Ward

This case concerns whether a homeowners association may record, in a county’s land title records, a document asserting that a homeowner is in violation of the association’s covenants, conditions and restrictions (hereafter CC&R’s). We conclude that there is no authority for recordation of such a document, and that the document recorded in this case should have been expunged.

I. The Facts

Petitioners own a house in the Beverly wood area of Los Angeles. The property is subject to a declaration of restrictions which was recorded in 1940 and which affects 1,324 homes. These restrictions were updated in 1994 by the recordation of an amended and restated declaration of CC&R’s. The CC&R’s are administered by the Beverly wood Homes Association (hereafter BHA). For purposes of this petition, it is assumed that petitioners are bound by these CC&R’s.

The CC&R’s provide for “Architectural and Design Control” by BHA. These controls require approval of construction or alterations by BHA. The CC&R’s indirectly provide that BHA may record a notice of noncompliance by providing that property improvements will eventually be deemed in compliance “unless actual notice executed by the…