Deed Covenants: Voluntary NSNA Home Protection
Fifty years ago, the Near South Neighborhood Association was created by a group of residents aiming to protect their neighborhood, as a neighborhood: a place where people put down roots; where they care for and invest in their homes; where families gather and children play in safety; where neighbors become friends making memories. Fifty years ago, certain “neighborhood” qualities were eroding, as some saw our neighborhood as a commercial opportunity, not a place to live in, but instead a place to make money. That tension between residential and commercial uses continues today. Some would say that tension has increased of late, as new kinds of businesses emerge and the need for housing increases.
Covenants, which overlay new real estate projects from their inception, address a number of concerns such as prohibition of rentals, design restrictions, paint colors, or required assessments for common space maintenance. Be it good or bad, when our neighborhood was created, well over a hundred years ago, these kinds of covenants were not envisioned. And in fact, zoning codes were still to be invented, when our homes were built. Consequently, the protections afforded new developments are not in place or available to those of us who choose to live in the Near South Neighborhood.
At its September meeting, the Near South Neighborhood Association, adopted a voluntary program by which neighborhood property owners may file a “deed covenant” with respect to their neighborhood property. The covenant, drafted by an attorney engaged by NSNA, prohibits rental and commercial uses of the property. Broadly stated, if you file this kind of covenant, persons owning your property now or in the future, will not be able to rent out your home or run a business in your home. That’s a broad statement, and of course, there’s always legalities which may argue against that position or undo the covenant, but that is the intent.
The program fully recognizes that there may be individual circumstances that are not a good fit for the deed covenant prohibitions. The template can be customized (at the filer’s cost), for those persons who support this concept, but have a need for some exception to operate a commercial business (for example, working out of a home office). Other reasonable exceptions likely exist.
HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE? If you are interested in protecting your home from rental and commercial use in the future, contact attorney Trev Peterson at 402-475-7011 or click here to email him. Mr. Peterson can arrange to complete the NSNA template for you and secure the necessary filing with the Register of Deeds. As an incentive, the costs associated with the creation and filing of the NSNA template for the first ten NSNA members shall be covered by NSNA.
NSNA encourages you to take part in this program. Please support and preserve the Near South Neighborhood, as a neighborhood, not a commercial opportunity.