CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions) are the recorded restrictive covenants that govern a planned community, condominium, or homeowners association. Filed with the county recorder when the development is created, CC&Rs are binding on the property itself: they run with the land, transfer automatically to new owners, and sit above the bylaws and rules in the association governing-documents hierarchy. For a board, the CC&Rs are the controlling rulebook. Almost every dispute over parking, pets, rentals, architecture, or fines traces back to a CC&R provision, and almost every enforcement mistake traces back to a board that did not read its own recorded document closely enough.
Editorial note: this guide explains how CC&Rs work for board members and property managers and is general information, not legal advice. Statute citations reflect the named frameworks as of mid-2026; specific section text and amendment thresholds change, so confirm any provision against the current published code and your association counsel before acting on it.
What does CC&R mean?
CC&R stands for Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, the private land-use rules a developer records against every lot or unit in a community so that the obligations bind each owner who later buys in.
Break the term into its three working parts. A covenant is a promise attached to the property, such as the duty to pay assessments or maintain a yard. A condition is a requirement that triggers a consequence, such as losing a privilege if dues go unpaid. A restriction limits what an owner may do with the property, such as a ban on short-term rentals or a cap on fence height. Together they form the recorded declaration that creates the association and defines what it can require.
Because the CC&Rs are recorded, they are public. Anyone can pull them from the county recorder, and every buyer takes title subject to them whether or not they read them first. That is what people mean when they say a covenant “runs with the land.”
What is the difference between CC&Rs, bylaws, and rules?
CC&Rs are the recorded covenants that bind the property, bylaws are the internal corporate procedures that say how the association operates, and rules are the day-to-day operating policies the board adopts to fill in the details.
The three documents are not interchangeable, and confusing them is the single most common governance error boards make. The CC&Rs are recorded and require an owner vote to change. The bylaws are usually not recorded and govern elections, meetings, quorums, and officer duties. The rules are adopted by the board alone, subject to notice, and cover the operational specifics such as pool hours or guest-parking limits. Each sits at a fixed level of authority, and a lower document can never override a higher one.
| Level | Document | Who adopts or changes it | Recorded? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Federal and state law | Legislatures and courts | Public statute |
| 2 | CC&Rs (the recorded declaration) | Owner supermajority vote | Yes, with the county recorder |
| 3 | Articles of incorporation | Owner vote, filed with the state | Filed with the Secretary of State |
| 4 | Bylaws | Owner or board vote per the bylaws | Usually no |
| 5 | Operating rules and resolutions | Board, after member notice | No |
Read the hierarchy from the top down. When two documents say different things, the higher one wins, and any provision that conflicts with state or federal law is void no matter how it was adopted.
What happens when CC&Rs conflict with the bylaws or rules?
When the CC&Rs conflict with the bylaws or with a board rule, the CC&Rs control, because a recorded covenant carries more authority than the internal procedures or operating policies beneath it.
California codifies this order of priority directly. Civil Code Section 4205 lists the controlling sequence: the law first, then the CC&Rs, then the articles of incorporation, then the bylaws, then the operating rules. A board that fines an owner under a rule that contradicts the recorded CC&Rs will lose that fight, because the rule was never valid to begin with. Before adopting any rule, a careful board checks it against the declaration to confirm the rule implements the CC&Rs rather than rewriting them.
How do you find your CC&Rs?
You find your CC&Rs by pulling the recorded declaration from the county recorder, your original escrow or closing file, or the association records the board and manager are required to keep.
Three reliable sources, in order of authority:
- The county recorder. The declaration was recorded when the community was created, so the recorder office (searchable by parcel number or subdivision name) holds the authoritative version plus every recorded amendment.
- Your escrow or closing packet. California and most states require a copy of the CC&Rs to be delivered to the buyer during the sale, so the closing file usually contains them.
- The association records. The board and managing agent must keep the governing documents and provide them to owners on request, typically within a statutory response window.
If the versions differ, the recorded version at the county recorder governs, including any amendments recorded after the original declaration.
How are CC&Rs enforced?
CC&Rs are enforced by the board through a notice-and-hearing process that can end in fines, suspended privileges, a recorded lien, or a lawsuit to compel compliance.
The enforceable path is procedural, not improvised. The board documents the violation, sends written notice, offers the owner a hearing, and issues a written decision before imposing any penalty. Skipping a step is the fastest way to make a valid covenant unenforceable in practice, and a fine imposed without the required process is routinely reversed. California boards should follow the full sequence in our guide to enforcing HOA rules under the Davis-Stirling Act, and should know exactly when a rule crosses the line into unenforceable territory, which we cover in our guide to unenforceable HOA rules in California. The 2026 fine-procedure changes under California AB-130 add notice and documentation requirements that every board fine schedule now has to meet, detailed in our AB-130 California HOA fines guide.
