#WHO WROTE HOA COVENANTS PROFESSIONAL#

An HOA manager can also help developers identify any gaps or vague language that could cause issues once members take over control of the association.ĬC&Rs dictate so much about how the community will operate.

#WHO WROTE HOA COVENANTS PROFESSIONAL#

As a result, the CC&Rs may become ambiguous.įortunately, associations do have the option to formally amend and restate their CC&Rs to reflect changes in the law, to address circumstances that have not been included in the document, or to modify the rights and obligations of the association and its members.ĭevelopers may choose to consult with a legal professional and hire an HOA management company to ensure the CC&Rs comply with county and state laws, and that rules laid out in the document can realistically be enforced. Unique issues do arise, and things change over time. Most developers will produce CC&Rs that they believe will best serve the community, but they can’t plan for the unforeseen. The developer creates and records the CC&Rs as an “equitable servitude,” an agreement or contract between two or more parties that limit their use of property, to ensure everyone who has an interest in the development uses the property as it was intended to be enjoyed. The items contained in the CC&Rs are considered an inherent part of any common interest development, and are crucial to the stable, planned environment of a shared living community like an HOA. Before members take over the association, the developer is in control, and the CC&Rs help ensure there is order and consistency as the community grows. Accessing Documents & Resident Informationĭevelopers make the first set of rules for a new HOAĬC&Rs are different for every community in part because the developer that creates the HOA is also the one responsible for writing the first set of covenants, conditions and restrictions.Homeowners’ associations that have not spoken to legal counsel about covenant preservation are urged to do so-particularly in light of the annual requirement for the board to consider the desirability of filing a preservation to keep the covenants from expiring. Regardless of the preservation method selected, documentation of the preservation must be recorded in the county public records for the preservation to be effective. Declaration amendments that predate July 2018 (when the statute was broadened to include preserving by amendment) arguably do not have the effect of preserving the covenants. A third way to preserve homeowners’ association covenants is to record an amendment to the community declaration that is indexed under the legal name of the homeowners’ association and that references the recording information of the declaration to be preserved. Neither of these preservation methods requires a membership vote.

An alternative way is to work with legal counsel to record a notice containing a Statement of Marketable Title Action and meeting the additional statutory requirements found in Section 712.06, Florida Statutes. The easiest way is to work with legal counsel to record a summary preservation notice, pursuant to Section 720.3032, Florida Statutes. There are several ways for homeowners’ associations to preserve their covenants from MRTA extinguishment.

If done each year, it is less likely that a community will miss this important deadline.

Pursuant to Section 720.303(2)(e), Florida Statutes, homeowners’ association boards are required to consider the desirability of preserving the community covenants each year at the first board meeting following the organizational meeting. If that date is unknown, then a community should plan to preserve the covenants within thirty (30) years of the date that the original community declaration of covenants was recorded. Unfortunately, aged homeowners’ association covenants are amongst the interests that can be extinguished by MRTA, and preventing such extinguishment is a very important responsibility for homeowners’ association directors.Īlthough determining timeframes and exceptions under MRTA is nuanced and technical, as a broad oversimplification, a homeowners’ association should plan to preserve its covenants within thirty (30) years of the date that the developer started lot sales after recording the community declaration. The Marketable Record Title Act’s (MRTA) purpose is to extinguish old interests and use restrictions on lands and to allow for land sales to be completed more easily and with less expense.

Who wrote hoa covenants