CC&R compliance

Welcome, Terry, to the Forum. Would you please cite the section of your CC&Rs about lawn maintenance. Is there a difference between front and back yards (if applicable)?

Are your front lawns you separate interest, or limited (or exclusive) use common area per your CC&Rs?

This is how many HOA's work. The common area is a shared expense amongst ALL the owners. It is why it is called "common area". So it would make sense the HOA/owners are paying for landscaping for this area. Your lots are private and not shared. So why would the HOA provide this service? You all still have to pay your fair share for the shared areas.

Now in our HOA, you owned the lot and house it sat one. ALL the property around your home was considered "Common". You had "exclusive use" to a certain area in your yard. However, the HOA owned everything else. We were responsible for providing lawncare according to our CC&R's. It was technically our ONLY responsibility.

Having the area around the homes as "common" property meant lawncare could freely go in/out doing their job. You could lock the gate if you did not want back yard mowed. However, that meant you were responsible for that area if did not allow the shared lawncare to enter.

I see your situation as your HOA has responsibility for shared common property and owners responsible for their own lots.

I do not think you are reading this part of Title 68 correctly. For example, for planned communities, Title 68 says:
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Title 68
Section 5104. Variation by agreement.
Except as expressly provided in this subpart, provisions of this subpart may not be varied by agreement, and rights conferred by this subpart may not be waived. A declarant may not act under a power of attorney or use any other device to evade the limitations or prohibitions of this subpart or the declaration.
===

Amendment is preferred, but I also think that "course of conduct" may play a role here. For example, Title 68 Section 5108 speaks of estoppel applying. The HOA and its membership appears to have agreed (even though it's not in writing) that the membership would pay for collective maintenance of each members' lawn.

I am not an attorney. I am sharing impressions based on much reading over the years and observing directly some litigation between HOAs and HOA members.

I am curious: How many lots are there? How much is budgeted each year for landscaping?

I hope you have pondered that, when it comes to landscaping, economy of scale plays a huge role in determining what each lot will pay. I do not like that the board appears to be violating the covenants here. Then again, I expect that each lot contracting separately with the landscaper of its choice would result in people paying a lot more. Worse (from where I am sitting), each lot contracting separately may mean lawn mowers, leaf blowers et cetera are blasting five or six days a week.

You asked how common violating a major covenant is. Violating covenants in general is pretty common. But this does not make it all right. Case law is full of long, angry, costly disputes between HOAs and HOA members and yes, almost always involving covenant violations. Right now, I am observing litigation that has been going on between a HOA and one member for about two years. The HOA is the plaintiff. The HOA violated covenant after covenant as it persecuted the member. The HOA's costs are up to about $100,000. The IMO deluded HOA Board, abetted by IMO a prostitute-like HOA law firm, thinks it will recover its expenses from the member. HUD is now involved extensively (though not having passed judgment yet). The HOA member just retained (signed a contract with) a fair housing attorney who is a partner with a nationally known civil rights law firm. The fair housing attorney is working either pro bono or on contingency. I expect at least another year before this dispute is settled.

Terry

This landscaping is on going and is being paid for. I say either leave it alone or incorporate it as a service offered. I say do not let individual owners do as they wish which could make for a hodgepodge of landscaping types and quality.

Our association is small patio homes with each home owner owning their own land. It is in our Covenants that the HOA will maintain all landscaping (backyard exception below). It is our biggest budget item and also one of the main reasons people want to buy here. Our homes sell in about a week or two. As we maintain the landscaping and strive for a common appearance, our owners are not allowed to plant anything. Planters are allowed on driveways, on porches, etc. but not in/on any area maintained by the association.

Each home has a backyard about 20ft x 30ft surrounded by a 7ft privacy fence. The HOA does not maintain this area. One can landscape, plant, grow, etc. anything they want behind this fence. There are several gardens. One can grow dope behind there for all we care.

Yes we have had a person or two say well I want to maintain my own lawn. We basically say no. When someone says well it is my property. We say yes but read the Covenants you signed and pay attention to the landscaping portions of them. That ends it.

As I said, the HOA doing the landscaping is one main reason people want to live here.

Side-note:

Augustine,

Pa Title68 Sec 5104, re Variation by Agreement was to the best of my knowledge never altered by Pa legislators. The words 'Except as provided by this subpart' allows for change if the circumstances ever arise. The same is true (using the same wording)when the sections re condominiums(1980) and co-ops(1993) were enacted...at least
this is how it was explained to me. In other words, there are no exceptions. This short nugget of a paragraph
leaves you dangling. The document then simply jumps to Sec 5105.

I was looking for legal loopholes ie CYA reasons to protect the Board- to explain away its voluntary departure from our CC&Rs re landscape responsibilities...and hit a wall. We had nothing in writing and could not be sure
if there was a grandfather effect in play given that the variations occurred prior to 1996.

Legalese is hard to digest. Ask another lawyer and you'll get another opinion. LOL