Our HOA's CC&Rs are old and hard to follow. How do we restate them in one readable document?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 9, 2026

How an HOA board restates old CC&Rs: compile recorded amendments, rewrite safely in plain language, pass the owner vote and record, with TX, FL and CO rules.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

The short answer

Restating means replacing the original declaration and its stack of amendments with one new recorded document. The board can make a readable compiled copy now, with no vote. Any recorded version that changes or rewords a right or duty should go to the owners and pass the declaration's amendment vote, because a court may read new words as a new meaning. Do the compiled copy first. It takes a few evenings, and it often shows that two articles need work rather than all 60 pages. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents, and this guide is education, not legal advice. A restatement touches the title to every lot, so have an association attorney draft or review the final text before owners see it.

Pick the smallest job that fixes the problem

- Compiled copy. Merge the declaration and every recorded amendment into one clean file. Nothing gets recorded and nobody votes. Put this on page 1: "Compiled for convenience from the recorded documents listed on page 2. This is not a recorded document. If this copy and the recorded documents differ, the recorded documents control." - Targeted amendment. Use this when one or two articles, such as leasing or parking, cause most of the trouble. - Amended and restated declaration. This earns its cost when amendments contradict each other, when long blocks of developer text have expired, or when state law has voided parts of the document and owners and title companies keep misreading it. A restatement needs at least the vote a smaller amendment needs, and it asks owners to read far more. If the board cannot list the specific problems it solves, choose a smaller job.

Build the full recorded chain

Search the county real property records under the community name and the association name. Pull the original declaration, every amendment, supplement and annexation, the plats, and anything else recorded against the community. List each document by date and recording reference, because that list becomes an exhibit to the restatement. Then test the chain. - Was each amendment recorded? Texas Property Code section 202.006(b) gives a dedicatory instrument no effect until it is filed, and 202.006(c) bars collecting a regular assessment if the instrument authorizing it was not filed. Florida section 720.306(1)(e) and C.R.S. 38-33.3-217(3) make an amendment effective on recording. - Can you show each amendment got its required vote? If the file is silent, tell the attorney before that text gets folded in. - Does every lot sit under the same document? Later phases often came in through annexations with their own restrictions.

Sort every section before anyone rewrites it

Make a spreadsheet with one row per section and mark each row keep, update, delete or owner decision. - Developer text. Confirm the development period has really ended. Texas section 209.0041(d) takes amendments during a development period out of that section's vote rule, and C.R.S. 217(1)(a)(III)(E) does the same for phased or declarant-controlled communities. California Civil Code section 4230 lets the board alone delete certain developer provisions once construction and marketing have ended. - Text that state law overrides. Texas section 202.007 voids bans on rain barrels and drought-resistant landscaping. Florida section 720.304(2) lets owners display listed flags despite a contrary covenant. C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.5 limits restrictions on flags, renewable energy devices and drought prevention measures. Rewrite these to match current law, and avoid repeating details the legislature may change next session. - Discriminatory language. Our guide on removing discriminatory covenants covers the separate route for this. Under California section 4225, for example, the board must delete it and restate with no other change. - Operating details. Pool hours and fence colors may belong in rules if the declaration gives the board rule-making power. A rule the board can change later is different from a covenant owners voted on, so show each move on the comparison chart.

