If you buy a home in a planned community of Santa Clarita, whether it is a Single Family Residence, Condo, or Townhome, most times you will be subject to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs).

What are CC7Rs?

The CC&Rs are the rules of your neighborhood. The goal of the CC&Rs is to protect, preserve, and enhance property values in the community. Most of the time, the rules make sense and are easy to accept. CC&Rs are typically tied in with your HOA but some communities without an HOA can still have CC&Rs in place by the builder/city/county.

CC&Rs can have a variety of rules. For example, it is pretty easy to agree with a covenant that requires you to mow your lawn and keep it well kept and weed-free. But, other rules might interfere with your plans or seem downright unreasonable to you. For example, you may want to build a fence around the front yard of your home to house your dog. But the HOA and CC&Rs declare you cannot not do so. Also, you may discover that you cannot have certain breeds of dogs, such as your 80 pound pitbull. Now, not only can you not provide adequate living space for your furry friend, you may face the decision of selling or finding them a new home.

Who enforces CC&Rs?

Typically when living in a community with an HOA, they will be responsible for enforcing these rules and regulations. When living a community with CC&Rs but not HOA, neighbors may for a group and collectively take legal action against you for a violation. Also, a community can contact their local city code enforcement for further action.  The repercussions for a violation may include but are not limited to fines, forced compliance, or an HOA lawsuit.

When purchasing a home, it is very important to research if the community you are buying in has an HOA, and if it does not to be inquire if there are any CC&Rs in place. If you have any questions on which communities in Santa Clarita do and do not have an HOA, contact us here, or give us a call at 661-373-2374.