Government restrictions and deed restrictions

Public and private limits

Ownership is subject to government restrictions and private deed restrictions. Identify who created each limit.

Government's four traditional powers are police power, eminent domain, taxation, and escheat. Police power protects public health, safety, morals, and general welfare. Zoning controls uses, density, height, and setbacks; building codes address construction and safety. Comprehensive plans guide development, while land development regulations implement that framework.

Eminent domain permits a taking for public use with just compensation; condemnation is its legal process. Taxation raises public revenue. Escheat transfers property to the state when an owner dies without a will or lawful heirs. Ordinary land use regulation generally does not require compensation, although a regulation constituting a taking can.

Private restrictions

Restrictive covenants may limit use, size, or architecture and may appear in deeds or recorded subdivision declarations. Covenants running with the land can bind later owners. Associations or benefited owners with enforcement rights may seek remedies such as an injunction. These private rights are distinct from government zoning enforcement.

A proposal must satisfy both applicable public requirements and enforceable private restrictions. If zoning allows forty feet but a valid covenant permits thirty feet, a thirty five foot building fails the private requirement. A permit does not release a covenant; association approval does not waive zoning. The stricter-limit shorthand assumes both restrictions are lawful and applicable. Discriminatory covenants cannot be enforced simply because they are restrictive.

Florida applications

Florida's marketable record title law provides preservation notices identifying covenants or restrictions, recorded with the circuit court clerk in the county or counties where the land lies. Do not assume recording makes a covenant perpetual. Florida also prohibits meritless suits brought solely because parcel owners petition governmental entities concerning association matters. That protection does not excuse covenant violations.

Review the property's title documents and public rules, and seek qualified advice about validity, preservation, amendment, or enforcement.