Purpose of CC&Rs. The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions ("Declaration" or "CC&Rs") describes the rights and obligations of the membership to the association and the association to the membership. CC&Rs generally cover the following: (i) restrictions on the use of property, (ii) member and association maintenance duties, (iii) enforcement powers, (iv) lender protection provisions, (v) assessments obligations and lien/collection rights, (vi) duty to insure, and (vii) dispute resolution and attorneys' fees provisions. Bylaws, on the other hand, address the governance of an association.

Categories of Restrictions. There are two categories of restrictions--those found in the CC&Rs (equitable servitudes) and those later adopted by an association's board of directors (rules & regulations). Restrictions found in the CC&Rs are "clothed with a very strong presumption of validity which arises from the fact that each individual unit owner purchases his unit knowing of and accepting the restrictions to be imposed," while rules and regulations are subjected to a reasonableness analysis. Villa de Las Palmas v. Terifaj.

Equitable Servitudes. Equitable servitudes called Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) are created by the developer and recorded against all units/lots in the development. They are restrictions on the use of land and may be enforced in equity, i.e., justice administered according to fairness. Civ. Code §1354. Provided the violation falls within the statute of limitations, associations and individual owners each have the right to enforce CC&Rs. Both can go into court for injunctive relief.

Run With the Land. Because CC&Rs are recorded, they "run with the land" and bind all successive owners of a condominium or lot against with the restrictive covenants were recorded. Nahrstedt v. Lakeside Village. Restrictions that do not meet the requirements of covenants running with the land may be enforceable as equitable servitudes provided the person bound by the restrictions had notice of their existence. Riley v. Bear Creek.

Enforcement Discretion. Boards have a certain amount of discretion when it comes to  enforcement decisions.

Amendments. CC&Rs may be amended and restated and are effective upon recordation.

Proper Abbreviation. Some people improperly put an apostrophe in CC&R's. An apostrophe followed by an "s" signifies a contraction such as "That's my car" or the possessive form of a word such as "Henry's car." CC&Rs are neither possessive nor a contraction. Some improperly eliminate the ampersand (&) making the abbreviation "CCR." The initials stand for "Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. Accordingly, the better convention is to include the ampersand and drop the apostrophe, making the abbreviation "CC&Rs."