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A restrictive covenant is a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property. Examples might be to maintain a property in a reasonable state of repair, to preserve a sight-line for a neighboring property, not to run a business from a residence, or not to build on certain parts of the property.

About

Some covenants are very simple and are meant only to protect a neighborhood from homeowners destroying trees or historic things or otherwise directly harming property values. Some go to an extreme and try to dictate absolutely everything a homeowner can do to the exterior, including the number of non-familial tenants one may have, or needing permission to re-paint the home unless it will be exactly the same color. Other extremes include dictating exactly when holiday decorations are allowed up, prohibiting the raising of a hood on any car (even to check it for safety), even prohibiting any car from being parked outside a garage at all. Many communities also forbid amateur radio or outdoor television antennas; however, see discussion below.

History

Covenants were originally enforced in equity as servitudes for the benefit of the owners of land affected thereby. Previously the enforceability of covenants and servitudes depended upon compliance with strict requirements having to do with privity of estate between the owners of the affected parcels of land, but these requirements have diminished over time in favor of a general policy of enforcement of any covenants which are reasonable in terms and "touch or concern" the land affected.

Controversy

Some have accused homeowners associations of selective enforcement of these rules, making a case only when it is something (or someone) another person dislikes. Breaking a rule, even unintentionally, can bring fines or even a lien on the home.

In addition, other covenants have been unenforceable as being against police power. For example, the Federal Communications Commission has ruled that a covenant cannot restrict a homeowner's right in placing an antenna so as to receive any signal broadcast over the public airwaves (whether radio or television). The same decision also prohibits any local law from having restrictions over use of unlicensed airwaves. For example, where an airport authority insists that airport lessees such as airlines use its wireless network for data transmission (and thus pay for the privilege), the FCC has stated such requirements are invalid. So would be a local law or covenant restricting use of transmission equipment either licensed by the FCC or which the FCC has declared a license is not required.

A restrictive covenant differs from a zoning regulation in that its creation and enforcement is a matter of contract between the landowners whose properties are affected by it, rather than an exercise of the governmental police power.

Restrictive covenants in the history of segregation in the United States of America

In many cases before the 1960s, these covenants were used for segregationist purposes. These are some samples of that were agreed by different neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington.

Examples

  • November 1927, Capitol Hill - "The parties… agree each with the others that no part of the lands owned by them shall ever be used or occupied by or sold, conveyed, lessed, rented or given to Negroes or any person of Negro blood."
  • April 1928, Broadmoor - "No part of said property hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by any Hebrew or by any person of the Ethiopian, Malay or any Asiatic race…"
  • May 1938, Durham, North Carolina (Deeds issued by Hope Valley Realty Co.) - "No property or building shall be owned or occupied by the colored race, except such buildings as may be constructed by the owners and residents of the property, for the use of their servants."
  • February 7, 1947, Queen Anne Park, Laguna Vista, Rayville, Carleton Park - "No person or persons of Asiatic, African or Negro blood, lineage or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property, or any building thereon, except domestic servant or servants may be actually and in good faith employed by white occupants of said premises."
  • October 31, 1947, Laurelhurst, Victory Heights, Green Lake Circle - "No person of other than the Caucasian race shall use or occupy any building or lot except as servants domesticated with any owner or tenant."
  • Article 34 of Code of Ethics for realtors in Seattle stated: "A Realtor should never be instrumental in introducing into a neighborhood a character of property or occupancy, members of any race or nationality, or any individual whose presence will clearly be detrimental to property values in that neighborhood."
In addition to neighborhoods, entire towns have been described by James W. Loewen in Sundown Towns as being completely racially exclusive beyond just buying land, but having to leave by nightfall.

In the case of Shelley v. Kraemer, the United States Supreme Court ruled that it would be unconstitutional for the courts to enforce such a covenant, and such covenants no longer have any force where they exist.

