AMENDING HOA COVENANTS IN NC TRIAL

AMENDING HOA COVENANTS IN NC TRIAL

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs and held that Defendants’ violated the covenant and enjoined them from keeping the hens on their property. Plaintiffs argued that Defendants were not allowed to keep the hens, because the covenant expressly prohibited “poultry of any kind” in the neighborhood.

“No animals, livestock or poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred or kept on the building site, except that dogs, cats or other household pets may be kept, provided that they are not bred or maintained for any commercial purpose.” Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit arguing that Defendants violated Sleepy Hollow’s restrictive covenant that provided as follows: Plaintiffs and Defendants are next-door neighbors in the Sleepy Hollow subdivision. Defendants kept four hens in a coop in their backyard.

The Court also ruled on the types of animals that can be considered “household pets.” Background of the Case

Kittinger that has the potential to impact how community associations, such as HOAs, can amend restrictive covenants. The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently published an opinion in Bryan v.

Amending hoa covenants in nc