NATORE A. NAHRSTEDT, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. LAKESIDE VILLAGE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., et al., Defendants and Respondents.
No. S029132
Supreme Court of California
Sept. 2, 1994
8 Cal. 4th 361
Joel F. Tamraz for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Wilner, Klein & Siegel, Leonard Siegel, Laura J. Snoke and Thomas M. Ware II for Defendants and Respondents.
Gerald J. Van Gemert, James A. Judge, Bigelow, Moore & Tyre, James S. Tyre, Musick, Peeler & Garrett, Gary L. Wollberg, Berding & Weil, James O. Devereaux, Bergerson & Garvic and John Garvic as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.
Swanson & Dowdall and C. Brent Swanson as Amici Curiae.
OPINION
KENNARD, J.-A homeowner in a 530-unit condominium complex sued to prevent the homeowners association from enforcing a restriction against keeping cats, dogs, and other animals in the condominium development. The owner asserted that the restriction, which was contained in the project‘s declaration1 recorded by the condominium project‘s developer, was “unreasonable” as applied to her because she kept her three cats indoors and because her cats were “noiseless” and “created no nuisance.” Agreeing with the premise underlying the owner‘s complaint, the Court of Appeal concluded that the homeowners association could enforce the restriction only
Those of us who have cats or dogs can attest to their wonderful companionship and affection. Not surprisingly, studies have confirmed this effect. (See, e.g., Waltham Symposium 20, Pets, Benefits and Practice (BVA Publications 1990); Melson, The Benefits of Animals to Our Lives (Fall 1990) People, Animals, Environment, at pp. 15-17.) But the issue before us is not whether in the abstract pets can have a beneficial effect on humans. Rather, the narrow issue here is whether a pet restriction that is contained in the recorded declaration of a condominium complex is enforceable against the challenge of a homeowner. As we shall explain, the Legislature, in
Because a stable and predictable living environment is crucial to the success of condominiums and other common interest residential developments, and because recorded use restrictions are a primary means of ensuring this stability and predictability, the Legislature in
I
Lakeside Village is a large condominium development in Culver City, Los Angeles County. It consists of 530 units spread throughout 12 separate 3-story buildings. The residents share common lobbies and hallways, in addition to laundry and trash facilities.
In January 1988, plaintiff Natore Nahrstedt purchased a Lakeside Village condominium and moved in with her three cats. When the Association learned of the cats’ presence, it demanded their removal and assessed fines against Nahrstedt for each successive month that she remained in violation of the condominium project‘s pet restriction.
Nahrstedt then brought this lawsuit against the Association, its officers, and two of its employees,4 asking the trial court to invalidate the assessments, to enjoin future assessments, to award damages for violation of her privacy when the Association “peered” into her condominium unit, to award damages for infliction of emotional distress, and to declare the pet restriction “unreasonable” as applied to indoor cats (such as hers) that are not allowed free run of the project‘s common areas. Nahrstedt also alleged she did not know of the pet restriction when she bought her condominium. The complaint incorporated by reference the grant deed, the declaration of CC&R‘s, and the condominium plan for the Lakeside Village condominium project.
The Association demurred to the complaint. In its supporting points and authorities, the Association argued that the pet restriction furthers the collective “health, happiness and peace of mind” of persons living in close proximity within the Lakeside Village condominium development, and therefore is reasonable as a matter of law. The trial court sustained the demurrer as to each cause of action and dismissed Nahrstedt‘s complaint. Nahrstedt appealed.
A divided Court of Appeal reversed the trial court‘s judgment of dismissal. In the majority‘s view, the complaint stated a claim for declaratory relief based on its allegations that Nahrstedt‘s three cats are kept inside her condominium unit and do not bother her neighbors. According to the majority, whether a condominium use restriction is “unreasonable,” as that term is used in
The dissenting justice took the view that enforcement of the Lakeside Village pet restriction against Nahrstedt should not depend on the “reasonableness” of the restriction as applied to Nahrstedt. To evaluate on a case-by-case basis the reasonableness of a recorded use restriction included in the declaration of a condominium project, the dissent said, would be at odds with the Legislature‘s intent that such restrictions be regarded as presumptively reasonable and subject to enforcement under the rules governing equitable servitudes. Application of those rules, the dissenting justice concluded, would render a recorded use restriction valid unless “there are constitutional principles at stake, enforcement is arbitrary, or the association fails to follow its own procedures.”
On the Association‘s petition, we granted review to decide when a condominium owner can prevent enforcement of a use restriction that the project‘s developer has included in the recorded declaration of CC&R‘s.
To facilitate the reader‘s understanding of the function served by use restrictions in condominium developments and related real property ownership arrangements, we begin with a broad overview of the general principles governing common interest forms of real property ownership.
II
Today, condominiums, cooperatives, and planned-unit developments with homeowners associations have become a widely accepted form of real property ownership. These ownership arrangements are known as “common interest” developments. (4B Powell, Real Property (1993) Condominiums, Cooperatives and Homeowners Association Developments, § 631, pp. 54-7 to 54-8; 15A Am.Jur.2d, Condominium and Co-operative Apartments, § 1, p. 827.) The owner not only enjoys many of the traditional advantages associated with individual ownership of real property, but also acquires an interest in common with others in the amenities and facilities included in the project. It is this hybrid nature of property rights that largely accounts for the popularity of these new and innovative forms of ownership in the 20th century. (4B Powell, Real Property, supra, § 631, pp. 54-7 to 54-8.)
