Court Says HOA Can Enforce Roofing Rules Despite Past Exceptions

This case involved a dispute between a property owner (“Owner”) and his homeowners association (“Association”) over Owner’s right to install metal roofing on his home. Association’s CC&Rs contained a restrictive covenant stating, “All roofing material shall be limited to either cedar shakes, cedar shingles, or earth toned colored shingles approved by the Committee (referring to Association’s Architectural Review Committee (“ARC”)). Association’s CC&Rs also contained a “No Waiver” clause stating that a waiver of a breach of any provision in the CC&Rs shall not be construed as a waiver of any succeeding breach of any other restriction or obligation.

Following the purchase of his property in 2021, Owner submitted a building proposal to the ARC that included the use of asphalt shingles on the roof, and which was approved by the ARC. In 2023, Owners submitted an amended plan to the ARC in which Owner requested approval of a full metal roof, which was denied based on the proposed full metal roof. Owner then filed an action against Association seeking a court order allowing the construction of his home with a full metal roof. Owner contended that the ARC had a past history of approving metal roofs for other owners and had thus knowingly and intentionally waived the restrictions in the CC&Rs relative to roof materials. In the suit, Association admitted that it had previously approved partial metal roofing on eight houses, and that there were two other houses that had full metal roofs that: