Legal & property
Restrictive Covenant
A recorded promise that limits how an owner may use their property — the building blocks of every HOA.
Also called: covenant · deed restriction · use restriction
What it means
A restrictive covenant is a recorded promise that runs with the land, binding current and future owners to a specific limitation on use. Every HOA's CC&Rs are essentially a bundle of restrictive covenants — covenants restricting paint colors, fence types, rental terms, pets, vehicles, and so on. Courts enforce restrictive covenants in essentially every state, but they apply rules of strict construction (ambiguous covenants tend to be read in favor of the owner) and require the covenants to be reasonable and applied non-discriminatorily. Some older covenants — racially restrictive language, for example — are unenforceable as a matter of public policy regardless of what the document says.
Why it matters
When the HOA tries to enforce something, the covenant has to actually say what the board claims it says. Ambiguity favors the owner. Boards that try to imply rules from vague language lose challenges; boards that quote specific covenant language with citation tend to win them.
Example
The CC&Rs prohibit 'commercial activity' on residential lots. An owner runs a one-person consulting business from a home office with no signage, no client visits, and no inventory. A court is likely to read 'commercial activity' to mean activity that affects the residential character — not internal office work.
This definition is general orientation, not legal advice. Specific questions about your association should be routed to your attorney or a state-statute resource.
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