The term “condominium,” which is used to describe a system of ownership as well as an individually owned unit in a multi-unit development, is
The concept of “horizontal property” or “strata” ownership simply means that the area above land can be divided into a series of strata or planes capable of severed ownership, making the ownership of things affixed to land separable from the ownership of the land itself. (Natelson, Law of Property Owners Associations, supra, § 1.3.2, pp. 24-25; Ball, Division into Horizontal Strata of the Landscape Above the Surface (1930) 39 Yale L.J. 616.) This idea, however, was inconsistent with the view expressed in many European civil codes and at English common law that the owner of the soil possessed the exclusive right to control everything on, above, or beneath the land, and that fixtures attached to land therefore could not be severed from ownership of the land. (See Schwartz, Condominium: A Hybrid Castle in the Sky (1964) 44 B.U. L.Rev. 137, 141 [noting the traditional view that “whatever is attached to the land belongs to the land” and, consequently, to the person who owns the land itself]; Note, Land Without Earth-The Condominium, supra, 15 U.Fla. L.Rev. at pp. 205-206 [noting the general hostility expressed in European civil codes to the concept of horizontal property].)
Not until nearly 160 years later did the notion of shared ownership of real property gain general acceptance in the United States. This occurred after Congress, through the National Housing Act of 1961, made federal mortgage insurance available to condominium units so as to encourage and facilitate home ownership. (15A Am.Jur.2d, supra, § 7, p. 835; Note, Judicial Review of Condominium Rulemaking (1981) 94 Harv.L.Rev. 647, 653, fn. 33.) Why did it take so long for this country to accept the idea of horizontal property ownership? Perhaps because the United States was, until recent times, so sparsely populated-and undeveloped habitable land and building materials so affordable-that there was “no great physical need for superimposing one dwelling upon another.” (Note, Land Without Earth-The Condominium, supra, 15 U.Fla. L.Rev. at p. 206; see also Leyser, The Ownership of Flats-A Comparative Study, supra, 7 Int‘l & Comp. L.Q. at p. 31, fn. 3 [noting the similarly late development of shared ownership housing arrangements in another large, sparsely populated country-Australia].)
To divide a plot of land into interests severable by blocks or planes, the attorney for the land developer must prepare a declaration that must be recorded prior to the sale of any unit in the county where the land is located. (Natelson, Consent, Coercion, and “Reasonableness” in Private Law: The Special Case of the Property Owners Association (1990) 51 Ohio State L.J. 41, 47 [hereafter Natelson, Consent, Coercion, and “Reasonableness“].) The declaration, which is the operative document for the creation of any common interest development, is a collection of covenants, conditions and servitudes that govern the project. (Ibid.; see also 4B Powell, Real Property, supra, § 632.4[1] & [2], pp. 54-84, 54-92; 15A Am.Jur.2d, supra, § 14, p. 843.) Typically, the declaration describes the real property and any structures on the property, delineates the common areas within the project as well as the individually held lots or units, and sets forth restrictions pertaining to the use of the property. (15A Am.Jur.2d, supra, § 14, p. 843.)
Use restrictions are an inherent part of any common interest development and are crucial to the stable, planned environment of any shared ownership arrangement. (Note, Community Association Use Restrictions: Applying the Business Judgment Doctrine (1988) 64 Chi.-Kent L.Rev. 653, 673 [hereafter
The restrictions on the use of property in any common interest development may limit activities conducted in the common areas as well as in the confines of the home itself. (Reichman, Residential Private Governments (1976) 43 U.Chi. L.Rev. 253, 270; 15A Am.Jur.2d, supra, § 16, pp. 845-846.) Commonly, use restrictions preclude alteration of building exteriors, limit the number of persons that can occupy each unit, and place limitations on-or prohibit altogether-the keeping of pets. (4B Powell, Real Property, supra, § 632.5[11], p. 54-221; Reichman, Residential Private Governments, supra, at p. 270; Natelson, Consent, Coercion, and “Reasonableness,” supra, 51 Ohio St. L.J. at p. 48, fn. 28 [as of 1986, 58 percent of highrise developments and 39 percent of townhouse projects had some kind of pet restriction]; see also Noble v. Murphy (1993) 34 Mass.App. 452 [612 N.E.2d 266] [enforcing condominium ban on pets]; Dulaney Towers Maintenance Corp. v. O‘Brey, supra, 418 A.2d 1233 [upholding pet restriction]; Wilshire Condominium Ass‘n, Inc. v. Kohlbrand (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 1979) 368 So.2d 629 [same].)5
Restrictions on property use are not the only characteristic of common interest ownership. Ordinarily, such ownership also entails mandatory membership in an owners association, which, through an elected board of directors, is empowered to enforce any use restrictions contained in the project‘s declaration or master deed and to enact new rules governing the use and occupancy of property within the project. (Cal. Condominium and Planned Development Practice (Cont.Ed.Bar 1984) § 1.7, p. 13; Note, Business Judgment, supra, 64 Chi.-Kent L.Rev. at p. 653; Natelson, Law of Property Owners Associations, supra, § 3.2.2, p. 71 et seq.) Because of its considerable power in managing and regulating a common interest development, the governing board of an owners association must guard against the potential
Thus, subordination of individual property rights to the collective judgment of the owners association together with restrictions on the use of real property comprise the chief attributes of owning property in a common interest development. As the Florida District Court of Appeal observed in Hidden Harbour Estates, Inc. v. Norman (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 1975) 309 So.2d 180 [72 A.L.R.3d 305], a decision frequently cited in condominium cases: “[I]nherent in the condominium concept is the principle that to promote the health, happiness, and peace of mind of the majority of the unit owners since they are living in such close proximity and using facilities in common, each unit owner must give up a certain degree of freedom of choice which he [or she] might otherwise enjoy in separate, privately owned property. Condominium unit owners comprise a little democratic subsociety of necessity more restrictive as it pertains to use of condominium property than may be existent outside the condominium organization.” (Id. at pp. 181-182; see also Leyser, The Ownership of Flats-A Comparative Study, supra, 7 Int‘l & Comp. L.Q. at p. 38 [explaining the French system‘s recognition that “flat ownership” has limitations that considerably exceed those of “normal” real property ownership, “limitations arising out of the rights of the other flat owners.“].)
Notwithstanding the limitations on personal autonomy that are inherent in the concept of shared ownership of residential property, common interest developments have increased in popularity in recent years, in part because they generally provide a more affordable alternative to ownership of a single-family home. (See Frances T. v. Village Green Owners Assn. (1986) 42 Cal.3d 490, 500, fn. 9 [229 Cal.Rptr. 456, 723 P.2d 573, 59 A.L.R.4th 447] [noting that common interest developments at that time accounted for as much as 70 percent of the new housing market in Los Angeles and San
One significant factor in the continued popularity of the common interest form of property ownership is the ability of homeowners to enforce restrictive CC&R‘s against other owners (including future purchasers) of project units. (Natelson, Law of Property Owners Associations, supra, § 1.3.2.1, p. 19; Note, Business Judgment, supra, 64 Chi.-Kent L.Rev. at p. 673.) Generally, however, such enforcement is possible only if the restriction that is sought to be enforced meets the requirements of equitable servitudes or of covenants running with the land. (Cal. Condominium and Planned Development Practice, supra, §§ 8.42-8.44, pp. 666-668; Note, Covenants and Equitable Servitudes in California (1978) 29 Hastings L.J. 545, 553-573.)
Restrictive covenants will run with the land, and thus bind successive owners, if the deed or other instrument containing the restrictive covenant particularly describes the lands to be benefited and burdened by the restriction and expressly provides that successors in interest of the covenantor‘s land will be bound for the benefit of the covenantee‘s land. Moreover, restrictions must relate to use, repair, maintenance, or improvement of the property, or to payment of taxes or assessments, and the instrument containing the restrictions must be recorded. (See
Restrictions that do not meet the requirements of covenants running with the land may be enforceable as equitable servitudes provided the person bound by the restrictions had notice of their existence. (Riley v. Bear Creek Planning Committee (1976) 17 Cal.3d 500, 507 [131 Cal.Rptr. 381, 551 P.2d 1213]; Cal. Condominium and Planned Development Practice, supra, § 8.44, pp. 667-668.)
When restrictions limiting the use of property within a common interest development satisfy the requirements of covenants running with the land or of equitable servitudes, what standard or test governs their enforceability? In California, as we explained at the outset, our Legislature has made common
In states lacking such legislative guidance, some courts have adopted a standard under which a common interest development‘s recorded use restrictions will be enforced so long as they are “reasonable.” (See Riley v. Stoves (1974) 22 Ariz.App. 223 [526 P.2d 747, 752, 68 A.L.R.3d 1229] [asking whether the challenged restriction provided “a reasonable means to accomplish the private objective“]; Hidden Harbour Estates, Inc. v. Norman, supra, 309 So.2d at p. 182 [to justify regulation, conduct need not be “so offensive as to constitute a nuisance“]; 15A Am.Jur.2d, supra, § 31, p. 861.) Although no one definition of the term “reasonable” has gained universal acceptance, most courts have applied what one commentator calls “equitable reasonableness,” upholding only those restrictions that provide a reasonable means to further the collective “health, happiness and enjoyment of life” of owners of a common interest development. (Note, Business Judgment, supra, 64 Chi.-Kent L.Rev. at p. 655.) Others would limit the “reasonableness” standard only to those restrictions adopted by majority vote of the homeowners or enacted under the rulemaking power of an association‘s governing board, and would not apply this test to restrictions included in a planned development project‘s recorded declaration or master deed. Because such restrictions are presumptively valid, these authorities would enforce them regardless of reasonableness. The first court to articulate this view was the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal.
