HOA & GOVERNANCE
From Listings to Living
A buyer in a Charlotte townhome community closed in March and listed the unit for short-term rental in May. The declaration had been amended in 2019 to require a 12-month minimum lease. She had the document. She had not read past page 40.
That is the practical answer to what CC&Rs are in real estate: the one document in the association stack that is recorded against your specific parcel, survives every sale, and restricts what you may do with property you own outright.
Leevli EditorialLast updated 2026-09-17
CC&Rs stands for Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. The document is usually titled the Declaration. In a subdivision it reads "Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions." In a condo building it reads "Declaration of Condominium." Developers record it in the county land records before the first lot or unit sells.
Recording is the whole point. Once the declaration is in the land records against a legal description, it binds whoever owns that land next, and the one after that. You do not sign the CC&Rs at closing. You take title subject to them, the same way you take title subject to a utility easement. The Community Associations Institute describes the declaration as the legal contract binding homeowners to the association, and the contract is with the land more than with you.
Why a promise about land can chase a stranger who never agreed to it is a question of property law, not association law. The mechanics of intent, touch and concern, privity and notice are covered in our piece on restrictive covenants and how they run with the land.
Declarations follow a recognizable order. Once you know that order, you can work through a 180-page document in an afternoon.
CC&Rs govern the land. Bylaws govern the corporation. The declaration says you may not park a commercial vehicle in the driveway. The bylaws say the board has five members serving staggered two-year terms, and that 30 days' notice is required for the annual meeting.
When the two conflict, the declaration generally wins, because it was recorded and approved by owners while the bylaws often were not. The full ranking, including where articles of incorporation and board-adopted rules land, is laid out in our hub on the hierarchy of HOA governing documents.
The declaration sets its own amendment threshold, commonly 51%, 67%, or 75% of voting interests, sometimes with a separate requirement that a percentage of mortgage holders consent. Several states supply a default when the document is silent or sets an unreachable bar.
Texas sets the default at 67% of the total votes allocated to owners, and specifies that a lower percentage written into the declaration controls instead. Florida allows a governing document to be amended by two-thirds of the voting interests unless the documents provide otherwise, and an amendment is effective when it is recorded in the county public records.
That recording requirement is the part buyers miss. An amendment that passed a vote but never got recorded is not in the chain of title. An amendment that was recorded in 2019 is binding on you even though the original 1998 declaration you downloaded says nothing about it. Always pull the amendment chain along with the base document.
Some restrictions cannot be applied retroactively. Florida provides that an amendment adopted after July 1, 2021 that prohibits or regulates rental agreements applies only to owners who consented to it or who acquired title after its effective date. A carve-out lets associations impose a six-month minimum lease term or a limit of three rentals per year on everyone. Rules like this vary enormously by state, so check your own statute before assuming you are grandfathered.
Leasing. Minimum lease term, percentage cap on rented units, waiting lists, tenant approval, and any outright short-term rental ban. If you are buying partly as an investment, read this before you read the fee.
Pets. Number, weight, breed, and whether the restriction applies to the unit or to the common areas the animal must cross. Note that federal fair housing obligations around assistance animals operate independently of a pet clause.
Commercial and home-business use. "Residential purposes only" clauses are written broadly. Many permit a home office with no client traffic, no signage and no employees, and prohibit everything beyond that.
Vehicles and parking. Commercial vehicles, trailers, boats, RVs, overnight guest parking, and assigned-space rules. This drives a startling share of violation letters.
Age-restricted communities. A 55-and-over community relies on a specific federal exemption and the declaration will say so explicitly. If a listing mentions an age restriction and the declaration does not, something is wrong.
Architectural standards. Approved paint palettes, fence materials, roof colors, whether solar and EV charging are addressed. Florida requires architectural standards to be reasonably and equitably applied, and says the review authority's power exists only to the extent it is specifically stated or reasonably inferred from the declaration or published guidelines.
Open violations on the property you are buying. An unresolved violation transfers with the unit. Ask the association in writing whether any notice of violation is outstanding.
