Covenants, Rules, Overgrown Yards

#1 sound good, #2 will cause folks to tell you to be careful, as you may be trespassing on private property in order to cut it.

I would also advise you search for any city or county ordinances regarding weeds, noxious weeds, etc. You may be able to use them to prop your arguement.

Daniel,

It appears to me you're on the right track! The BOD needs to define #11 & #21 of your restrictions. Once defined they should be mailed to each member so they will know exactly what is required of them. It would be wise to remind the members that the board has the authority to come onto their property to perform landscaping functions if they refuse to do so, but first I would suggest searching your CCRs to see if the BOD has the authority to perform the maint. if the member fails to. When this authority is given to the BOD it's generally made with the stipulation that the member must first be informed that the board will cause such action to be taken at the owner's expense if they fail to do it within a specified period of time. If the action is not taken by the date specified the assn has the authority to perform the service; however it might be wise to notify the owner on which day the landscaping crew will be coming out to his property.

The power to set the standards may be under the ACC clauses but they should be there somewhere; if you do not have the authority to correct a deficiency how about a fine instead? (See Fining - Statute of Limitations? By PamS4 who is also from Ga. Especially the advice of JosephW) If you set the rule get the H/O involved, have a meeting and tell them what you are trying to do and why and get their input. Even though it will ultimately be a BOD decision if the H/O's feel involved in the process IMO it makes it easier to enforce rather than some rule that is just handed down. Makes it harder for the scofflaws to scream that they're being picked on arbitrarily and gets everyone involved.

Thank you all so much for your great advice. I just have one more question. Our covenants only address fines as they pertain to the yearly assessment and special assessments. But our "Enforcement" section says "enforcement shall be by proceedings of law or in equity" against covenant violators. What does "in equity" mean? Is that a legal phrase giving us the right to fine covenant violators?

Hope someone can answer this for me......
What does it mean to to make a provision for "default" in the covenants?
Who does it favor the board not taking action or is the default against a homeowner not taking action?

Daniel,

Long, long ago, in a country far, far away - England in this case - there were two types of Courts: those of Law and those of Equity. Law dealt with statutes and formal rules, Equity with, vaguely, "fairness." USA state law, 'cept for Louisiana, is based on English law. Today, we don't have that distinction any more, but the term still shows up and the concept will be considered by our general civil courts.

For those of you who might wonder, Louisiana law is based on France's original Napolionic Code.

I would read what you quoted as to mean that you do not have the authority to fine the homeowner. Further, that you can not mow the lawn and then send the HO the bill. What you would be required to do is file a civil suit against the owner.

The good news is that in most areas this need not be expensive as some make it. The name of the court varies from state to state. Some call it "small claims court." In Texas it is called "Justice of the Peace Courts." At any rate, you can go to findlaw.com and type your state name followed by "small claims" to find out about it.

Most likely you would want to sue the HO for enough to cover your fees and the cost of mowing the lawn. In most states these cases can be heard (and are regularly) without the use of a lawyer. Just be aware that the defendant may choose to have representation. All the same, normally you can get some guidance along the way and you need not be a lawyer to successfully make your case.