Water Board has said it does not plan to weigh in on specific cases. Questions about whether a particular area of grass is nonfunctional go to the local public water system serving the property.
When Do Properties Have to Comply?
Deadlines are phased by property type. The first one arrives January 1, 2027.
| Deadline | Properties that must stop watering nonfunctional turf with drinking water |
|---|---|
| January 1, 2027 | State Department of General Services properties |
| January 1, 2027 | Local government, public agency, and public water system properties outside disadvantaged communities |
| January 1, 2028 | Commercial, industrial, and remaining institutional properties |
| January 1, 2029 | Homeowners’ associations, common interest developments, and community service organizations |
| January 1, 2031, or when state funding becomes available, whichever is later | Local government, public agency, and public water system properties in disadvantaged communities |
The Water Board may postpone a property owner’s deadline by up to three years upon a showing of economic hardship, critical business need, and potential impacts to human health or safety.
Public water systems also have a deadline of their own: by January 1, 2027, they must revise their regulations, ordinances, or policies to incorporate the ban and communicate the requirements to their customers.
Do HOAs Have to Report Compliance?
Some do. Associations, common interest developments, and community service organizations with more than 5,000 square feet of irrigated common area must self-certify compliance to the State Water Board beginning June 30, 2031, and every three years through 2040.
Commercial, industrial, and institutional properties with more than 5,000 square feet of irrigated area, other than cemeteries, certify beginning June 30, 2030, and every three years through 2039. The Water Board has stated that certifications will be publicly accessible.
Enforcement may be carried out by water systems, cities, and counties.
Who Enforces This in Elk Grove?
Your water provider is the first point of contact. The City of Elk Grove is not a water purveyor; according to the City’s drought response and water conservation page, Elk Grove is served by the Elk Grove Water District and the Sacramento County Water Agency, and the City provides a lookup tool on that page to find which one serves a given address.
Because questions about whether specific grass qualifies as nonfunctional go to the local water system, the provider serving a property is the right place to start for an HOA board or property manager.
What Are the Options If Grass Is Covered?
The law restricts watering, so the choice is what the area becomes instead. The Water Board does not mandate a replacement, and local rules shape what is allowed.
For Elk Grove specifically, the City’s drought response page states that replacing grass with artificial turf is allowed, provided the artificial turf is a pervious surface that lets water drain into the ground. The same page notes that where turf within a landscape easement is removed, it cannot be left as bare dirt: replacement plants must cover at least 50 percent of the converted area at full maturity and cannot be high water use or invasive species. It also states that no Planning permits are required for lawn replacement unless irrigation is proposed.
Common options include:
- Low-water and native planting, which the Water Board’s resources point toward and which can continue to be irrigated if it is not grass
- Pervious artificial turf, where local rules allow it
- Keeping and watering trees, which the ban does not restrict
- Designating areas as functional, where they genuinely serve recreation or community use
Each option has different maintenance, cost, and appearance tradeoffs, and the right mix depends on how the space is used.
Working With a Landscape Designer
Advanced Pavers & Landscape is a family-owned, licensed landscape and hardscape contractor (CA License #1060875) serving Elk Grove, Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom, and surrounding cities. Our landscape designers design low-maintenance landscapes using materials that require minimal upkeep, such as drought-tolerant plants, mulch, and pavers, and we install artificial turf including lawn replacement and putting greens.
If you are rethinking a lawn — whether it falls under the ban or you simply want to use less water — a free consultation is a practical place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does California’s nonfunctional turf ban apply to my house?
No. The State Water Board states that the nonfunctional turf ban does not apply to residential properties. It applies to commercial, industrial, and institutional properties and to common areas owned by homeowners’ associations, common interest developments, and community service organizations.
Does the nonfunctional turf ban apply to homes in an HOA?
Not to the homes themselves. Residential properties within homeowners’ associations are not subject to AB 1572. The association’s common areas, meaning portions not assigned to the exclusive use of an individual home’s occupants, are subject to the ban.
What counts as nonfunctional turf?
Nonfunctional turf is mowed grass that is not in a recreational use area or community space. Examples include grass within street rights-of-way and parking lots, grass enclosed by fencing that keeps people out, and grass bordering signs, buildings, or sidewalks.
When do HOA common areas have to comply with the nonfunctional turf ban?
January 1, 2029. That is the date homeowners’ associations, common interest developments, and community service organizations must stop irrigating nonfunctional turf with drinking water. The State Water Board may postpone a deadline by up to three years in limited circumstances.
Does the nonfunctional turf ban require removing grass?
No. AB 1572 only prohibits using drinking water to irrigate nonfunctional mowed grass. It does not require removing grass. What replaces the grass, if anything, is a decision for the property owner within local rules.
Can trees still be watered with drinking water under the ban?
Yes. AB 1572 does not prohibit using drinking water to water trees and other perennial non-grass plantings. The restriction applies only to nonfunctional mowed grass.
This article summarizes California Water Code section 10608.14 (AB 1572) as described by the State Water Resources Control Board, and cited City of Elk Grove guidance, as of the date of publication. It is provided for general information. Questions about whether specific grass is nonfunctional should be directed to the public water system serving the property.
