A buyer's attorney has come back asking about the restrictive covenants, and you did not know there were any. The house has been in the family since the seventies, nobody has ever mentioned a rule about anything, and there is certainly no homeowners association. There may still be covenants recorded against your land, and they may still bind you.
This article covers what deed restrictions actually are, how they differ from HOA rules and from zoning, how to find out what applies to your property, what happens when they have been ignored for decades, and what any of it does to a sale.
We buy houses, so read the last section knowing that. We are not attorneys. Whether a particular covenant is still enforceable against your property, and by whom, is a legal question that turns on the wording of the instrument and on the facts. Take the recorded documents to an Oklahoma real estate attorney rather than forming a view from an article.
What they are
A restrictive covenant is a promise about the use of land, recorded against the property, which can bind later owners. Somebody, usually the original developer of the subdivision, set conditions when the lots were sold, and those conditions were written into the record rather than into a single sale.
Typical content: minimum house size, setbacks, permitted building materials, restrictions on outbuildings, fences, livestock, commercial use, parking of trailers or boats, and the number of dwellings on a lot.
You did not agree to them and you may never have been told about them. That is not the test. The test is what was recorded against the land.
How they differ from zoning and from an HOA
Three separate systems that people collapse into one, and knowing which you are dealing with tells you who can do something about it.
Zoning is public law made by the city or county, enforced by them, and changeable by them. Our article on selling a house you ran a business from covers the home occupation side of zoning.
Covenants are private and recorded, and enforced by whoever has the benefit of them, which is usually other owners in the same subdivision. The city has no view on them at all.
HOA rules come from an association with a governing body, dues and enforcement powers, and frequently sit on top of recorded covenants. Our article on when an HOA can foreclose in Oklahoma covers what an association can actually do.
The important consequence: you can have covenants with no HOA. Older subdivisions frequently do, and the absence of anybody collecting dues does not mean the restrictions have gone away.
Finding out what applies to you
- Look at the abstract or the title commitment. Recorded covenants normally appear as an exception on Schedule B. Our article on what a survey exception means covers how to read that page and sort the standard items from the specific ones
- Search the county records for the subdivision, not just your parcel. Covenants are usually recorded once against the whole plat. Our page on Tulsa County property records covers searching
- Read the plat itself, which sometimes carries restrictions on its face
- Ask long-standing neighbours, who occasionally know exactly where the documents are because somebody once tried to enforce them
Do not rely on nobody having mentioned it. Covenants that have never been enforced are still recorded, and the buyer's side will find them even where you never did.
When they have been ignored for thirty years
This is the usual situation and it is the one where honest advice is hardest, because the answer really is that it depends.
Some covenants contain their own expiry or renewal provisions and simply run out. Some are drafted to renew automatically unless owners act. Enforcement can also be affected where a restriction has been widely disregarded across a subdivision for a long time, or where the character of an area has changed entirely, and there are doctrines that address both.
What we are not going to do is tell you that yours is unenforceable because it is old, or that it certainly binds you because it is recorded. Both answers get given confidently online and neither is safe. The instrument and the facts decide it, and that is an attorney question.
What you can do usefully is establish three things: what the document actually says about its own duration, whether the thing you are worried about has been done openly by others nearby for years, and whether anybody has ever attempted to enforce it.
The restrictions that actually cause problems in Tulsa
Most covenants are unremarkable. A handful come up repeatedly and are worth checking for specifically, because they are the ones people breach without realising.
Outbuildings and their materials. Metal buildings in particular. A shop that went up ten years ago may be prohibited by a covenant written when metal was considered agricultural rather than residential.
Vehicles and trailers. Restrictions on parking boats, caravans, lorries or unregistered vehicles in view of the street. Common, widely ignored, and occasionally enforced when a neighbour has had enough.
Fence type and height, and sometimes the material or the position relative to the building line. Our article on fences, boundaries and surveys covers the related question of where the fence actually sits.
Livestock and poultry. Chickens in particular have become a common breach in older subdivisions that were platted when the restriction was aimed at something else entirely.
Commercial use, which interacts with the zoning question rather than replacing it. A home occupation the city permits may still be prohibited by a private covenant, and the two are enforced by different people.
Minimum dwelling size and second dwellings. Relevant where somebody has added a guest house or converted a garage, and it overlaps with the permit question our article on two dwellings on one parcel covers.
What it does to a sale
Usually less than you fear. Most recorded covenants are ordinary residential restrictions that the buyer was going to comply with anyway, and they appear on the title as an exception without anybody blinking.
It matters when the property is already in breach. A workshop where none was permitted, a second dwelling, a fence type that is prohibited, a business being run. Then the buyer is inheriting exposure and will price it or ask you to resolve it.
It matters when the buyer's plans need something the covenant forbids. A buyer intending to park a lorry, keep livestock or build a shop should know before they are under contract, not after.
Disclose what you know. Known covenants, a known breach and any dispute with a neighbour about one all belong on the disclosure form, which our article on Oklahoma seller disclosure requirements covers.
