Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I have a question regarding the extension of CC&R for residential real estate property in San Diego, CA. For the property in question, a CC&R was recorded in 1958, to expire in 1985. The CC&R provided means to extend, stating: "...the owners of a majority of said lots have executed and recorded at any time within six months prior to Jan 1, 1985, in the manner required... a writing in which they agree that said conditions and restrictions shall continue for a further specified period, and providing therein a similar provision for the further extension of said conditions and restrictions...

In 1985 the CC&R was extended in a timely manner to 2010, with provisions for further extension. In 2010, the CC&R was extended in a timely manner to 2035, however, there is no provision in the recorded extension for further extension. It simply states "... The conditions and restrictions recorded in Book... are continued and extended until Jan 1, 2035. Except for the extension of term, the present conditions and restrictions remain unmodified, and are hereby ratified and confirmed."

My question is that since the extension from 2010 to 2035 did not include a provision for further extension, does it make the extension invalid? If the answer is no, then if one also fails to file the extension within the stated required time period would the extension still be valid??

Thank you in advance for your input.


Asked on 8/29/22, 9:33 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Every lawyer knows better than to opine on language without the full context. So I don't have an answer for you. However, it would make little sense to have term limited CC&Rs; that could never term out. Whether they can be extended and then forced to term out because of no extension provision would require a review of the full set of documents. Furthermore, a reasonable interpretation of the latest extension language quoted could be that the terms for further extension after 2035 are incorporated by the reference to the 1985 extension remaining in effect unmodified. Again, intent and effect of documents cannot be determined by bits of quoted language.

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Answered on 8/30/22, 1:06 pm


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