What is the legal relationship between covenants and building codes?

Q:
What is the legal relationship between covenants and building codes?

A:

Some planned communities have legal covenants—more formally known as "codes, covenants, and restrictions," that govern the types of alterations that can be done to a home. In most cases, covenants are considered a civil contract and are not enforced or monitored by the city or town. A community's covenants may be more restrictive than the jurisdiction as a whole, but they cannot allow something that the city, town, or building code would prohibit.

In planned communities where there are “fees” for outside services such as grass cutting and maintenance the changing of anything on the outside of the building usually must be approved by the board. Those changes will only be approved if they fall into the guidelines of existing rules and covenants of the community.

If you plan to alter the outside of your townhouse, condo or home in one of these communities I suggest that you obtain permission for whatever you want to do first.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.