Subdivision covenants and restrictions in Alabama are private rules, recorded in the county probate court, that control how lots inside a neighborhood can be used, built on, and maintained. They ride with the land. Once recorded, they bind every future owner in the chain of title, not just the person who first signed off on them. If you’re buying, building, or fighting a notice from your HOA, the answers you need live in three places: the recorded declaration for your subdivision, the Alabama Homeowners Association Act, and the federal laws that override anything a neighborhood tries to impose.
What Covenants Typically Restrict
Most subdivision covenants are about how the neighborhood looks and how the lots are used. On the appearance side, they commonly set a minimum square footage for homes, require certain exterior materials such as brick or stone, and control things like paint colors, fence styles, and outbuildings. On the use side, they often limit lots to single-family residential occupancy, prohibit home-based businesses that draw traffic, and ban short-term rentals — some subdivisions prohibit any lease shorter than 30 days. Pet limits, noise rules, and parking restrictions are typical additions.
Rules vary widely from one subdivision to the next, and older declarations sometimes carry language that feels arbitrary or refers to materials no longer in use. Whether a specific provision holds up depends on whether it serves a legitimate purpose and has been applied consistently, both of which come up regularly in Alabama court disputes.
How Covenants Are Created and Recorded
Covenants start with the developer. Before selling lots, the developer drafts a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions — usually called the CC&Rs — and records it with the county probate court. Alabama law defines a declaration as an instrument recorded with the judge of probate that creates maintenance obligations, gives an association power to levy assessments, and establishes covenants running with the land that are enforceable against successors and assigns.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-20-2 – Definitions The recording is what puts future buyers on notice and makes the restrictions binding. A covenant that was never recorded generally cannot be enforced against someone who had no way to know about it.
If the declaration creates a homeowners’ association, that HOA takes over enforcement once the developer’s control period ends. Alabama requires an HOA to be incorporated as a nonprofit corporation.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-20-2 – Definitions
One point worth understanding before you go looking for a state regulator: the Alabama Secretary of State’s office has said flatly that “HOAs are not regulated in Alabama.”2Alabama Secretary of State. HOA FAQs HOAs formed after January 1, 2016 must file certain disclosure documents with the probate court, which forwards them to the Secretary of State, but older associations have no filing obligation unless they choose one. Practical effect: your protection comes from the declaration itself, the Alabama Homeowners Association Act (Title 35, Chapter 20), and general contract law, not from any oversight agency.
How to Find the Covenants on a Property
The single most valuable move a buyer can make is reading the covenants before closing. Alabama probate courts hold the recorded deeds, mortgages, plats, and CC&Rs, and many counties now provide online access through systems like Landmark WEB. Older documents sometimes require an in-person visit.
If the subdivision has an active HOA, Alabama law gives you a direct route. Under Section 35-20-13, a potential purchaser can submit a written request and receive, within 30 days, the current covenants and any amendments, architectural rules, pending and current assessments, financial statements, insurance information, and any lawsuits involving the association.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-20-13 – Records The HOA can charge a reasonable fee but cannot refuse. Members already in the community have the same right.
When there’s no HOA, the title search does the work. A title company will surface any recorded covenants, easements, and restrictions attached to the property. Read them before you sign. Inheriting a violation from a previous owner is expensive and avoidable.
Who Enforces Covenants and How
Enforcement usually starts with the HOA. In subdivisions without one, individual property owners who benefit from a restriction can enforce it themselves. Most associations begin with a written notice and a chance to fix the problem. If that doesn’t work, the dispute can move to court.
Alabama courts treat recorded covenants as equitable servitudes that bind future owners regardless of whether they personally agreed. In Hines v. Heisler (1983), the Alabama Supreme Court held that a restrictive covenant in a deed “imposes an enforceable obligation on every grantee in the chain of title,” while adding that ambiguous restrictions should be read in favor of free property use and that clear covenants will be enforced when the parties’ intent is manifest and the restriction is “confined to a lawful purpose within reasonable bounds.”4Justia Law. Hines v Heisler In Laney v. Early (1974), the court enforced a residential-only restriction, noting that unambiguous covenant language is “entitled to be given the effect of its plain and manifest meaning.”5Justia Law. Laney v Early
A court can order a homeowner to remove an unauthorized structure, stop a prohibited use, or otherwise correct a violation. Ignoring a court order can lead to contempt. Courts also examine whether the party seeking enforcement has actually been enforcing the rule against everyone. Selective enforcement is one of the strongest defenses available, and it comes up often.
Penalties, Fines, and Liens
For most infractions — unapproved paint, an unpermitted shed, neglected landscaping — HOAs start with fines. Alabama does not cap fine amounts by statute, so the ceiling is whatever the declaration and bylaws authorize. Some declarations allow daily fines that keep accruing until the violation is corrected.
