Online Zoom HOA legal issues seminars December 13 and 15, 2021

For over 15 years, the Central Oklahoma Neighborhood Alliance led by Georgie Rasco has hosted with Oklahoma HOA attorney Matthew L. Winton the only formal condo and HOA legal issues seminar in the State of Oklahoma. Presented over the course of two nights at approximately two hours each presentation, the topics cover condo and HOAs from start to transition from developer to the continued life of a community association. If you are interested in condo and HOA law in Oklahoma, here is a great learning opportunity.

You can register here for the December 13 and 15 seminars.

HOA and Condo Association basic legal issues July 13, 2017

This video by Oklahoma community association lawyer Matthew L. Winton is a two hour presentation on an introduction to Oklahoma community association legal issues. Topics discussed are general development and how condo and HOAs are created and formed, Oklahoma law and statutes, terminology, HOA meeting management, and enforcement issues. Questions and answers were part of the presentation format. For a schedule of upcoming presentations, go to http://nacok.org/events/

Tide turns for clotheslines...

For  years, certain real property covenant language represented mainstays in covenant restricted communities. For example, when satellite reception became available with the installation of a Volkswagen bug-sized satellite dish, many communities quickly adopted covenants restricting what some thought were unsightly, albeit entertaining, structures. Another typical restriction found in many communities represents clothesline structural and use restrictions. A clothesline structural restriction disallows the structure of a clothesline. A use restriction prohibits the use of real property for a certain purpose.

Given the current heightened awareness of people's impact on the environment, some are seeking simple ways to reduce energy usage - one method is to line dry your clothes. But what if your community's governing documents forbid clotheslines? One response might be to grow green with environmental indignation and ignore the covenant, of course at the person's own legal peril.

The first response should be to contact the homeowner association or condo association board and ask what the association's policy is on clotheslines. If the owner is not satisfied with the response, another course would be to seek legislative or municipal assistance. In some instances, legislatures and municipalities will adopt a law or ordinance that supersedes a real property covenant. For example, any covenant that seeks to restrict owners on the basis of race is void on its face. Likewise, any covenant that outright forbids any kind of satellite dish of any size is unenforceable.

Some communities (Davis, California for example) have adopted ordinances that expressly allow people to use their property to dry clothes. Other cities and states have adopted ordinances and laws that expressly allow the use of other energy saving items, such as solar panels and solar water heaters.

Given the relative difficulty of accessing one's elected officials, another course would be to simply amend the restriction to allow clotheslines. Since most covenants sit unamended for many years, it may be time for your community to form a "covenants committee" to review your community's covenants for their "greenness." Would your covenants allow someone to dry their clothes outside if they wishes? Would your covenants allow the placement of a wind turbine on a Lot? Would your covenants prohibit the installation of solar panels on a person's home?

In the past, these were not questions likely to be asked of our covenants. Perhaps the days are here when they should require mention on an agenda.

Matthew L. Winton - community association lawyer.