How do you amend CC&Rs?
You amend CC&Rs by drafting the change, securing the owner-approval supermajority the declaration requires, and recording the approved amendment with the county recorder.
Because CC&Rs bind the property, the board cannot change them alone. The declaration sets the approval percentage, commonly between 51 percent and 75 percent of the total voting power. When a community cannot reach an old, very high threshold despite a good-faith vote, California Civil Code Section 4275 lets the association petition the superior court to approve the amendment at a lower percentage, the standard remedy for 1980s declarations that are otherwise effectively unamendable. The full California amendment framework, including the Section 4275 petition, is covered in our Davis-Stirling Act guide for California boards.
The amendment sequence runs in a fixed order:
| Step | Action | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Draft the proposed amendment and confirm the required approval percentage in the declaration | Board and counsel |
| 2 | Give members notice and the full text of the proposed change | Board |
| 3 | Hold the owner vote by secret ballot where required | Members |
| 4 | Certify the result and, if short of an old threshold, petition the court under Section 4275 | Board and counsel |
| 5 | Record the approved amendment with the county recorder | Board |
An amendment that is never recorded does not bind the property, so the recording step is not optional housekeeping. It is the moment the amendment takes legal effect.
What happens when a CC&R conflicts with state or federal law?
A CC&R that conflicts with state or federal law is unenforceable to the extent of the conflict, because public law sits above private covenants in the governing-documents hierarchy.
This is preemption, and it runs top down: federal law overrides state law, state law overrides the CC&Rs, and the CC&Rs override the bylaws and rules. A recorded covenant banning satellite dishes, political signs, clotheslines, religious displays, or family daycare can be void even though it is properly recorded, because a federal or state statute protects the owner conduct the covenant tries to prohibit. Boards that keep enforcing a covenant after a statute has overridden it face fee reversal and attorney-fee liability. Our guide to unenforceable HOA rules in California walks through the federal floor and the California-specific protections that override CC&Rs most often.
What do California Davis-Stirling rules say about CC&Rs?
In California, the Davis-Stirling Act controls how CC&Rs rank, how they are amended, and what makes a board rule built on them valid, through Civil Code Sections 4205, 4275, and 4350.
California gives boards an unusually clear statutory map for CC&R questions, which is why the state is the deepest example in this guide. Three sections do most of the work.
| Civil Code section | What it governs | Why it matters to a board |
|---|---|---|
| Section 4205 | Order of priority among governing documents | Settles every conflict: law, then CC&Rs, then articles, then bylaws, then rules |
| Section 4275 | Court petition to amend the declaration | Lets a community amend CC&Rs at a reduced threshold when an old supermajority is unreachable |
| Section 4350 | Validity requirements for operating rules | A rule must be in writing, within board authority, consistent with the CC&Rs and law, reasonable, and adopted in good faith |
The full Davis-Stirling framework, including financial, meeting, and enforcement rules, is in our Davis-Stirling Act guide for California HOA and COA boards. California boards in the Los Angeles metro can also see how we handle local compliance on our Los Angeles HOA management page.
How does Washington WUCIOA treat CC&Rs?
In Washington, the recorded declaration plays the CC&R role and is governed by the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, with declaration contents addressed at RCW 64.90.225.
WUCIOA applies in full to most common interest communities created after July 1, 2018, and in part to older ones. The declaration must be recorded, sets the use restrictions and assessment obligations that bind owners, and is amended under the thresholds in RCW 64.90, which generally require approval by owners holding a supermajority of the votes unless the declaration sets a different number. Washington boards should read our WUCIOA guide for Washington HOA and condo boards, and King County boards can see our local coverage on the King County HOA management page.
How do other states handle CC&R amendments?
Most states let owners amend CC&Rs by a supermajority vote set in the declaration, but the governing statute and the default threshold differ from state to state.
