Homeowners in Nevada are claiming that the state agency charged with regulating homeowners’ associations (HOAs) is a smokecreen. Critics claim that the agency simply does the bidding of property management companies and developers, often at the expense of property owners. The critics want protection from their own choices. Part of the problem, says a former…
The beginning of the headline was intriguing: “New law protects Hoosier property rights…” The second clause of the headline—”…makes it harder for HOAs to say no to solar”—set the stage for a grand disappointment. The law does not protect property rights. What the law does do is nullify contractual agreements between neighbors. Homeowner associations (HOAs)…
Defenders of exclusionary zoning argue that if that institution is eliminated, neighborhoods will be overrun with multi-family housing. Quiet neighborhoods where children can play in the front yard will be transformed with increased traffic, denser housing, and a myriad of other ills. Zoning, they claim, is necessary to have the kind of neighborhood that they…
Two of the stated purposes of zoning are preventing “incompatible” land uses and protecting neighborhoods. Both of these issues can be addressed without the coercive means of zoning. Deed restrictions (or covenants) provide the means to limit land uses through voluntary, contractual means—by respecting property rights, and hence, preserving the freedom to choose. Deed restrictions attach…
Last Friday, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that short-term rentals are not a commercial use of property. The case involved a home owner association that claimed short-term rentals were a commercial use and violated its deed restrictions (also called covenants). Patrick Sutton, the home owner’s lawyer, said, This is about as strong of a property…