Confusing HOA Covenant Prohibits Having “Hens” Because They are “Poultry”, But Court Says They May be Allowed as “Household Pets”

This case involved a dispute between neighbors who owned properties in a residential planned community, over the right of one of the neighbors to keep four female chickens (hens) in a backyard chickencoop.

In 2018, a neighboring property owner filed suit against the owner of the hens seeking an injunction preventing the defendants from keeping the hens on their property because their presence violated the homeowners’ association’s restrictive covenants that prohibit the keeping of “poultry,” and further claiming that their presence on the property constituted a nuisance. The covenant in question provided:

No animals, livestock or poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred or kept on the building site, except that dogs, cats or other household pets may be kept, provided that they are not bred or maintained for any commercial purpose.

In late 2019, the trial court granted the plaintiff summary judgment after finding that the retention of the hens violated the association’s covenants as a matter of law and issued an injunction prohibiting the defendant owners from keeping the hens at their home.