See also

LAW may refer to:
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  • Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights (also known as LAW)
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Property law
Part of the common law series
Acquisition of property
Gift  · Adverse possession  · Deed
Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property
Alienation  · Bailment  · License
Estates in land
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A neighbourhood or neighborhood (see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community located within a larger city, town or suburb.

North America


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tree is a perennial woody plant. It is sometimes defined as a woody plant that attains diameter of 10 cm (30 cm girth) or more at breast height (130 cm above ground).
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History is the study of the past, focused on human activity and leading up to the present day.[1] More precisely, history is the continuous, systematic narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race [1]
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Property law
Part of the common law series
Acquisition of property
Gift  · Adverse possession  · Deed
Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property
Alienation  · Bailment  · License
Estates in land
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In general, the economic value of something is how much a product or service is worth to someone relative to other things (often measured in money).

It can be either an assessment of what it could or should be the price (valuation), or an explanation
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permission when he or she may (or is allowed to) perform some action. There are legal and ethical permissions, but these can also belong to some other normative realms, like etiquette and games.

Permissions, like obligations, depend on norms or institutions.
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Paint is any liquid, liquifiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film.

Paint is used to protect, decorate (such as adding color), or add functionality to an object or surface by covering it
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Color or colour[1] (see spelling differences) is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, blue, black, etc.
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The word holiday has related but different meanings in English-speaking countries. A contraction of holy and day, holidays originally represented special religious days. This word has evolved in general usage to mean any special day of rest (as opposed to regular days of rest such
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Decoration may refer to:
  • Decorative art, the craft of a painter and decorator.
  • An object or act intended to increase beauty of a person, room, etc.
  • An object, such as a medal, that is awarded to honor the recipient ostentatiously: see List of prizes, medals, and

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For other uses, see Garage.


A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles.
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Amateur radio, often called ham radio, is both a hobby and a service that uses various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for public service, recreation and self-training.
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Equity is the name given to the set of legal principles, in countries following the English common law tradition (see English law), which supplement strict rules of law where their application would operate harshly, so as to achieve what is sometimes referred to as "natural justice.
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A homeowners' association (abbrev. HOA) is the legal entity created by a real estate developer for the purpose of developing, managing and selling a community of homes.
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Coming into force (also called enforcement or enactment) refers to the date and process by which legislation, or part of legislation, comes to have legal force and effect.
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FINE was created in 1998 and is an informal association of the four main Fair Trade networks:
  • F Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO)
  • I International Fair Trade Association (IFAT)
  • N Network of European Worldshops (NEWS!) and

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Property law
Part of the common law series
Acquisition of property
Gift  · Adverse possession  · Deed
Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property
Alienation  · Bailment  · License
Estates in land
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Police power is the capacity of a state to regulate behaviours and enforce order within its territory, often framed in terms of public welfare, security, morality, and safety.
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Federal Communications Commission

Logo

The FCC's official seal
Agency overview
Formed June 19, 1934
Preceding Agencies Federal Radio Commission
 

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Zoning is a term used in urban planning for a system of land-use regulation in various parts of the world, including North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
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Discrimination

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Antisemitism
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Ableism

Manifestations
Slavery · Racial profiling
Hate speech · Hate crime
Genocide · Ethnocide · Holocaust
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James (Jim) W. Loewen (b. 6 February 1942) is an author, historian, and professor. He attended Carleton College and has a Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University. For 20 years, Loewen taught race relations at the University of Vermont.
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sundown town was a community in the United States where non-Caucasians— especially African Americans— were systematically excluded from living in or passing through after the sun went down. This allowed maids and workmen to provide unskilled labor during the day.
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Shelley v. Kraemer
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 15, 1948
Decided May 3, 1948

Full case name: Shelley et ux. v. Kraemer et ux. McGhee et ux. v. Sipes et al.

Citations: 334 U.S. 1 ; 68 S. Ct. 836; 92 L. Ed.
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timeline of racial tension in Omaha, Nebraska highlights an local history of racism that predates the founding of a city and continues to this day. This timeline includes bigotry, mob violence and institutional racism, such as redlining and restrictive covenants.
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