In Hidden Harbour Estates v. Basso (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 1981) 393 So.2d 637, the Florida court distinguished two categories of use restrictions: use restrictions set forth in the declaration or master deed of the condominium project itself, and rules promulgated by the governing board of the condominium owners association or the board‘s interpretation of a rule. (Id. at p. 639.) The latter category of use restrictions, the court said, should be subject to a “reasonableness” test, so as to “somewhat fetter the discretion of the board of directors.” (Id. at p. 640.) Such a standard, the court explained, best assures that governing boards will “enact rules and make decisions that are reasonably related to the promotion of the health, happiness and peace of mind” of the project owners, considered collectively. (Ibid.)
By contrast, restrictions contained in the declaration or master deed of the condominium complex, the Florida court concluded, should not be evaluated under a “reasonableness” standard. (Hidden Harbour Estates v. Basso, supra, 393 So.2d at pp. 639-640.) Rather, such use restrictions are “clothed with a very strong presumption of validity” and should be upheld even if they
In Noble, managers of a condominium development sought to enforce against the owners of one unit a pet restriction contained in the project‘s master deed. The Massachusetts court upheld the validity of the restriction. The court stated that “[a] condominium use restriction appearing in originating documents which predate the purchase of individual units” was entitled to greater judicial deference than restrictions “promulgated after units have been individually acquired.” (Noble v. Murphy, supra, 612 N.E.2d at p. 270.) The court reasoned that “properly-enacted and evenly-enforced use restrictions contained in a master deed or original bylaws of a condominium” should be insulated against attack “except on constitutional or public policy grounds.” (Id. at p. 271.) This standard, the court explained, best “serves the interest of the majority of owners [within a project] who may be presumed to have chosen not to alter or rescind such restrictions,” and it spares overcrowded courts “the burden and expense of highly particularized and lengthy litigation.” (Ibid.)
Indeed, giving deference to use restrictions contained in a condominium project‘s originating documents protects the general expectations of condominium owners “that restrictions in place at the time they purchase their units will be enforceable.” (Note, Judicial Review of Condominium Rulemaking, supra, 94 Harv.L.Rev. 647, 653; Ellickson, Cities and Homeowners’ Associations (1982) 130 U.Pa. L.Rev. 1519, 1526-1527 [stating that association members “unanimously consent to the provisions in the association‘s original documents” and courts therefore should not scrutinize such documents for ‘reasonableness.“].) This in turn encourages the development of shared ownership housing-generally a less costly alternative to single-dwelling ownership-by attracting buyers who prefer a stable, planned environment. It also protects buyers who have paid a premium for condominium units in reliance on a particular restrictive scheme.
To what extent are these general principles reflected in California‘s statutory scheme governing condominiums and other common interest developments? We shall explore that in the next section.
III
In California, common interest developments are subject to the provisions of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (hereafter Davis-Stirling Act or Act). (
The Act enumerates the specific shared ownership arrangements that fall under the rubric “common interest development.” (
Pertinent here is the Act‘s provision for the enforcement of use restrictions contained in the project‘s recorded declaration. That provision, subdivision (a) of section 1354, states in relevant part: “The covenants and restrictions in the declaration shall be enforceable equitable servitudes, unless unreasonable, and shall inure to the benefit of and bind all owners of separate interests in the development.” (Italics added.)9 To determine when a restrictive covenant included in the declaration of a common interest development cannot be enforced, we must construe
As we have mentioned in the preceding paragraph,
Under the law of equitable servitudes, courts may enforce a promise about the use of land even though the person who made the promise has transferred the land to another. (See Marra v. Aetna Construction Co. (1940) 15 Cal.2d 375, 378 [101 P.2d 490].) The underlying idea is that a landowner‘s promise to refrain from particular conduct pertaining to land creates in the beneficiary of that promise “an equitable interest in the land of the promisor.” (Rest., Property, § 539, com. a, p. 3227; 2 Pomeroy, Equity Jurisprudence (2d ed. 1886) § 689, quoted in Hunt v. Jones (1906) 149 Cal. 297, 301 [86 P. 686] [a grantee or purchaser with notice that premises are bound by a covenant “‘will be restrained from violating it.‘“].) The doctrine is useful chiefly to enforce uniform building restrictions under a general plan for an entire tract of land or for a subdivision. (Marra v. Aetna Construction Co., supra, at p. 378.)
“It is undoubted that when the owner of a subdivided tract conveys the various parcels in the tract by deeds containing appropriate language imposing restrictions on each parcel as part of a general plan of restrictions common to all the parcels and designed for their
In choosing equitable servitude law as the standard for enforcing CC&R‘s in common interest developments, the Legislature has manifested a preference in favor of their enforcement. This preference is underscored by the use of the word “shall” in the first phrase of
The Legislature did, however, set a condition for the mandatory enforcement of a declaration‘s CC&R‘s: a covenant, condition or restriction is “enforceable . . . unless unreasonable.” (
How is that burden satisfied? To answer this question, we must examine the principles governing enforcement of equitable servitudes.
