CC&R Interpretation
The declaration is the constitution of a community association, and most board disputes come down to what it actually means. We read the CC&Rs in the situations boards face, advise on enforcing them evenly, and give boards the written legal footing to back an interpretation when an owner pushes back. Our CC&R attorneys work with HOA and condominium boards in Bellevue, Seattle, and across the Eastside.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
3
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
CC&R and covenant attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle community associations
Oseran Hahn interprets and enforces the recorded covenants that govern HOAs and condominiums: the declaration, the CC&Rs (covenants, conditions, and restrictions), the bylaws, and the rules beneath them. Most enforcement fights are really interpretation fights, over what a covenant covers, whether the board can act, and whether it has enforced the same rule the same way before. We tell boards what their documents allow, document the enforcement so it holds up, and defend the reading when an owner challenges it. Washington reads restrictive covenants closely, and the wording matters.
A covenant only means something if the board can say what it means and enforce it the same way every time. We read the declaration in the document hierarchy and in the facts of the dispute; we counsel boards on enforcing covenants evenhandedly, before selective enforcement becomes a defense; we run the fine-and-hearing process that makes an enforcement action stick; we handle the architectural and use restrictions that draw the most complaints; and we put the board's interpretation in writing it can rely on when a decision is contested.
Reading the declaration and what controls
The CC&Rs are restrictive covenants recorded against the land, binding every owner who takes title, and they sit at the top of the association's document hierarchy above the bylaws and board rules (RCW 64.90.215). Washington courts interpret them by their language and the intent behind them, and they have historically resolved genuine ambiguity in favor of the free use of property, though that thumb on the scale has lightened as common-interest communities became the norm. The state Supreme Court in Riss v. Angel set the modern framework for reading these covenants and judging the board's decisions under them. We read the declaration the way a court would, in the context of the actual dispute, not in the abstract.
Enforcing covenants evenly
The board has the power to enforce the governing documents and discretion over when to act, but it may not be arbitrary or capricious in taking enforcement action (RCW 64.90.405). How it enforces matters as much as whether it does. Enforcement that singles out one owner, or that ignores the same violation next door, hands the owner a selective-enforcement or waiver defense and can cost the association the case. The board's enforcement choices are measured against the standard of care the law sets for directors (RCW 64.90.410). We help boards build an enforcement policy they apply consistently, so a covenant the board hasn't enforced in years doesn't become unenforceable when it finally tries.
Fines, notice, and the hearing
A fine that skips the process won't survive a challenge. Before the association imposes a monetary penalty for a violation, WUCIOA and the governing documents require notice of the violation and an opportunity for the owner to be heard, and the board's power to fine comes with those strings attached (RCW 64.90.405). The association also has to follow its own schedule of fines and its own procedure. We set up the violation-notice, cure-period, and hearing sequence, and we make sure the board documents each step, because the paper trail is what makes the fine enforceable if the owner refuses to pay.
Architectural and use restrictions
The covenants that generate the most conflict are the ones owners run into every day: paint colors, fences, roofing, landscaping, parking, pets, rentals, and signs. Many declarations route changes through an architectural review committee, and a denial has to be reasonable and made in good faith, not arbitrary, which is the standard Washington applies to design-review decisions. The board can also adopt rules that fill in the declaration, but only within the authority and limits the statute sets (RCW 64.90.510, .505). We advise architectural committees on defensible decisions and draft use restrictions that say what the board actually means.
Written opinions and defending the reading
When an enforcement decision is headed for a fight, the board needs more than a hunch about what the declaration means; it needs a written legal opinion it can point to. We give boards that opinion, so the decision rests on counsel's reading rather than a director's. If the dispute goes to court, the statute lets the court award reasonable attorney fees and costs, and many declarations add their own fee clause, which changes the calculus for an owner deciding whether to sue (RCW 64.90.685). When litigation is unavoidable, the firm's trial group tries the case on the record we helped build.
Two decades interpreting and enforcing declarations for Eastside associations, with attorneys who know how Washington courts read restrictive covenants and how an enforcement decision gets attacked. We give boards an interpretation they can stand behind and a trial group ready if it's tested.
We tell you what the document allows.
Boards often act on what they assume the declaration says. We tell them what it actually says, and where the language is too thin to support the decision they want to make, before they act on it.
We enforce in a way that holds up.
Even-handed enforcement, proper notice, a real hearing, a documented record. The difference between a fine that sticks and one an owner overturns is usually process, and we build the process in from the start.
We back the interpretation in writing.
When an owner contests a decision, a written opinion from counsel shifts the ground. The board isn't guessing, and if the dispute reaches court, the firm's litigators try it on the record we built.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
How does an HOA enforce CC&Rs against an owner?
An HOA enforces its CC&Rs in a set order: confirm the covenant actually covers what the owner is doing, send written notice of the violation with a cure period, and give the owner a chance to be heard before any fine. Under WUCIOA, a fine also has to come from a schedule the board adopted and gave to owners in advance (RCW 64.90.405). Skipping straight to a fine is what gets enforcement actions thrown out. We map the sequence before the board acts.
Can you review our declaration and tell us if a rule is enforceable?
Yes. We read the declaration, bylaws, and existing rules together, flag covenants that are ambiguous or likely unenforceable, and tell the board where it has authority to act and where it doesn't. It's far cheaper to learn a rule won't hold before enforcing it than after an owner sues.
The board wants to enforce a rule against one owner but has ignored it for others. Can we?
Carefully, and not without risk. Selective enforcement gives the owner a defense, and a long-ignored covenant may be waived. The cleaner path is usually to notify the whole community that enforcement is resuming, then apply the rule evenly going forward. We advise on how to reset enforcement without inviting a claim.
Does it matter whether our community is old or new?
Yes. Communities created before July 1, 2018 may still be under the older HOA or Condominium Act, while newer ones are under WUCIOA. Some WUCIOA sections already apply to older associations, and under current law the older acts are repealed and WUCIOA covers nearly all communities starting January 1, 2028. The declaration's own age and amendment history matter too. We confirm which law and which documents govern yours.
An owner is threatening to sue over our interpretation. What happens?
We give the board a written opinion on the covenant, which often ends the threat. If it doesn't, the court can award reasonable attorney fees and costs in an enforcement action (RCW 64.90.685), and many declarations add their own fee clause, which an owner's counsel weighs before filing. If it goes to court, the firm's trial group handles it.
When should an HOA board call a CC&R attorney?
An HOA board should call a CC&R attorney before it acts on a covenant it may later have to defend. That means before the board votes to enforce, deny an architectural request, or impose a fine, and any time an owner disputes what a covenant means. A short opinion up front costs far less than defending an enforcement action the board got procedurally wrong.
Declaration interpretation, even-handed covenant enforcement, architectural decisions, and written opinions Washington community-association boards can rely on.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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