CCR's
By Jim Palmer Jr.

The acronym above stands for Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions and usually refers to the restrictions that control residential subdivisions where there are a set of rules that bind each owner to act in a certain way or build in a certain way.   People buying properties agree to those conditions because of the assurance that the neighborhood will remain the same in general value and appearance well into the future, protecting their investment and offering a constant quality of living.  Typical covenants restrict activities such as; motorcycle riding, limit animal husbandry to certain species and numbers, or disallowing Air B&B rentals, and they can even dictate the size, design and the color of your house. 

I have heard many complaints through the years concerning covenants.  Disgruntled owners often act like they had no previous clue that someone else can dictate what they could or could not do on their own property.  My response to those type of complaints is usually to say that “if you don’t like someone telling you what to do, then don’t purchase  property with CCR’s, nor should you  purchase in a certain type of city or county zoning that is restrictive to your intended use of the property.”  

If this topic matters to you, then you should ask the question up front and don’t wait until you are under contract to find out the answer.  There are boilerplate contingencies built into most Purchase Agreements that allow you to escape the contract if you are not satisfied with such title issues, but getting out of any contract unscathed can become sticky. 

Some people intentionally seek out areas to live where there are CCR’s because they see them as offering safety and protection, while many see the same rules as an infringement of rights.  Golf course or lake communities are great examples of places where covenants dictate uniformity in structures and behaviors.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, “A covenant is an agreement or promise,” which in the real estate context can be much more complicated and far reaching than a simple promise between two people. Most covenants are of such a legal nature as to continue in perpetuity no matter who owns the property in the future.  That means each affected owner has the right to enforce the covenants and take action that has real legal teeth, if they so choose, even when CCR’s are blatantly disregarded by many or all property owners in an association.