Covenant and Homeowner Guidelines

I live in Stafford Va under and HOA

We have two documents in the associations.

The first one is the convents and the other is the Homeowner Guidelines. That was Effective February 1, 2005
Do we enforce the guidelines that was pased in 2005 or the covenant that is filed in the county seat.

What is enforceable the convents or the guidelines?

Heather, the Covenants are your primary document which which hold up in court if they do not violate a higher order law. The guidelines, when adopted as Rules and Regulations, are enforceable when they are reasonable. They are lower order than the Covenants when it comes to legal enforcement. Both are enforceable, generally the guidelines amplify and explain further the Covenants.

The Guidelines..if adopted. This is the key statement here. If these "Guidelines" were not put to a vote by the members (adopted if passed) then I would assume that there is nothing within its contents that would be enforceable. Guidelines..if adopted (by vote) could address fines directly related to a specific item in the CC&R'S or By Laws.

I would check to see if these "guidelines" were brought about by a vote and if so they must only address issues that relate back to the CC&R's or By Laws. If a vote was called to change or add a new or existing item in the CC&R's or By Laws then you would have those changes in your new set of CC&R's or BL. Basically you can't fine me for a guideline that has not been voted on unless the guideline specifically addresses a specific CC&R...Check your CC&R's again...

Hang on a second Marty. If the guidelines contradict the covenants then the covenants take precedent. As it was explanined earlier guidelines are there to further explain the covenants, not replace them. The only way to replace a covenant is to amend per your documents and file it with the proper jurisdiction.

Yes Brad, The Covenants always take precedent. If the guidelines are being used to bring fines against the homeowners than the guidlines must be refering to an article in the convenants. If that reference is not made then it is time to break out the covenants and research the validity of the fining. Sometimes boards put out what appear to be "guidelines" to make the covenants less intimidating but occasionaly add a little fluff to the package...