As noted earlier, equitable servitudes permit courts to enforce promises restricting land use when there is no privity of contract between the party seeking to enforce the promise and the party resisting enforcement. Like any promise given in exchange for consideration, an agreement to refrain from a particular use of land is subject to contract principles, under
Thus, when enforcing equitable servitudes, courts are generally disinclined to question the wisdom of agreed-to restrictions. (Note, Covenants and Equitable Servitudes in California, supra, 29 Hastings L.J. at p. 577, citing Walker v. Haslett (1919) 44 Cal.App. 394, 397-398 [186 P. 622].) This rule does not apply, however, when the restriction does not comport with public policy. (Ibid.) Equity will not enforce any restrictive covenant that violates public policy. (See Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) 334 U.S. 1 [92 L.Ed. 1161, 68 S.Ct. 836, 3 A.L.R.2d 441] [racial restriction unenforceable];
These limitations on the equitable enforcement of restrictive servitudes that are either arbitrary or violate fundamental public policy are specific applications of the general rule that courts will not enforce a restrictive covenant when “the harm caused by the restriction is so disproportionate to the benefit produced” by its enforcement that the restriction “ought not to be enforced.” (Rest., Property, § 539, com. f, pp. 3229-3230; see also 4 Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law (9th ed. 1987) Real Property, § 494, pp. 671-672; Note, Covenants and Equitable Servitudes in California, supra, 29 Hastings L.J. at pp. 575-576.) When a use restriction bears no relationship to the land it burdens, or violates a fundamental policy inuring to the public at large, the resulting harm will always be disproportionate to any benefit.
Sometimes lesser burdens too can be so disproportionate to any benefit flowing from the restriction that the restriction “ought not to be enforced.” (Rest., Property, § 539, com. f, p. 3230.) For instance, courts will not enforce a land use restriction when a change in surrounding properties effectively defeats the intended purpose of the restriction, rendering it of little benefit to the remaining property owners. (Lincoln Sav. & Loan Assn. v. Riviera Estates Assn. (1970) 7 Cal.App.3d 449, 460 [87 Cal.Rptr. 150].) In such cases, enforcing the restriction would be oppressive or inequitable. (Atlas Terminals, Inc. v. Sokol (1962) 203 Cal.App.2d 191, 195 [211 Cal.Rptr. 293]; see generally, 7 Miller & Starr, California Real Estate (1990) Covenants and Restrictions, § 22:19, p. 575; Note, Restrictive Covenants: Injunctions: Changed Conditions in the Neighborhood as a Bar to Enforcement of Equitable Servitudes (1927) 16 Cal.L.Rev. 58.)
As the first Restatement of Property points out, the test for determining when the harmful effects of a land-use restriction are so disproportionate to its benefit “is necessarily vague.” (Rest., Property, § 539, com. f, p. 3230.) Application of the test requires the accommodation of two policies that sometimes conflict: “One of these is that [persons] should be required to live up to their promises; the other that land should be developed to its normal capacity.” (Ibid.) Reconciliation of these policies in determining whether the burdens of a recorded use restriction are so disproportionate to its benefits depends on the effect of the challenged restriction on “promoting or limiting the use of land in the locality. . . .” (Ibid.)
From the authorities discussed above, we distill these principles: An equitable servitude will be enforced unless it violates public policy; it bears no rational relationship to the protection, preservation, operation or purpose of the affected land; or it otherwise imposes burdens on the affected land that are so disproportionate to the restriction‘s beneficial effects that the restriction should not be enforced.
With these principles of equitable servitude law to guide us, we now turn to
This interpretation of
When courts accord a presumption of validity to all such recorded use restrictions and measure them against deferential standards of equitable servitude law, it discourages lawsuits by owners of individual units seeking personal exemptions from the restrictions. This also promotes stability and predictability in two ways. It provides substantial assurance to prospective condominium purchasers that they may rely with confidence on the promises embodied in the project‘s recorded CC&R‘s. And it protects all owners in the planned development from unanticipated increases in association fees to fund the defense of legal challenges to recorded restrictions.
How courts enforce recorded use restrictions affects not only those who have made their homes in planned developments, but also the owners associations charged with the fiduciary obligation to enforce those restrictions. (See Posey v. Leavitt (1991) 229 Cal.App.3d 1236, 1247 [280 Cal.Rptr. 568]; Advising Cal. Condominium and Homeowner Associations, supra, § 6.11, pp. 259-261.) When courts treat recorded use restrictions as presumptively valid, and place on the challenger the burden of proving the restriction “unreasonable” under the deferential standards applicable to equitable servitudes, associations can proceed to enforce reasonable restrictive covenants without fear that their actions will embroil them in costly and prolonged legal proceedings. Of course, when an association determines that a unit owner has violated a use restriction, the association must do so in good faith, not in an arbitrary or capricious manner, and its enforcement procedures must be fair and applied uniformly. (See Ironwood Owners Assn. IX v. Solomon (1986) 178 Cal.App.3d 766, 772 [224 Cal.Rptr. 18]; Cohen v. Kite Hill Community Assn. (1983) 142 Cal.App.3d 642, 650 [191 Cal.Rptr. 209].)
There is an additional beneficiary of legal rules that are protective of recorded use restrictions: the judicial system. Fewer lawsuits challenging such restrictions will be brought, and those that are filed may be disposed of more expeditiously, if the rules courts use in evaluating such restrictions are clear, simple, and not subject to exceptions based on the peculiar circumstances or hardships of individual residents in condominiums and other shared-ownership developments.
