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A new case was just decided on August 30, 2022. A homeowner who had been previously renting
two residences challenged her HOA, Windermere Lakes HOA, when the HOA decided
to amend their deed restrictions to prohibit short term leasing.
In the case the court lays out three elements that must be
met: 1. There must be a right to amend the declarations detailed in the
document itself, 2. The amendment must be a correction, improvement, or
reformation of the agreement rather than its complete destruction, 3. The
amendment must not be illegal or against public policy.
The court applied the rules to the facts and determined that
the HOA can amend its deed restrictions to prohibit short term leasing within
the community. The court reasoned that
the homeowners are put on notice when they buy the property that the deed
restrictions can be amended. So, if they
buy the properties for the purpose of leasing them, they know that the
community may decide to amend the deed restrictions. The homeowner wished to expand the rules to
include a reasonableness test. The court
refused to do so without Supreme Court input.
Bottom line – if the declarations have provisions that allow the
declarations to be amended and the amendment is part of the common plan or
scheme of the community, then the amendment stands. The amendment is enforceable even on lots
that used to short term lease before the amendment. We will see what the Texas Supreme Court
says, but the law seems pretty clear.