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Construction Lighting Safety: How HOA Boards Can Protect Residents and Vendors

It happens every fall: daylight fades faster, but construction doesn’t stop. If your community has siding, painting, or roofing projects underway, lights often get removed, wrapped, or unplugged. Without clear instructions, they don’t always get put back — and residents end up walking home in the dark.

That’s more than inconvenient. Poor lighting during construction is a safety hazard, a liability risk, and a budget problem waiting to happen.

Why lighting gets overlooked during projects

Most HOA boards assume vendors will “handle it.” But contractors are focused on their scopes — paint crews want to finish walls, electricians focus on wiring, and roofers don’t want cords or fixtures in the way.

The result:

• Porch lights wrapped in plastic and forgotten.
• Timers left disconnected after electrical work.
• Stairwell or walkway lights pulled down and never reinstalled.

If your RFP doesn’t spell out lighting responsibilities, you’ll pay extra to have someone else fix it later.

The risks of poor lighting during construction

For residents

• Trip-and-fall hazards on stairs, sidewalks, and walkways.
• Higher chance of vehicle accidents in dark carports or garages.
• Frustration and complaints that damage board credibility.

For HOAs

• Liability exposure: if someone is injured, the HOA may be held responsible.
• Change orders when vendors bill extra for “restoring” lights they should have reinstalled.
• Delays when work areas fail inspections because they’re not properly lit.

For contractors

• Arguments between trades — “That’s not my responsibility.”
• Night work delays when sites aren’t safe after dark.
• Poor visibility that leads to errors and rework.

The fix: how to protect your HOA during construction

1) Write it into your RFP

Make lighting responsibilities crystal clear in the scope and instructions. If a fixture comes down during the workday, it needs to be safely restored before crews leave.

• Any light removed must be restored the same day.
• Timers must be reset to current schedules after power is interrupted.
• All lights must be checked before crews leave — especially stairs, walkways, and addresses.

Sample RFP language:

“Contractor shall restore all light fixtures, timers, and controls to working order at the end of each workday and confirm they’re operational before dark. This includes reinstalling or reconnecting any lights temporarily removed or covered. No additional charges shall be applied for this work.”

2) Assign responsibility

The trade that takes it down, puts it back up. Don’t leave room for finger-pointing between painters, electricians, and roofers. Spell this out in your contract to avoid gray areas and surprise change orders.

3) Require timer resets and night checks

Timers drift with daylight savings and shorter days. Any time you turn power off to a timer, it needs to be reset. Require contractors to:

• Reset timers as part of their daily closeout.
• Verify all lights are working before leaving — including lighted building and unit numbers.
• Perform a “night check” on final inspection to confirm safe lighting after dark.

Best practices for boards

• Inspect after dark. Don’t just rely on contractor reports — walk the site yourself once the sun goes down.
• Document issues. Take photos of missing or dark lights to hold vendors accountable.
• Use checklists. Make lighting part of your punch list for every project, from pre-construction to closeout.
• Budget smart. Build lighting requirements into RFPs so they’re included in the base scope, not tacked on as extra change orders.

Mini example: porch lights gone missing

At a Bay Area HOA, painting crews removed porch fixtures to prep siding. They wrapped the wires but didn’t reinstall lights each night. Residents began reporting unsafe walkways, and several homeowners threatened legal action over near-misses.

After the board revised the RFP to require daily lighting restoration and contractor sign-off, the HOA saw accountability improve across all trades — and nighttime complaints dropped.

Quick checklist for HOA boards

Construction lighting shouldn’t be an afterthought

Schedule a call with Paul to review your next RFP.

Don’t let something as simple as a light bulb create lawsuits and change orders. We’ll review your upcoming projec