The table below summarizes the controlling act and the common amendment approach in seven states. Treat the percentages as typical defaults, not guarantees, because each declaration can set its own threshold and several statutes have been amended recently.
| State | Governing act | Common CC&R amendment approach |
|---|---|---|
| California | Davis-Stirling Act, Civil Code 4000 to 6150 | Percentage set in the declaration, with a Section 4275 court petition available to lower an unreachable threshold |
| Washington | WUCIOA, RCW Chapter 64.90 | Supermajority of votes under RCW 64.90, unless the declaration sets a different number |
| Texas | Residential Property Owners Protection Act, Property Code Chapter 209 | Threshold in the declaration; statute limits how high an amendment requirement can be set |
| Florida | Florida Statutes Chapter 720 (HOAs) and Chapter 718 (condominiums) | Approval percentage stated in the declaration, with recording required to take effect |
| Colorado | Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, CRS 38-33.3 | Owner supermajority under CCIOA, commonly set around 67 percent unless the declaration differs |
| Nevada | Common-Interest Ownership Act, NRS Chapter 116 | Owner supermajority under NRS 116, with the declaration able to set a higher or lower number within statutory limits |
| Arizona | Planned Communities Act, ARS 33-1801 and the Condominium Act, ARS 33-1201 | Threshold in the declaration, with statutory limits on how amendments can be required |
State entries summarize the statutory frameworks at the act and chapter level. Specific section requirements and percentages vary and change, so confirm the current threshold with local counsel before relying on it for an amendment.
What are the most common myths about CC&Rs?
The most common CC&R myths are that they expire, that a new owner can opt out, and that the board can rewrite them on its own, and all three are false.
| Claim | True or false | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CC&Rs expire after a set number of years | False | Recorded covenants stay in force until amended or formally terminated by owner vote; they do not lapse on their own |
| A new homeowner can refuse to follow CC&Rs they never signed | False | Covenants run with the land, so buying the property is consent; no signature is needed |
| The board can change the CC&Rs by itself | False | Changing recorded CC&Rs requires the owner-approval percentage in the declaration, not a board vote |
| A CC&R is enforceable just because it is recorded | False | A covenant that conflicts with state or federal law, or is enforced selectively, is unenforceable despite being recorded |
| Rules and CC&Rs are the same thing | False | Rules are board-adopted policies beneath the CC&Rs and can never override the recorded declaration |
How do you read your CC&Rs as a new board member?
You read your CC&Rs by working through the recorded declaration in a fixed order so you know what the association can require, what it must do, and where the enforcement teeth are.
A 10-step onboarding pass for a new director or manager:
- Confirm you have the recorded version plus every recorded amendment, not a draft or summary.
- Read the definitions section first, because terms like “owner,” “lot,” and “common area” control everything after.
- Map the use restrictions: rentals, pets, parking, signs, and architectural limits.
- Find the assessment and lien provisions that fund the association and back collections.
- Locate the maintenance split between owner responsibility and association responsibility.
- Read the architectural-review process and the deadlines it imposes on the board.
- Find the enforcement and fine provisions and confirm they match current state procedure.
- Note the amendment threshold so you know what it takes to change anything.
- Check for provisions that state law has since overridden, such as bans on signs or solar.
- Flag anything ambiguous or outdated for counsel review before you enforce it.
A board that has done this pass enforces with confidence and stops trying to enforce provisions that no longer hold up.
Frequently asked questions about CC&Rs
Short answers to the CC&R questions boards and owners ask most.
What does CC&R stand for?
CC&R stands for Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, the recorded private rules that bind every owner in a planned community, condominium, or HOA and run with the land.
Are CC&Rs legally binding?
Yes. CC&Rs are recorded covenants that bind the property and every owner who takes title to it, so they are enforceable in court unless a provision conflicts with state or federal law.
Do CC&Rs expire?
No. Recorded CC&Rs stay in force until owners amend or formally terminate them; they do not lapse automatically after a set number of years.
Can a new homeowner refuse to follow the CC&Rs?
No. Because covenants run with the land, buying the property is consent to the CC&Rs, and a new owner is bound whether or not they read or signed them.
Can an HOA board change the CC&Rs without an owner vote?
No. Changing recorded CC&Rs requires the owner-approval percentage set in the declaration. A board can adopt operating rules on its own, but it cannot rewrite the CC&Rs alone.
What happens if a CC&R conflicts with state law?
The CC&R is unenforceable to the extent of the conflict, because state and federal law sit above the recorded declaration in the governing-documents hierarchy.
How do I find my CC&Rs?
Pull them from the county recorder, your escrow or closing file, or the association records the board and manager must keep, and rely on the recorded version if copies differ.
What is the difference between CC&Rs and bylaws?
CC&Rs are recorded covenants that bind the property and require an owner vote to change, while bylaws are internal corporate procedures for elections, meetings, and officer duties.
How can AMLO help your board manage CC&R compliance?
AMLO helps California and Washington boards read, enforce, and amend their CC&Rs without crossing the line into unenforceable territory.
Most CC&R problems come from a board that is enforcing the document inconsistently or enforcing provisions state law has already overridden. We route each governing-document question to the right statute, keep enforcement on a defensible procedural track, and flag covenants that need a counsel review or an amendment vote. See how we serve boards across California, or contact us to talk through your community documents.
