At one time or another, most associations are faced with the necessity of taking an owner to court to enforce restrictive covenants. The law in Colorado is that restrictive covenants must be enforced by the courts as written and the usual method of judicial enforcement is to request that the court issue an injunction. An injunction is an order from the court requiring compliance by the owner. Violation of the injunction can result in penalties ranging from a fine to time in jail. Despite this, we frequently hear from board members and association managers that they are frustrated because the courts fail to enforce restrictive covenants. While the general rule is that the covenants must be enforced, there are common defenses that an owner can successfully raise to sometimes thwart the enforcement effort of the association. The good news for associations is that these defenses are most often based upon the conduct of the association. Therefore, with the careful implementation of a thoughtful plan for enforcement, they can be avoided.

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