Contrary to the dissent‘s accusations that the majority‘s decision “fray[s]” the “social fabric” (dis. opn., post, p. 390), we are of the view that our social fabric is best preserved if courts uphold and enforce solemn written instruments that embody the expectations of the parties rather than treat them as
The salutary effect of enforcing written instruments and the statutes that apply to them is particularly true in the case of the declaration of a common interest development. As we have discussed, common interest developments are a more intensive and efficient form of land use that greatly benefits society and expands opportunities for home ownership. In turn, however, a common interest development creates a community of property owners living in close proximity to each other, typically much closer than if each owned his or her separate plot of land. This proximity is feasible, and units in a common interest development are marketable, largely because the recorded declaration of CC&R‘s assures owners of a stable and predictable environment.
Refusing to enforce the CC&R‘s contained in a recorded declaration, or enforcing them only after protracted litigation that would require justification of their application on a case-by-case basis, would impose great strain on the social fabric of the common interest development. It would frustrate owners who had purchased their units in reliance on the CC&R‘s. It would put the owners and the homeowners association in the difficult and divisive position of deciding whether particular CC&R‘s should be applied to a particular owner. Here, for example, deciding whether a particular animal is “confined to an owner‘s unit and create[s] no noise, odor, or nuisance” (dis. opn., post, p. 394) is a fact-intensive determination that can only be made by examining in detail the behavior of the particular animal and the behavior of the particular owner. Homeowners associations are ill-equipped to make such investigations, and any decision they might make in a particular case could be divisive or subject to claims of partiality.
Enforcing the CC&R‘s contained in a recorded declaration only after protracted case-by-case litigation would impose substantial litigation costs on the owners through their homeowners association, which would have to defend not only against owners contesting the application of the CC&R‘s to them, but also against owners contesting any case-by-case exceptions the homeowners association might make. In short, it is difficult to imagine what could more disrupt the harmony of a common interest development than the course proposed by the dissent.
Here, the Court of Appeal failed to consider the rules governing equitable servitudes in holding that Nahrstedt‘s complaint challenging the Lakeside Village restriction against the keeping of cats in condominium units stated a cause of action for declaratory relief. Instead, the court concluded that factual allegations by Nahrstedt that her cats are kept inside her condominium unit and do not bother her neighbors were sufficient to have the trial court decide whether enforcement of the restriction against Nahrstedt would be reasonable. For this conclusion, the court relied on two Court of Appeal decisions, Bernardo Villas Management Corp. v. Black (1987) 190 Cal.App.3d 153 [235 Cal.Rptr. 509] and Portola Hills Community Assn. v. James (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 289 [5 Cal.Rptr.2d 580], both of which had invalidated recorded restrictions covered by
In Bernardo Villas, the manager of a condominium project sued two condominium residents to enforce a restriction that prohibited them from keeping any “truck, camper, trailer, boat. . . or other form of recreational vehicle” in the carports. (Bernardo Villas, 190 Cal.App.3d at p. 154.) In holding that the restriction was unreasonable as applied to the clean new pickup truck with camper shell that the defendants used for personal transportation, the Court of Appeal observed that parking the truck in the development‘s carport would “not interfere with other owners’ use or enjoyment of their property.” (Id. at p. 155.)
Thereafter, a different division of the same district Court of Appeal used a similar analysis in Portola Hills. There, the court refused to enforce a planned community‘s landscape restriction banning satellite dishes against a homeowner who had installed a satellite dish in his backyard. After expressing the view that “[a] homeowner is allowed to prove a particular restriction is unreasonable as applied to his property,” the court observed that the defendant‘s satellite dish was not visible to other project residents or the public, leading the court to conclude that the ban promoted no legitimate goal of the homeowners association. (Portola Hills, 4 Cal.App.4th at p. 293.)
At issue in both Bernardo Villas Management Corp. v. Black, supra, 190 Cal.App.3d 153, and Portola Hills Community Assn. v. James, supra, 4 Cal.App.4th 289, were recorded use restrictions contained in a common interest development‘s declaration that had been recorded with the county recorder. Accordingly, the use restrictions involved in these two cases were covered by
V
Under the holding we adopt today, the reasonableness or unreasonableness of a condominium use restriction that the Legislature has made subject to
Accordingly, here Nahrstedt could prevent enforcement of the Lakeside Village pet restriction by proving that the restriction is arbitrary, that it is substantially more burdensome than beneficial to the affected properties, or that it violates a fundamental public policy. For the reasons set forth below, Nahrstedt‘s complaint fails to adequately allege any of these three grounds of unreasonableness.
We conclude, as a matter of law, that the recorded pet restriction of the Lakeside Village condominium development prohibiting cats or dogs but allowing some other pets is not arbitrary, but is rationally related to health, sanitation and noise concerns legitimately held by residents of a high-density condominium project such as Lakeside Village, which includes 530 units in 12 separate 3-story buildings.
