Before I Buy in a Treasure Valley Luxury Community, How Do I Find Out What the CC&Rs Will Let Me Build?

In a planned community, the city's zoning code is only the first answer to what you can build. The second answer sits in the community's own documents, and it is often the stricter one. Those documents are worth reading before the price is negotiated, because a home that cannot hold the shop or the pool you planned is a different purchase.

Two sets of rules sit on top of each other

The first set is public: the zoning and building codes of the city or county. They set lot sizes, setbacks and permitted uses, and they are where a building permit comes from. (Related: What Sets Eagle, Idaho Apart for Luxury Buyers? walks through what one city's zoning governs.)

The second set is private. CC&Rs, short for covenants, conditions and restrictions, are the rules a developer records against the lots in a community. They come with the property when it changes hands. Most CC&Rs also create an architectural review committee, sometimes called an ARC or an architectural control committee, and give it authority to approve or deny changes to a home or lot. That committee usually works from a separate document, the architectural or design guidelines, which spells out the detail: materials, heights, colors, screening and the application process.

A city permit and a committee approval are separate. Having one does not give you the other.

Which documents to ask for

• The declaration of CC&Rs, the full recorded document, not a summary.
• Every recorded amendment. Communities change their covenants over time, and an amendment can add or remove a restriction that matters to you.
• Any supplemental declaration for the phase, village or neighborhood the home sits in. Larger communities often record separate rules for different sections.
• The current architectural guidelines, with the date they were adopted. Guidelines may not be recorded, and they can be revised, so ask for the version in effect today.
• The architectural review application and any published fee or deposit schedule, which show how the process runs.
• The plat and the site plan for the lot, which show easements, setbacks and the shape of the area you can build on.

The listing agent or the seller can usually supply these, and the association or its management company keeps the guidelines. Recorded documents are part of the public record, and a title company can pull them for a specific property.

What the documents usually address

Read for the project you actually plan. These are the items buyers most often ask about, and what to look for on each.

A shop or detached garage

Look for language on accessory or outbuildings: whether they are allowed at all, maximum footprint and height, setbacks from property lines, and whether the materials and roof must match the main house.

An RV garage or RV parking

Look in two places. The building sections cover the size and door height of an RV bay. The vehicle or parking sections often say where a recreational vehicle, trailer or boat may be kept, and for how long. A home can allow the garage and still limit where the RV sits while it is being loaded.

A pool

Look for setbacks, fencing or barrier requirements, equipment screening and noise, and whether grading or drainage plans must go to the committee.

A fence

Fences are among the most common rules. Look for permitted materials, heights, colors, and whether fences are allowed along open space or only in certain locations on the lot.

Solar

Look for rules on panel placement, visibility from the street and mounting. Whether state law limits how an association may treat solar is a question for an attorney; do not assume the answer either way.

Exterior changes

Additions, roofing, paint colors, windows, lighting and landscaping often need approval even when they need no city permit. Look for an approved color or material list and for what counts as a change that requires an application.

How architectural review usually works

The guidelines usually describe the steps. An owner submits an application with drawings and a site plan, the committee reviews it, and work may not start until the owner has written approval. Many guidelines also set out a review period, fees or a deposit, required inspections and a deadline to finish the work. Read those terms before you plan a timeline or a budget around a project.

In many communities only an owner can apply. Before closing, you generally cannot get an approval in hand. You can read the guidelines closely, ask the association whether its committee gives informal comments, and look at what has already been built on similar lots.

Reading the documents for your project

1. Write the project down with its rough size, height and location on the lot.
2. Search every document for the terms that touch it: accessory structure, outbuilding, garage, vehicle, parking, pool, fence, solar, exterior, setback, height and materials.
3. Sort what you find into three columns: prohibited, allowed with approval, and not addressed.
4. Lay the rules over the site plan. Setbacks and easements decide where a building can go, and a lot can be large on paper and still have a small buildable area.
5. Mark any place where two documents seem to disagree. That is a question for a professional, not a guess.

My background is in architectural design, so I read a set of guidelines next to the site plan: where a structure can sit, how much height the rules leave, and what the material requirements add to the cost of building it.

Who interprets the CC&Rs

CC&Rs are recorded legal documents. What a covenant means, whether it can be enforced, which document controls when two disagree, and whether an amendment was properly adopted are questions for a title company or a real estate attorney. My role is to make sure you have the full set of documents early and know which questions to ask. Build that review into the time your offer gives you to examine documents, so the answer arrives before you are committed.

The HOA's finances and day-to-day rules

This post covers architectural review and what you can build. A homeowners association's budget, reserves, special assessments, dues and its rental and pet rules are a separate review. (Related: What to check in the HOA documents before you buy)

A short checklist before you make an offer

• The full recorded CC&Rs, every amendment and any supplemental declaration
• The current architectural guidelines, dated, and the application form
• The plat and site plan, with setbacks and easements marked
• Your project sorted into prohibited, allowed with approval, or not addressed
• Open questions sent to a title company or a real estate attorney

Frequently asked questions