What is restrictive covenants?

Restrictive covenants are the property-use rules written into an HOA’s CC&Rs, the document tied directly to your deed. They sit below state and federal law in the governing-document hierarchy, so a covenant that conflicts with something like a state solar-access law simply doesn’t hold up, and the same goes for federal protections like the Fair Housing Act’s disability-accommodation requirements, a covenant can’t be used to deny a reasonable modification or accommodation a resident is otherwise entitled to.

Why does restrictive covenants matter?

Boards that treat every covenant as absolute can end up enforcing rules that are already outdated or overridden by law, the kind of mistake that costs a resident real time and money over something the board was never entitled to block. Reading the covenants against current state law before citing them is what keeps enforcement fair instead of just convenient.

When You’ll Run Into This

This becomes relevant the moment a resident wants to do something with their property that another resident, or the board, thinks conflicts with community standards. Our guide to a fair approach to HOA rules enforcement covers how to apply covenants like this consistently.