By D. Ryan McCabe  Posted June 19, 2013

The New Mexico Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling that a Homeowners’ Association’s power is limited in restricting the use or occupancy of individual units or the behavior within said units, absent proper provisions within the declaration.

In this case, the Homeowners’ Association (“HOA”) sued a unit owner (“Vazquez”) for failing to comply with the declaration. In 2007, a year after Vazquez purchased his property, the association adopted a rule barring owners from renting their units for a period shorter than 30-days. Despite this rule and notice of the violation from the HOA, Vazquez began renting his unit for terms as short as three days.

At trial, the court determined that short-term rentals were not prohibited under the declaration. In addition, the court held the HOA’s 2007 rule to be unenforceable because it unreasonably interfered with an owner’s use and enjoyment of his property. As a result, the trial court ruled in favor of Vazquez.  Read More……