Restrictive covenants are the rules a homeowners association can enforce across the community it governs. In Florida, those rules live in a recorded declaration of covenants, along with the association’s articles of incorporation, its bylaws, and any rules the board adopts under them. Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes supplies the legal framework. Covenants generally bind every owner, but Florida law has placed a growing list of subjects beyond their reach, and a covenant that conflicts with state law cannot be enforced.

Why HOA Covenants and Restrictions Exist

Covenants exist mainly to protect property values and keep a community consistent in appearance and use. Rules about exterior paint, fences, landscaping, and parking aim to keep one parcel from dragging down the value of its neighbors. Owners accept these rules when they buy, because the declaration is recorded against every parcel and runs with the land.

Where Covenants Come From and How They Change

A planned community’s covenants usually begin when a developer hires a real estate attorney to draft the declaration. The declaration is recorded in the official records of the county before parcels are sold. Once owners take control of the association from the developer, an elected board manages the community.

Changing the declaration follows the amendment procedure written into the governing documents. Where the documents are silent, Section 720.306 sets the default at two-thirds of the voting interests. An amendment takes effect when it is recorded in the county’s public records. The association must then send owners a copy, or in some cases a notice of adoption, within 30 days. No state or county agency reviews or approves the content of a covenant. Boards can often adopt rules on their own when the declaration allows it, but changing the declaration itself usually requires a vote of the members.

“No state or county agency reviews or approves the content of a covenant.”

Buyer Beware

Every community’s covenants are different. Some regulate front door colors, window awnings, fences, and irrigation systems, while others are far less detailed. Under Section 720.401, a buyer must receive a disclosure summary before signing a contract for a parcel in an HOA community. If it is not provided, the buyer can cancel within three days after receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first.

Investors face an added layer on rentals. Under Section 720.306, a rental restriction adopted after July 1, 2021 generally binds only owners who take title after the amendment or who consent to it. Amendments that restrict rentals shorter than six months, or that cap rentals at three times per calendar year, bind every owner. For example, an owner who bought in 2019 is usually not bound by a later ban on all leasing, but a later ban on stays under six months applies to that owner. It is highly recommended that buyers have an experienced Florida real estate attorney review the recorded declaration and every amendment before closing.

Florida Law Overrides Some Covenants

Restrictive covenants that conflict with federal, state, or local law cannot be enforced. The federal Fair Housing Act, for example, requires reasonable accommodations for residents with disabilities regardless of what a declaration says. Florida statutes also protect a growing list of owner choices, including:

Solar panels, although the association may choose roof placement within limits that keep them effective
Florida-friendly landscaping
Items not visible from the street, a neighboring parcel, common area, or a community golf course, such as boats, RVs, and vegetable gardens
Personal vehicles, including pickup trucks, and non-commercial work vehicles parked in the owner’s driveway, even with company logos or lettering
Assigned first responder vehicles, including on public roads
Up to two portable flags from a list set by statute
Hurricane protection that meets the board’s adopted specifications

When Covenants Lose Their Force

Even a lawful covenant can become unenforceable. A board that enforces a rule against one owner while ignoring the same violation elsewhere invites a selective enforcement defense, and years of tolerated violations can amount to a waiver. Architectural review authority also reaches only as far as the declaration states or reasonably implies, and the standards must be applied equitably to all owners.

Time is another threat. Florida’s Marketable Record Title Act can extinguish covenants that are not preserved within its 30-year cycle. Section 720.303 now requires the board to consider filing a preservation notice at its first regular meeting after each annual meeting. Preserving restrictions is far easier than reviving them after they lapse.

Consequences of Noncompliance

An association can fine owners for violations, but Section 720.305 caps a fine at $100 per violation and $1,000 in the aggregate unless the governing documents set different limits. The owner is entitled to at least 14 days notice and a hearing before an independent committee, and a violation cured before the hearing cannot be fined. A fine under $1,000 cannot become a lien on the parcel. Liens and foreclosure are primarily tools for collecting unpaid assessments under Section 720.3085, which is why falling behind on dues carries far greater risk than a rule violation.

South Florida Law

Whether a covenant can be enforced depends on its wording, its recording history, and a body of statutes that has changed nearly every year. Reviewing those items before a dispute or a purchase costs far less than litigating them afterward.

South Florida Law represents homeowners and associations throughout Florida and is also a full-service title agency, so recorded declarations, amendments, and preservation filings can be reviewed in house. To discuss an HOA dispute or a purchase in an HOA community, call us on (954) 900-8885 or reach out via our contact form.