Unpaid fines and assessments can turn into a lien on the property. Alabama Code Section 35-20-12 gives an HOA a lien on each lot for unpaid assessments from the date they become due. Before recording, the association must give written notice to the owner by personal delivery or first-class mail, and it must send a separate certified-mail notice at least 30 days before actually recording the lien statement with the probate court. The lien statement has to be filed within 12 months of the date the assessment became due and must identify the property, the association, the owner, and the amount owed.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-20-12 – Liens for Unpaid Assessments
In serious cases, the association can ask a court to enforce the lien by forcing a sale of the property. If the court orders a sale, notice must be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the county where the property sits.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 35-20-12 – Liens for Unpaid Assessments Foreclosure over HOA debt is uncommon, but it is available.
For non-monetary violations, such as an unapproved structure or a banned business, the HOA or a neighboring owner can seek injunctive relief and ask a judge to order the owner to fix the problem. Many declarations require or encourage negotiation or mediation first, and doing so is usually much cheaper than litigation.
Federal Limits on What Covenants Can Do
Federal law overrides covenant language. A few limits come up often enough that every Alabama homeowner should know them.
Satellite Dishes and Antennas
The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule preempts any covenant or HOA rule that unreasonably delays installation, unreasonably increases the cost, or prevents reception of an acceptable signal for dishes one meter or less in diameter.7eCFR. 47 CFR 1.4000 – Restrictions Impairing Reception of Television Broadcast Signals, Direct Broadcast Satellite Services, or Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Services Associations can still impose legitimate safety requirements, but an outright ban is unenforceable.
Assistance Animals and Disability Accommodations
The Fair Housing Act requires HOAs and condominium associations to make reasonable accommodations in their rules when necessary for a person with a disability to have equal use of their home.8U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development A covenant that bans pets must still allow assistance animals, including emotional support animals, for residents with qualifying disabilities. HUD guidance is clear that an assistance animal is not a pet, and no pet fee or deposit can be charged for one.9HUD.gov. Assistance Animals Denial is limited to narrow circumstances, such as a specific animal posing a direct safety threat that no accommodation can address.
The FHA also requires associations to permit reasonable structural modifications to a unit or common area at the resident’s expense when necessary for a person with a disability, even if the covenants would otherwise prohibit the change.8U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Race, Religion, and National-Origin Restrictions
Some older Alabama deeds still carry covenants that purport to restrict ownership or occupancy by race, religion, or national origin. These have no legal effect. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) that judicial enforcement of racially restrictive covenants violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee.10Justia U.S. Supreme Court. Shelley v Kraemer, 334 US 1 (1948) The Fair Housing Act of 1968 then made it illegal to discriminate in the sale or rental of housing based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices Old discriminatory language may still appear physically in a recorded deed because federal law didn’t create a general erasure mechanism, but no court will enforce it.
Defenses If You’re Being Cited
Not every enforcement action holds up. Alabama courts recognize several defenses a homeowner can raise.
- Selective enforcement. If the association has ignored the same violation by others, a court may treat enforcement against you as inequitable. Documented inconsistency is what makes this argument work.
- Ambiguity. Alabama courts read unclear covenant language in favor of free property use, so a poorly worded restriction can fall on interpretation alone.4Justia Law. Hines v Heisler
- Changed conditions. If the surrounding area has shifted so much that the original purpose no longer applies, a court may decline to enforce the restriction.
- Failure to record. A covenant or amendment never properly recorded generally cannot be enforced against an owner who lacked actual notice.
- Conflict with law. Any covenant that conflicts with federal law or Alabama public policy is void, whatever the declaration says.
These arguments are fact-driven. Gather evidence of how the rule has been treated elsewhere in the neighborhood, keep a timeline of your communications with the board, and talk to an Alabama real estate attorney before responding to a formal notice.
Changing the Covenants
Amending covenants requires following the procedure written into the original declaration. Most declarations require a supermajority of lot owners, often two-thirds or three-quarters. There is no statewide standard threshold. The Laney declaration, for example, required owners of four-fifths of the lots to sign a written release.5Justia Law. Laney v Early
Once approved, an amendment has to be recorded with the county probate court to bind future buyers. An unrecorded amendment, even one every current owner signed, will not bind the next purchaser who bought without notice of it. Filing the paperwork is where amendments most often fail.
Older subdivisions sometimes have no amendment procedure at all. When that happens, courts look to general contract principles and the Alabama Homeowners Association Act to decide whether a proposed change is valid. Some declarations include a sunset provision that lets the community revisit all restrictions after a set number of years, often 20 or 25. Because the procedural details matter and challenges are common, associations pursuing an amendment usually work with an attorney to make sure the change will hold up.