Protect what a rewrite can quietly lose

Plain language is a good goal, and it is also where restatements go wrong. Changing "shall" to "may" can end a duty. Shortening a maintenance paragraph can move a repair bill from the association to an owner. Unless owners are voting on the change, carry these over with their meaning intact. - Assessment shares and votes. Florida section 720.306(1)(c) generally requires the affected owner and all lienholders to sign an amendment that materially and adversely alters a parcel's voting interest or raises its share of common expenses. C.R.S. 217(4)(a) sets a 67 percent floor for changing allocated interests, and 217(4.5) does the same for changing the uses to which a unit is restricted. - Lien and collection powers. Florida section 720.3085(1) requires authority in the governing documents and relates the lien back to the original declaration's recording date, except against first mortgages. C.R.S. 38-33.3-316(4) treats recording the declaration as perfecting the lien. - Easements, legal descriptions and maintenance charts. Copy these exactly. - Rental rights. Under Florida section 720.306(1)(h), most rental limits adopted after July 1, 2021 bind only later buyers and owners who consent. Ask counsel how to carry rental text forward so the rewrite does not disturb that line. - Florida title protection. Section 712.05(2)(b) lets an amendment preserve covenants under the Marketable Record Title Act if it is indexed under the association's legal name and references the recording information of the covenants. Keep those references in the restatement. Opening wording for the attorney to adapt: "This Amended and Restated Declaration amends, restates and replaces the Declaration recorded at [recording reference] and the amendments listed in Exhibit B. The covenants and the association's lien continue without interruption from their original recording dates. Nothing in this document releases any assessment, lien or obligation that arose before it was recorded."

Give owners a vote they can check

Our guide on running an owner vote to amend the declaration covers ballots, lot tracking and follow-up. A full restatement adds a few points. Use the highest threshold any changed section requires. Texas section 209.0041(h) sets 67 percent of total votes, or a lower number in the declaration. Florida section 720.306(1)(b) sets two-thirds unless the documents or other law say otherwise. C.R.S. 217(1)(a)(I) sets more than 50 percent, or a declaration's higher number up to 67 percent. In an 80-lot community, 67 percent means 54 yes votes. Split the ballot. Question 1 is the cleanup with no change in substance. Each policy change, such as a new leasing limit, gets its own question and has alternate text ready if it fails. Otherwise one unpopular clause can sink years of cleanup. Send the full text, a one-page summary, and a comparison chart with four columns: old section, new section, what changes and why. Florida section 720.306(1)(e) allows the note "Substantial rewording. See governing documents for current text" when underlining and strikeouts would hinder understanding, but send the chart anyway. Read the lender clause early. If the declaration requires lender consent, Florida section 720.306(1)(d) and C.R.S. 217(1)(b) each provide a notice route where a lender's silence for 60 days counts as approval. Texas chapter 209 has no equivalent. Sample motion: "I move that the board approve the attached Amended and Restated Declaration, comparison chart and ballot for an owner vote, ask the attorney to confirm the required vote and any lender consent, and set the ballot deadline at [date]."

Record it and retire the old copies

After the count clears, the designated officer signs a certificate stating the votes required and received, and the attorney confirms the format the county accepts. Attach the legal descriptions and the list of replaced documents. - Texas. File in every county the community touches under section 202.006(a), and wait out the 15-day recount window in section 209.0057(b). Section 207.006 requires associations with at least 60 lots, or with a management company, to post the current filed instruments on a website. - Florida. The restatement takes effect on recording under 720.306(1)(e). Within 30 days, 720.306(1)(b) requires sending owners a copy, or a notice with the recording reference if the voted text did not change. - Colorado. Section 217(3) requires recording in every county, indexed under the community, the association and each signer. Section 217(2) limits challenges to one year after recording. Then update the resale packet, collection policy, rules and architectural guidelines, because old article numbers will now point to the wrong place. Keep a crosswalk from old to new section numbers. Keep the old recorded documents permanently too, since lien, easement and title questions can still reach back to them.

A sample timeline for a 100-home community

- Month 1: pull the chain and finish the compiled copy. - Month 2: sort the sections, and get a written fee quote from an association attorney. - Months 3 to 4: attorney draft, board review and comparison chart. - Month 5: send the draft out, hold an owner meeting and take written comments. - Month 6: settle the final text, adopt the motion and send ballots and any lender notices. - Months 6 to 9: run the follow-up rounds. - Month 10: certify, record and notify owners.

Mistakes boards make

- Starting from another community's template. Its allocations, easements and maintenance duties do not match yours. - Letting one director rewrite the document alone, with no section-by-section chart for anyone to check. - Recording a compiled copy as though it were an amendment, with no vote behind it. - Sneaking a policy change into the cleanup question. - Renumbering every article with no crosswalk.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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