In-Home Businesses
Question: Can a HOA dictate what a homeowner does inside his home? For example, a restrictive covenant states homeowners cannot conduct any business, commerce or profession in their residence. Doesn't this covenant bump up against privacy rights that are to be enjoyed within one's own home?
Response: You ask: can an HOA dictate what an owner can do within his own home? But the question really is: can recorded restrictive covenants which prohibit carrying on a business in a residence be enforced? The answer is yes, because it is a recorded covenant. It was a matter of record when the buyer decided to purchase a home in this HOA. He should have known from the title search and/or resale disclosure that there is such a covenant in the recorded declaration. So it is enforceable. It may or may not be considered a reasonable restriction, but covenants of record are not required to be reasonable. HOA Rules must be reasonable.
Michael A. Inman, Esquire