COVENANTS, CONDITIONS, AND RESTRICTIONS
Subdividers, mortgage lenders, government agencies, and home buyers need a means of assurance that the
nature of a subdivision will remain unchanged. The mechanism most commonly used in California to assure
this essentially protection is a document known as the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions,
(CC&Rs). Conveyances are made subject to CC&Rs.
The traditional purpose of deed restrictions has been to control land use by requiring structures to be a certain
size, or by restricting types of use.
The importance of restrictions has shifted to a broader purpose as the number of common interest developments
has increased. CC&Rs are used not only to control land use, but to prescribe the very nature of the common
interest subdivision; to provide for maintenance of the project; to set down rules for behavior of persons; and as
a vehicle for raising money for maintenance, repair and replacement of the project’s components.
Restrictions may be set out in the deed to the land, which is frequently the case when the restrictions are quite
simple. When the CC&Rs are complex, as they usually are for a common interest subdivision, they are best set
out in a separate document. There are technical requirements to be met if the CC&Rs are to be effective.
Therefore, developers usually hire experienced lawyers to draft CC&Rs.
Common interest subdivisions almost invariably have a homeowners’ association to carry out the mandates of
the CC&Rs. Pursuant to the Subdivided Lands Law, the Commissioner has adopted regulations that require
reasonable arrangements in CC&Rs and the other governing instruments for a common interest subdivision.
Often, a title report will disclose that a parcel of land is subject to restrictions recorded years before. An
attorney should examine them to discover whether their provisions will hinder the intended development. There
are frequently set-back provisions, limits on density and other provisions which cannot be eliminated.