Under California law, CC&Rs, and the restrictions upon the use of property, will be upheld as Equitable Servitudes. See California Supreme Court Case of Citizens for Covenant Compliance v. Anderson, (1995) 12 Cal. 4th 345. The rule that Citizens established, which the Citizens Court held applies equally to both land covenants and equitable servitudes is stated as follows:
“If a declaration establishing a common plan for the ownership of property in a subdivision and containing restrictions upon the use of the property as part of the common plan, is recorded before the execution of the contract of sale, describes the property it is to govern, and states that it is to bind all purchasers and their successors, subsequent purchasers who have constructive notice of the recorded declaration are deemed to intend and agree to be bound by, and to accept the benefits of, the common plan; the restrictions, therefore, are not unenforceable merely because they are not additionally cited in a deed or other document at the time of the sale.” Id. at 349.
The reasoning behind the Citizens Court ruling was stated by the California Supreme Court as follows:
“No longer is there any reason to believe that the average American buying into a residential development would ‘protest vigorously against being compelled to perform promises he has never made. Since financial viability of the community depends on continued covenant compliance by all, the average buyer is more likely to protest if others in the development are permitted to escape performance of the covenants made by their predecessors…Having a single set of recorded restrictions that apply to the entire subdivision would also no doubt fulfill the intent, expectations, and wishes of the parties and community as a whole.” Id. at 364.
If you are a homeowner subject to a CC&Rs and have enforcement issues, contact one of our Los Angeles HOA Dispute Attorneys today for a free consultation and case evaluation.