The Arizona Supreme Court has held that a general amendment power in a declaration does not give a homeowners’ association power to amend covenants retroactively in major ways that would violate the reasonable expectations of buyers. Kalway v. Calabria Ranch HOA, LLC, 506 P.3d 18 (Ariz. 2022). The covenants that were thought to be unfairly surprising limited the size and use of dwellings, prohibited improvements without consent of the association, changed the types and quantity of permissible livestock, limited the height and size of non-dwelling structures, and other limitations on improvements. The court noted that Arizona statutes permit amendment of covenants by the association, but held that the statute did not displace the common law rule that requires the declaration to give buyers sufficient notice of the types of amendments that are permitted.
Joseph William Singer
Bussey Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Joseph William Singer
Bussey Professor of Law, Harvard Law School