Nahrstedt‘s complaint alleges no facts that could possibly support a finding that the burden of the restriction on the affected property is so disproportionate to its benefit that the restriction is unreasonable and should
Nahrstedt‘s complaint does contend that the restriction violates her right to privacy under the
We recently held, in Hill v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. (1994) 7 Cal.4th 1 [26 Cal.Rptr.2d 834, 865 P.2d 633] that the privacy provision in our state Constitution does not “encompass all conceivable assertions of individual rights” or create “an unbridled right” of personal freedom. (Id. at pp. 35-36.) The legally recognized privacy interests that fall within the protection of the state Constitution are generally of two classes: (1) interests in precluding dissemination of confidential information (“‘informational privacy‘“); and (2) interests in making personal decisions or in conducting personal activities free of interference, observation, or intrusion (“‘autonomy privacy‘“). (Id. at p. 35.) The threshold question in deciding whether “established social norms safeguard a particular type of information or protect a personal decision from public or private intervention,” we explained in Hill, must be determined from “the usual sources of positive law governing the right to privacy—common law development, constitutional development, statutory enactment, and the ballots arguments accompanying the Privacy Initiative.” (Id. at p. 36.)
Our conclusion that Nahrstedt‘s complaint states no claim entitling her to declaratory relief disposes of her primary cause of action challenging enforcement of the Lakeside Village condominium project‘s pet restriction, but does not address other causes of action (for invasion of privacy, invalidation of assessments, injunctive relief, and seeking damages for emotional distress) revived by the Court of Appeal. Because the Court of Appeal‘s decision regarding those other causes of action may have been influenced by its conclusion that Nahrstedt had stated a claim for declaratory relief, we remand this case to the Court of Appeal so it can reconsider whether Nahrstedt‘s complaint is sufficient to state those other causes of action.
CONCLUSION
In
By providing condominium homeowners with substantial assurance that their development‘s recorded use restrictions can be enforced,
In this case, the pet restriction was contained in the project‘s declaration or governing document, which was recorded with the county recorder before any of the 530 units was sold. For many owners, the pet restriction may have been an important inducement to purchase into the development. Because the homeowners collectively have the power to repeal the pet restriction, its continued existence reflects their desire to retain it.
Plaintiff‘s allegations, even if true, are insufficient to show that the pet restriction‘s harmful effects substantially outweigh its benefits to the condominium development as a whole, that it bears no rational relationship to the purpose or function of the development, or that it violates public policy. We reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal, and remand for further proceedings consistent with the views expressed in this opinion.
Lucas, C. J., Mosk, J., Baxter, J., George, J., and Werdegar, J., concurred.
I respectfully dissent. While technical merit may commend the majority‘s analysis,2 its application to the facts presented reflects a narrow, indeed chary, view of the law that eschews the human spirit in favor of arbitrary efficiency. In my view, the resolution of this case well illustrates the conventional wisdom, and fundamental truth, of the Spanish proverb, “It is better to be a mouse in a cat‘s mouth than a man in a lawyer‘s hands.”
As explained below, I find the provision known as the “pet restriction” contained in the covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&R‘s) governing the Lakeside Village project patently arbitrary and unreasonable within the meaning of
1. The pleadings.
I begin my analysis with the plaintiff‘s pleadings, the allegations of which must be accepted as true on review of an order sustaining a demurrer. (Long Beach Equities, Inc. v. County of Ventura (1991) 231 Cal.App.3d 1016, 1024 [282 Cal.Rptr. 877].) Moreover, in evaluating the sufficiency of the complaint at this stage of the proceedings, a reviewing court must “look to
In relevant part, plaintiff has alleged that she is the owner of a condominium unit located in Lakeside Village; that she has three cats which she brought with her when she moved there; that she maintains her cats entirely within the confines of her unit and has “never released [them] in any common area“; that they are “noiseless, create no nuisance, [and] have not destroyed any portion of [her] unit, or the common area“; and that they provide her companionship. She further alleges the homeowners association is seeking to enforce a recorded restriction that prohibits keeping any pets except domestic fish and birds.
The majority acknowledge that under their interpretation of
Generically stated, plaintiff challenges this restriction to the extent it precludes not only her but anyone else living in Lakeside Village from enjoying the substantial pleasures of pet ownership while affording no discernible benefit to other unit owners if the animals are maintained without any detriment to the latter‘s quiet enjoyment of their own space and the common areas. In essence, she avers that when pets are kept out of sight, do not make noise, do not generate odors, and do not otherwise create a nuisance, reasonable expectations as to the quality of life within the condominium project are not impaired. At the same time, taking into consideration the well-established and long-standing historical and cultural relationship between human beings and their pets and the value they impart (cf. Evid.
2. The burden.
Under the majority‘s construction of
Both recorded and unrecorded history bear witness to the domestication of animals as household pets.5 Throughout the ages, dogs and cats have provided human beings with a variety of services in addition to their companionship—shepherding flocks, guarding life and property, hunting game, ridding the house and barn of vermin. Of course, the modern classic example is the assist dog, which facilitates a sense of independence and security for disabled persons by enabling them to navigate their environment, alerting them to important sounds, and bringing the world within their reach.6 Emotionally, they allow a connection full of sensation and delicacy of feeling.
