CC&Rs
Also called: Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions; the declaration
CC&Rs — covenants, conditions and restrictions — are the core governing document of a homeowners association. Usually called the declaration, they are recorded with the county against every lot, so they bind each owner who buys in, whether or not they ever read them.
The CC&Rs create the association, define which property is common area, give the association the power to levy assessments, and set the use restrictions owners live with: architectural approval, rentals, pets, parking, and so on. They outrank the bylaws and any board-adopted rules, and amending them normally takes an owner vote at a supermajority set in the document itself.
When a board fines an owner, rejects a fence, or files a lien, the authority to do it should trace back to a specific section of the CC&Rs or the state statute behind them.