HIDEOUT UPDATE - VICTORY
Yesterday we prevailed in the case of Chan, et al., v. The Association of Property Owners of The Hideout, Inc. (“The Hideout Appeal”) before the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, one of Pennsylvania’s appellate courts.
In The Hideout Appeal, the Commonwealth Court reversed the Wayne County Court of Common Please, Judge Meagher, and directed that Court to enter declaratory judgment “that The Association of Property Owners of The Hideout, Inc.’s bylaw amendment on short-term rentals is void and unenforceable.”
In interpreting The Hideout’s declaration of covenants, the Commonwealth Court also held that:
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the “single-family dwelling” restriction was a building restring and not a use restriction, in that the restriction only applied to the type of building, not the use of that building;
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The Hideout and its Board were not authorized to adopt the bylaw amendment restricting rentals as it conflicted with the declaration; in such a case, the declaration prevails.
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The Hideout’s long-standing regulation of rentals did not operate as a waiver by the plaintiffs to challenge the offending bylaw amendment because The Hideout’s declaration specifically contains a savings clause that prevents any statute of limitations from running when it concerns enforcement of the declaration itself. Note: Most, if not all, declarations of community associations have such a provision extending statutes of limitations.
Notably, although repeatedly raised by counsel for The Hideout at all phases of this dispute, the Commonwealth Court did not even address The Slice of Life zoning case, further demonstrating its complete inapplicability to community association law. The Opinion is here.
Should you have any questions or feel that your community association is wrongfully regulating Short Term Rentals, or otherwise violating its declarations or covenants through overreaching bylaws or rules and regulations, feel free to call or email me at any time.
Thank you, Eric B. Smith