In addition to these historical and cultural references, the value of pets in daily life is a matter of common knowledge and understanding as well as extensive documentation. People of all ages, but particularly the elderly and the young, enjoy their companionship. Those who suffer from serious disease or injury and are confined to their home or bed experience a therapeutic, even spiritual, benefit from their presence.11 Animals provide comfort at the death of a family member or dear friend, and for the lonely can offer a reason for living when life seems to have lost its meaning.12 In recognition of these benefits, both Congress and the state Legislature have expressly guaranteed that elderly and handicapped persons living in public-assistance housing cannot be deprived of their pets. (
3. The benefit.
What is gained from an uncompromising prohibition against pets that are confined to an owner‘s unit and create no noise, odor, or nuisance?
To the extent such animals are not seen, heard, or smelled any more than if they were not kept in the first place, there is no corresponding or concomitant benefit. Pets that remain within the four corners of their owners’ condominium space can have no deleterious or offensive effect on the project‘s common areas or any neighboring unit. Certainly, if other owners and residents are totally unaware of their presence, prohibiting pets does not in any respect foster the “health, happiness [or] peace of mind” of anyone except the homeowners association‘s board of directors, who are thereby able to promote a form of sophisticated bigotry. In light of the substantial and disproportionate burden imposed for those who must forego virtually any and all association with pets, this lack of benefit renders a categorical ban unreasonable under
The proffered justification is all the more spurious when measured against the terms of the pet restriction itself, which contains an exception for domestic fish and birds. A squawking bird can readily create the very kind of disturbance supposedly prevented by banning other types of pets. At the same time, many animals prohibited by the restriction, such as hamsters and the like, turtles, and small reptiles, make no sound whatsoever. Disposal of bird droppings in common trash areas poses as much of a health concern as cat litter or rabbit pellets, which likewise can be handled in a manner that avoids potential problems. Birds are also known to carry disease and provoke allergies. Neither is maintaining fish without possible risk of interfering with the quiet enjoyment of condominium neighbors. Aquarium water must be changed and disposed of in the common drainage system. Leakage from a fish tank could cause serious water damage to the owner‘s unit, those below, and common areas. Defendants and the majority purport such solicitude for the “health, sanitation and noise concerns” of other unit owners, but
4. The majority‘s burden/benefit analysis.
From the statement of the facts through the conclusion, the majority‘s analysis gives scant acknowledgment to any of the foregoing considerations but simply takes refuge behind the “presumption of validity” now accorded all CC&R‘s irrespective of subject matter. They never objectively scrutinize defendants’ blandishments of protecting “health and happiness” or realistically assess the substantial impact on affected unit owners and their use of their property. As this court has often recognized, “deference is not abdication.” (People v. McDonald (1984) 37 Cal.3d 351, 377 [208 Cal.Rptr. 236, 690 P.2d 709, 46 A.L.R.4th 1011].) Regardless of how limited an inquiry is permitted under applicable law, it must nevertheless be made.
Here, such inquiry should start with an evaluation of the interest that will suffer upon enforcement of the pet restriction. In determining the “burden on the use of land,” due recognition must be given to the fact that this particular “use” transcends the impersonal and mundane matters typically regulated by condominium CC&R‘s, such as whether someone can place a doormat in the hallway or hang a towel on the patio rail or have food in the pool area, and reaches the very quality of life of hundreds of owners and residents. Nonetheless, the majority accept uncritically the proffered justification of preserving “health and happiness” and essentially consider only one criterion to determine enforceability: was the restriction recorded in the original declaration?15 If so, it is “presumptively valid,” unless in violation of public policy. Given the application of the law to the facts alleged and by an
Moreover, unlike most conduct controlled by CC&R‘s, the activity at issue here is strictly confined to the owner‘s interior space; it does not in any manner invade other units or the common areas. Owning a home of one‘s own has always epitomized the American dream. More than simply embodying the notion of having “one‘s castle,” it represents the sense of freedom and self-determination emblematic of our national character. Granted, those who live in multi-unit developments cannot exercise this freedom to the same extent possible on a large estate. But owning pets that do not disturb the quiet enjoyment of others does not reasonably come within this compromise. Nevertheless, with no demonstrated or discernible benefit, the majority arbitrarily sacrifice the dream to the tyranny of the “commonality.”
5. Conclusion.
Our true task in this turmoil is to strike a balance between the governing rights accorded a condominium association and the individual freedom of its members. To fulfill that function, a reviewing court must view with a skeptic‘s eye restrictions driven by fear, anxiety, or intolerance. In any community, we do not exist in vacuo. There are many annoyances which we tolerate because not to do so would be repressive and place the freedom of others at risk.
In contravention, the majority‘s failure to consider the real burden imposed by the pet restriction unfortunately belittles and trivializes the interest at stake here. Pet ownership substantially enhances the quality of life for those who desire it. When others are not only undisturbed by, but completely unaware of, the presence of pets being enjoyed by their neighbors, the balance of benefit and burden is rendered disproportionate and unreasonable, rebutting any presumption of validity. Their view, shorn of grace and guiding philosophy, is devoid of the humanity that must temper the interpretation and application of all laws, for in a civilized society that is the source
I would affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal.