Safeguarding the architectural integrity of a community in order to preserve and enhance property values is universally recognized as one of the most important responsibilities of a homeowners association. In part, this is accomplished through the establishment and enforcement of architectural guidelines and property maintenance standards that ensure that homes, lots, and landscaping maintain consistency with the overall design concept for the neighborhood. This includes aesthetic considerations intended to make its streetscapes visually attractive and appealing. Guidelines and standards vary from community to community, but one proposition always remains constant… In order to protect their interests, home buyers who move into a community governed by a homeowners association have a right to expect the association to maintain a strong and effective architectural covenants and control program.

Prior to settlement, home buyers are generally given the association’s governing documents that cover its responsibilities and how it conducts business. Those documents also cover the expectations for homeowners and the rules that they are required to follow once they take title to their property. You would think that new homeowners would make it a point to review and familiarize themselves with those rules and then abide by them. Most owners do. At times, if they “slip up” resulting in a covenants violation, a gentle written reminder is all that is needed to bring their property into compliance. It would be nice if things were always that simple, but they are not. Unfortunately, some homeowners are willing to abide by the rules until they find them “inconvenient”, at which point they will ignore reasonable requests to fix a problem, or worse, take an aggressive or even hostile stand against the association. When that happens, even an easy to cure violation can turn into a battle of wills that can test the association’s resolve to treat the matter fairly and impartially.

HOA Architectural Guidelines; A Tough Balancing Act

Enforcement of architectural guidelines and property maintenance rules can be a difficult balancing act. It’s always a matter of weighing the best interests of the community against the rights of the individual homeowner. Some homeowners could care less about valid rules of the association and will “push the envelope” as far as they can. Some continuously violate the rules, while maintaining that it is their right to do so since they are dealing with their own homes. On the other hand, it is important to remember that some homeowners could have a valid point of view when they disagree with the association’s position. When a homeowners association cites a violation it’s not personal – it’s strictly business, but from the homeowner’s point of view, it’s not just business – it’s personal. Any time an association pursues a disputed violation the issue could end up in court. When that happens, there are a lot of pitfalls that can complicate things. Federal and state laws can be a major factor. There may be findings from court cases that set legal precedence that may work in the homeowner’s favor. At times, judges can be unduly sympathetic towards homeowners and have a bias against homeowners associations. This doesn’t mean that covenants and rules shouldn’t be vigorously enforced, but to protect the association and the board, decisions to pursue enforcement should be made in a fair and equitable manner. Disputes that appear be heading towards the courts should be run past legal counsel to ensure that the association is on firm ground and that its actions have been within the law.
If your board of directors believes that your association’s architectural covenants program needs to be bolstered, here are some basic steps that you can employ to put it in order:

• Review and update your association’s architectural design guidelines to ensure that they clearly and accurately reflect the association’s current policies.
• Establish procedures that facilitate annual covenants committee and board review of the guidelines and ensure that recommended changes are made within the framework of the association’s governing documents and the law. Ensure that these procedures call for review and approval of all changes by your association’s legal counsel.
• Revise covenants inspection and enforcement procedures in order to enhance program productivity.
• Ensure that a sufficient number of comprehensive inspections are being done each year that cover all exterior elements of every house and lot in your community. Confirm that you have enough staff to ensure that inspections and follow up work are properly done in a timely manner.
• Review enforcement policies and procedures with your managing agent and legal counsel to ensure that they are strong enough to facilitate resolution of cited violations in accordance with the association’s governing documents, current collection policies, and applicable state and federal law.
• Establish appropriate board and covenants committee oversight procedures to ensure that management staff is conducting inspections in accordance with board directives. Procedures should include monitoring of management and legal counsel violations resolution activity reports.
• Implement a homeowner education program that reinforces the importance of maintaining the original aesthetic vision for homes in the community, typical maintenance violations that can be easily avoided, efforts that are being taken to strengthen enforcement, and the consequences for failure to comply with the association’s architectural guidelines and covenants.

Covenants enforcement can be like walking on a tightrope sixty feet above the ground at the circus. The ability to rely on a strong property manager and legal counsel is your safety net. Keep that net in place and work hard to be consistent, uniform in your approach, reasonable, and fair when dealing with violations. When it’s appropriate and the right thing to do, enforce the rules to protect the community. If in doubt, talk to your association’s attorney, and know when to back away and stand down.