HOA Restrictions Must be “Reasonable, Clear, and Definite” to be Enforceable

This case involved a dispute between members of a homeowners association over the right of two owners of a property to construct a detached garage on their lot. Believing that the owners constructing the garage were doing so in violation of the association’s declaration, which contained restrictions on what property owners could do, three other association members who owned properties in the community commenced an action against the owners who were constructing the garage seeking an injunction to compel removal of the garage.This action was taken by the other owners because the association’s legal existence at the time was in doubt and the association was not functioning. The owners who brought the suit contended that the recorded declaration contained provisions that prohibited the construction of the detached garage being constructed by the defendant owners, and that they had a right to enforce the restrictions contained in the declaration. When the matter went to trial, construction of the detached garage had been nearly completed at a cost of approximately $50,000 to the defendant owners.

The relevant provisions contained in the declaration stated, in part:

• No structure shall be erected, altered, placed, or permitted to remain on any residential lot other than a single family dwelling not more than two stories in height. Each such dwelling shall have an attached three or four car garage with a paved driveway.
• Any improvements to be constructed are subject to the approval of the Trustee or a committee appointed by the Trustee and such approval must be in writing.
• No buildings, fence, swimming pool, or other structures shall be placed, erected, or altered on any lot until the specifications, the building plans, and the plot plan showing the location of said structure shall have been approved in writing by the Trustee or by a committee appointed by the Trustee.

Although the declaration made reference to a Trustee, a committee, and the association, none of those existed when the defendant owners purchased their property and constructed the detached garage. The restrictions contained in the Declaration were not incorporated into the actual deed that conveyed title to the defendant owners’ property, but they were mentioned in the title policy that said owners received, but did not read, when they purchased their property. Thus, the defendant owners maintained that they never had actual notice of the restrictions when they started construction of the detached garage. They first learned of the restrictions during the course of constructing the garage from an anonymous letter sent to them by the plaintiffs who subsequently filed the suit.

In defense of the lawsuit, the defendant owners contended: