This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.

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  Restrictive Covenants

A covenant is an agreement, contract, or promise.  A restrictive covenant is a covenant which acts as a restriction or prohibition of certain uses of real estate.  For example, restrictive covenants for a residential subdivision may restrict use of the real estate in the subdivision to residential purposes only.  Some restrictive covenants may define the maximum and minimum square footage of homes to be built and define further limitations regarding construction of other buildings upon the residence.  CAUTION:  Restrictive covenants prohibiting sales of real estate to minorities have been declared unconstitutional and unenforceable.

Restrictive covenants must be in writing and must be signed to be enforceable.  To be effective against subsequent purchasers, restrictive covenants must be recorded.  Typically, restrictive covenants run with the land, meaning that they will continue to apply to the real estate even after the original owner of the real estate at the time of execution of the restrictive covenant transfers it to another person.  Most states do have limitations as to the length of the time the restrictive covenants may run.  These limitations may be found in statutes, sometimes referred to as “stale use acts.”  To be enforceable, restrictive covenants must be clear and unambiguous.  Courts will often refuse to enforce restrictive covenants that are unclear or ambiguous. Please see specific state for details and/or differences.

Black’s Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition.

ALABAMA | ALASKA | ARIZONA | ARKANSAS | CALIFORNIA | COLORADO | CONNECTICUT | DELAWARE | FLORIDA 
 GEORGIA | HAWAII | IDAHO | ILLINOIS | INDIANA | IOWA | KANSAS | KENTUCKY | LOUISIANA | MAINE | MARYLAND 
 MASSACHUSETTS | MICHIGAN | MINNESOTA | MISSISSIPPI | MISSOURI | MONTANA | NEBRASKA | NEVADA 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE | NEW JERSEY | NEW MEXICO | NEW YORK | NORTH CAROLINA | NORTH DAKOTA | OHIO 
 OKLAHOMA | OREGON | PENNSYLVANIA | RHODE ISLAND | SOUTH CAROLINA | SOUTH DAKOTA | TENNESSEE 
 TEXAS | UTAH | VERMONT | VIRGINIA | WASHINGTON | WEST VIRGINIA | WISCONSIN | WYOMING

ALABAMA
Alabama Code §8-9-2.

ALASKA
Alaska Code §09.25.020;  34.15.260.

ARIZONA
Arizona Code §11-461;  33-412;  44-101.

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Code §4-59-101-03;  14-15-403-04;  26-60-107;  21-6-306.

CALIFORNIA
California CC §1091.

COLORADO
Colorado Code §38-10-108.

CONNECTICUT
Connecticut Code §52-550.

DELAWARE
Delaware Code §25-101 through 153.

FLORIDA
Florida Code §725.01.

GEORGIA
Georgia Code §44-5-30 onward;  44-2-1 through 3.

HAWAII
Hawaii Code §656-1.

IDAHO
Idaho Code §9-503, 504.

ILLINOIS
Illinois Code §740-80/1, 2;  765-5/28 through 30.

INDIANA
Indiana Code §32-2-2-1; 32-1-2-18.

IOWA
Iowa Code §622.32-.35;  558.41.

KANSAS
Kansas Code §33-105, 106; 58-2221, 2222, 2223.

KENTUCKY
Kentucky Code §371.010; 382.110, .140, .335.

LOUISIANA
Louisiana CC §2275;  T.9, §5353.

MAINE
Maine T.33, §51-53, 201-203, 751;  T.11, §9-401.

MARYLAND
Maryland Real Prop. Art. §3-101 through 104, 601;  5-104.

MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts C. 259, §1;  C. 183.

MICHIGAN
In Michigan, restrictive covenants must be witnessed by at least two (2) individuals.  Michigan CLA §566.106, .110, .132;  565.1 onward.

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Chapter 507; §513.04, .06.

MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi Code §15-3-1;  89-3-1 onward.

MISSOURI
Missouri Code §432.010;  442.390-.400;  442.403.

MONTANA
Montana Code §28-2-903; 70-21-201 onward.

NEBRASKA
Nebraska Code §36-103; 76-238.

NEVADA
Nevada Code §111.015, .205-.210, .315-.325.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire C. 506, §1-2; 477, §3a-7.

NEW JERSEY
New Jersey Code §25-1-2; 46-15-1.1 onward.

NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Code §14-9-3; 55-9-403(7); Common Law.

NEW YORK
New York G.O.L. §5-703; R.P.L. §290, 291.

NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina Code §22-2; 47-18, 20.

NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota Code §9-06-04; 47-10-01.

OHIO
Ohio Code §1335.05; 317.08, .111; 5301.25; 5313.02.

OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma Code §15-136; 16-16, 26.

OREGON
Oregon Code §93.010, .410, .480, .640.

PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Code §33-1; 21-357.

RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island Code §9-1-4; 34-11-1.

SOUTH CAROLINA
In South Carolina, restrictive covenants must be signed by the grantor and at least two (2) witnesses to be enforceable.  South Carolina Code §27-23-60; 27-7-10 through 30; 30-7-10.

SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota Code §53-8-2; 43-28-17.

TENNESSEE
Tennessee Code §29-2-101; 66-26-102.

TEXAS
Texas Prop. Code §5.021, 13.001; Bus. & Comm. Code §26.01.

UTAH
Utah Code §25-5-1; 57-3-2.

VERMONT
Vermont Code §12-181; 27-341.

VIRGINIA
Virginia Code §11-2; 55-96, 572.

WASHINGTON
Washington Code §64.04.010-.020; 65.08.060-070.

WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia Code §36-1-3; 40-1-8 onward; 55-1-1.

WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Code §706.01-.02, 04, .08.

WYOMING
Wyoming Code §1-23-105; 34-1-104, 120.

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2014 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

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This is not a substitute for legal advice. An attorney must be consulted.