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Texas Property Code - Section 202.007. Certain Restrictive Covenants Prohibited

Legal Research Home > Texas Laws > Property Code > Texas Property Code - Section 202.007. Certain Restrictive Covenants Prohibited

§ 202.007. CERTAIN RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS 
PROHIBITED.  (a) A property owners' association may not include or 
enforce a provision in a dedicatory instrument that prohibits or 
restricts a property owner from:
		(1)  implementing measures promoting solid-waste 
composting of vegetation, including grass clippings, leaves, or 
brush, or leaving grass clippings uncollected on grass;
		(2)  installing rain barrels or a rainwater harvesting 
system;  or          
		(3)  implementing efficient irrigation systems, 
including underground drip or other drip systems.
	(b)  A provision that violates Subsection (a) is void.                         
	(c)  A property owners' association may restrict the type of 
turf used by a property owner in the planting of new turf to 
encourage or require water-conserving turf.
	(d)  This section does not:                                                    
		(1)  restrict a property owners' association from 
regulating the requirements, including size, type, shielding, and 
materials, for or the location of a composting device, rain barrel, 
rain harvesting device, or any other appurtenance if the 
restriction does not prohibit the economic installation of the 
device or appurtenance on the property owner's property where there 
is reasonably sufficient area to install the device or 
appurtenance;
		(2)  require a property owners' association to permit a 
device or appurtenance described by Subdivision (1) to be installed 
in or on property:
			(A)  owned by the property owners' association;                              
			(B)  owned in common by the members of the 
property owners' association;  or
			(C)  in an area other than the fenced yard or patio 
of a property owner;   
		(3)  prohibit a property owners' association from 
regulating the installation of efficient irrigation systems, 
including establishing visibility limitations for aesthetic 
purposes;
		(4)  prohibit a property owners' association from 
regulating the installation or use of gravel, rocks, or cacti;  or
		(5)  restrict a property owners' association from 
regulating yard and landscape maintenance if the restrictions or 
requirements do not restrict or prohibit turf or landscaping design 
that promotes water conservation.
	(e)  This section does not apply to a property owners' 
association that:     
		(1)  is located in a municipality with a population of 
more than 175,000 that is located in a county in which another 
municipality with a population of more than one million is 
predominantly located;  and
		(2)  manages or regulates a development in which at 
least 4,000 acres of the property is subject to a covenant, 
condition, or restriction designating the property for commercial 
use, multifamily dwellings, or open space.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1024, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.          

Last modified: August 11, 2007