## Facts

- A subdivider recorded a declaration of restrictive covenants to preserve a planned residential subdivision’s character and land use.
- One covenant allowed an owner of an attached dwelling unit to build a one-story front vestibule not extending beyond the front stoop only if the adjoining attached owner simultaneously built a matching vestibule of the same design and construction.
- The declaration contemplated formation of a property owners’ association to control conformance and permitted the declarant to assign enforcement control to such an association.
- A nonprofit homeowners’ association was incorporated with purposes that included enforcing and maintaining the covenants and protecting owners against improper uses.
- The association held no title to subdivision property, but the declarant assigned to it the right to enforce the covenants.
- The defendants, owners of a unit subject to the covenants, built a vestibule without simultaneous construction of a similar vestibule by the attached adjacent unit.
- The association sued to enjoin the alleged covenant violation; the trial court dismissed for lack of sufficient interest because the association owned no property.

## Issues

1. Whether a homeowners’ association that owns no subdivision property has standing to seek injunctive enforcement of recorded restrictive covenants when the declaration contemplates such an association and the developer assigns enforcement authority to it.

## Decision

- The appellate court reversed the dismissal and remanded.
- The association had a sufficient legal interest to maintain an injunction action despite lacking title to subdivision property.
- The declaration’s contemplation of an enforcement association, combined with the developer’s assignment of enforcement authority, supported standing.

## Legal Principles

- A homeowners’ association may enforce subdivision restrictive covenants by injunction when the recorded declaration contemplates an association for conformance control and the developer assigns enforcement rights to the association.
- Lack of legal title in the association does not defeat standing where the association functions as the intended enforcement entity for a common plan benefiting member owners.

## Conclusion

The court held that an assigned, declaration-contemplated homeowners’ association could sue to enjoin alleged violations of subdivision covenants even though the association itself held no title to the lots, and it reinstated the enforcement action for further proceedings on the merits.


Merrionette Manor Homes Improvement Ass'n v. Heda, 136 N.E.2d 556 (Ill. App. Ct. 1956)