Being in the declaration is not the end of the analysis. Federal statutes and rules preempt some restrictions outright, state statutes void others, with solar installations as the clearest example, and a provision can lose force through the association's own conduct. That is a separate subject with its own tests, and we cover it in which HOA rules turn out to be unenforceable. For the purposes of an offer, assume every clause is enforceable until a real estate attorney in your state tells you otherwise.
The declaration is a public record. You do not need permission, a listing agent, or a management company's response time to get it. You need the parcel number and a county recorder search. Order the base declaration and every recorded amendment, read the leasing, maintenance, assessment and amendment articles first, and get any ambiguity answered in writing before your contingency period ends.
You can start with the recorded declaration and title documents on Leevli's Deeds & Docs, then take what you learn back to the for-sale listings and compare two buildings on the restrictions that actually affect how you would live in them.
The declaration tells you what the association may do. An owner tells you what it does.
Listings show the property, but they rarely explain the lived reality around it. On Leevli, a mover can explore the city, review neighborhood and building information, and ask a verified resident the specific questions that remain unanswered. That human layer helps readers know what to investigate before signing a lease, making an offer, or choosing between two addresses.
Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. The document carrying them is normally titled the Declaration, either a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for a subdivision or a Declaration of Condominium for a condo building. Developers record it in county land records before the first sale, which is how it attaches to every lot or unit inside the community.
Yes. A declaration only works because it is recorded in the county land records against a legal description, which gives notice to every future buyer. That also means you can retrieve it yourself without asking the seller, the listing agent or the management company. Recorded amendments sit in the same index under the same community name.
Search the county recorder or clerk of court by the parcel number, the subdivision name or the condominium name, then order the declaration and every amendment. Counties charge a per-page or per-document copy fee, and many now provide images online at no cost. Sellers and management companies can also supply the documents, though their turnaround is slower than a recorder search.
The declaration governs the property: what you may build, how you may use the home, what you owe in assessments. The bylaws govern the corporation: board size, terms, quorum, notice periods and meeting procedure. Bylaws are usually easier to amend and generally yield to the declaration when the two say different things about the same subject.
Yes. This is what people mean when they say a covenant runs with the land. The obligation attaches to the parcel rather than to a person, so it passes to each new owner through the recorded declaration. Your closing package may include an acknowledgment, but the binding happened when the declaration was recorded against the legal description.
Yes, through the vote the declaration itself sets, commonly 51%, 67% or 75% of voting interests, sometimes with mortgage holder consent on top. Texas supplies a 67% default for certain associations unless the declaration requires less. Florida permits amendment by two-thirds of voting interests unless the documents say otherwise, and the amendment takes effect on recording.
They can, and leasing clauses are among the most frequently amended provisions in any declaration. Look for a minimum lease term, a percentage cap on rented units, a waiting list, tenant approval and an ownership waiting period before leasing is allowed. Protections for existing owners differ sharply by state, so read your statute rather than assuming you are grandfathered.
Many do, usually through a minimum lease term rather than the words "short-term rental." A 12-month minimum ends nightly rentals without naming any platform. In Florida, a rental amendment adopted after July 1, 2021 reaches only owners who consented or who took title afterward, though the association may still impose a six-month minimum term or a three-rentals-per-year limit on everyone.
The enforcement article in the declaration sets the ladder, which typically starts with a written notice and a chance to cure, then moves to fines, suspension of privileges and, in serious cases, a lawsuit for injunctive relief. Many declarations shift attorney's fees to the losing owner. Notice and hearing requirements are set by state statute and vary widely.
Usually yes, because the violation attaches to the property. If the prior owner built a fence the architectural committee never approved, the association can come to you to remove or correct it. Ask the association in writing whether any notice of violation is outstanding, and get the answer before your inspection or contingency period closes.
Editorial review: verify current federal and state law, insurance regulations, HOA and condominium statutes, and lender guidelines before relying on any single claim. This article is informational and does not constitute legal, financial, tax or insurance advice.