Where we come in
Find the documents before you decide anything. An afternoon in the county records, and if necessary an hour with an attorney, usually establishes that there is either no problem at all or a specific and manageable one. Do not accept a discount over a covenant nobody has read.
Where a cash sale genuinely fits: the property is in a breach that would cost real money to reverse, a neighbour is actively enforcing something, or a buyer's lender has taken a view you cannot shift. In those cases we buy with the position as it stands and take it on. Our page on selling a house with title problems covers how recorded matters are handled at closing.
If the covenants turn out to be ordinary and the house complies, that is the end of the matter and you should sell it normally.
The short version
- A restrictive covenant is a recorded promise about the use of land that can bind later owners
- You did not agree to it and may never have been told. What matters is what was recorded against the land
- Zoning is public and city-enforced. Covenants are private and enforced by whoever has the benefit, usually neighbours. HOA rules are a third thing
- You can have covenants with no HOA, which is common in older subdivisions
- Find them on the abstract or commitment, in the county records against the subdivision, or on the plat
- Whether an old, widely ignored covenant is still enforceable depends on the instrument and the facts. Do not accept a confident answer either way from anybody who has not read it
- It matters most when the property is already in breach or the buyer's plans need something forbidden
- Disclose known covenants, breaches and disputes
Frequently asked questions
What is a restrictive covenant?
A recorded promise about the use of land that can bind later owners. Usually set by the original developer when the lots in a subdivision were sold, and written into the record rather than into a single sale.
I never agreed to any of this. Does it still apply?
Possibly. Whether you agreed is not the test. What was recorded against the land is, which is why these surprise owners who have been in a house for decades.
What do covenants usually cover?
Minimum house size, setbacks, building materials, outbuildings, fences, livestock, commercial use, parking of trailers or boats, and the number of dwellings on a lot.
How is that different from zoning?
Zoning is public law made and enforced by the city or county. Covenants are private, recorded, and enforced by whoever has the benefit of them, usually other owners in the subdivision.
Can I have covenants without an HOA?
Yes, and it is common in older subdivisions. Nobody collecting dues does not mean the restrictions have gone away.
Where do I find them?
On the abstract or title commitment as a Schedule B exception, in the county records against the subdivision rather than just your parcel, and sometimes on the face of the plat itself.
Nobody has ever enforced ours. Are they dead?
Not necessarily, and anybody who tells you confidently either way without reading the instrument is guessing. Some contain their own expiry, some renew automatically, and enforcement can be affected by long disregard across a subdivision.
What should I establish?
What the document says about its own duration, whether the thing you are worried about has been done openly by others nearby for years, and whether anybody has ever attempted to enforce it.
Who can enforce a covenant?
Whoever has the benefit of it, which is usually other owners in the same subdivision, and an association where one exists. The city generally has no view on private covenants.
Will covenants stop my sale?
Usually not. Most are ordinary residential restrictions a buyer would have complied with anyway, and they appear on the title as an exception without anybody blinking.
When do they actually matter?
When the property is already in breach, or when the buyer's plans need something the covenant forbids. Both are far better discovered before a contract than after.
My workshop is not permitted under the covenants. What now?
Take the documents to an attorney and establish the real exposure. Then decide between resolving it, disclosing and pricing it, or selling to a buyer who will take it on.
Do I have to tell a buyer?
Known covenants, a known breach and any dispute with a neighbour about one belong on the disclosure form.
Can covenants be changed?
Many contain their own amendment provisions, usually requiring agreement from a proportion of owners. Whether that is realistic depends on the subdivision and the change.
Does a covenant affect my mortgage?
A recorded covenant appears in the title work and a lender may take a view where the property is in breach. It is another reason to establish the position early.
What if a neighbour starts enforcing one?
That is a legal matter and it is worth advice quickly rather than after correspondence has hardened. It also belongs on the disclosure form.
Are covenants the same as easements?
No. An easement is a right for somebody to use part of your land. A covenant restricts what can be done with it. Both are recorded and both show up in the title work.
Does an old subdivision always have them?
Not always, but often enough that it is worth checking rather than assuming. Plenty of Tulsa subdivisions carry covenants from the fifties and sixties.
Can I just remove them?
Not unilaterally. They benefit other owners, which is why removal generally needs their agreement or a court.
Do you buy houses that are in breach of covenants?
Yes, with the position as it stands. Whether that is the right answer depends on how expensive the breach would be to reverse.
When should I not sell to you?
When the covenants turn out to be ordinary and the house complies, which is the usual outcome once somebody actually reads them.
What is the first thing to do?
Find the recorded documents. An afternoon in the county records usually establishes that there is either no problem at all or a specific and manageable one.
We buy houses, so read the last section knowing that. We are not attorneys. Whether a particular covenant is still enforceable against your property, and by whom, turns on the wording of the instrument and on the facts. Take the recorded documents to an Oklahoma real estate attorney.