Private Road ‘Covenant’

[bm10538]

Currently in Lumpkin County, GA. So me and some buddies got some go-karts to mess around with on our property (rental on 2 acres of fairly country area) and we drove them on a privately maintained road. Our neighbor got upset and called our landlord saying we were violating the private road covenant by driving ‘off-roading’ vehicles that were not approved by the rest of the road. She also threatened to call the police because of the noise even when were riding them on our rented property. So my questions are what is a private road covenant and can the other people on the road make up rules about what people can and cannot drive? And also where to find my counties’ noise ordinance laws. Thanks

 

[quincy]

Currently in Lumpkin County, GA. So me and some buddies got some go-karts to mess around with on our property (rental on 2 acres of fairly country area) and we drove them on a privately maintained road. Our neighbor got upset and called our landlord saying we were violating the private road covenant by driving ‘off-roading’ vehicles that were not approved by the rest of the road. She also threatened to call the police because of the noise even when were riding them on our rented property. So my questions are what is a private road covenant and can the other people on the road make up rules about what people can and cannot drive? And also where to find my counties’ noise ordinance laws. Thanks

Because you are renting the property, you should ask your landlord about the private road covenant. It can indeed be possible for property owners to make up rules that govern their property. That is what home owner associations do.

I don’t know if Lumpkin County has a noise ordinance yet but I understand there was some discussion about adding one to the county code a couple of years ago. You could ask your landlord or you can call the Lumpkin County clerk’s office or you could search the Lumpkin County Code of Ordinances in this link (I did a very brief look and found nothing): https://library.municode.com/ga/lumpkin_county/codes/code_of_ordinances

Because you are a tenant, you need to be careful not to rile the neighbors, if you hope to have your lease renewed.

 

[adjusterjack]

what is a private road covenant

Could be a mutual easement that allows property owners (and service/maintenance, visitors, etc) access to their property. If the document limits ingress and egress to just that then they don't have to "make up rules" the rule is already there and recreational use by your go-karts would not be allowed and that can be enforced against you by injunction or restraining order.

 

[zddoodah]

what is a private road covenant

A covenant is an agreement, so a "private road covenant" would likely be an agreement relating to a private road.

can the other people on the road make up rules about what people can and cannot drive?

Sure they can but what makes you think anyone "made up" anything in this case? Have you read the private road covenant? If not, you should request a copy and read it.

And also where to find my counties’ noise ordinance laws.

https://www.google.com/search?q=lumpkin+county+georgia+ordinances&rlz=1C1GCEJ_enUS915US915&oq=lumpkin+county+georgia+ord&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0.6803j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[FarmerJ]

Please treat this as a teaching moment and when it comes time to buy your own home in the future to avoid properties that have HOAs or so called restrictions /covenants although city and county ordinances can be overturned Covenants attached to properties / restrictions / rarely can be undone. In the future when looking at rentals same deal avoid rental s with same problem. Sources of information also can be your city or county public library who should have copies of local noise ords. As to the so called covenants your LL should be able to supply a copy of them to you.

 

[quincy]

While looking through the Code of Ordinances (link provided in my earlier post) or asking the county clerk and/or your landlord about the road and noise restrictions, you might want to search for or ask about areas in Lumpkin County where you can legally operate your go-karts.

 

[bm10538]

Thanks for all the replies, and I should have worded the ‘make up their own rules’ part differently, I meant if they actually had rules to begin with or if they were making them up since we were new to the neighborhood. I have requested the road covenant and in the meantime we are not riding on the road or making much, if any, noise. The neighbors do want us out however and are making that clear to the owner of the house. My new question is can we get kicked out of our house for something as simple as violating the road covenant? This seems ridiculous to me as we did not know what was going on, this county as far as know has no noise ordinance, and there is nothing in the lease dealing with excessive noise or riding around the property or road. So could the owner kick us off the lease prematurely?

 

[quincy]

Thanks for all the replies, and I should have worded the ‘make up their own rules’ part differently, I meant if they actually had rules to begin with or if they were making them up since we were new to the neighborhood. I have requested the road covenant and in the meantime we are not riding on the road or making much, if any, noise. The neighbors do want us out however and are making that clear to the owner of the house. My new question is can we get kicked out of our house for something as simple as violating the road covenant? This seems ridiculous to me as we did not know what was going on, this county as far as know has no noise ordinance, and there is nothing in the lease dealing with excessive noise or riding around the property or road. So could the owner kick us off the lease prematurely?

Unless your landlord made clear in the lease that excessive noise and riding go-karts are grounds for termination of your lease, I don’t think the landlord would have a legally supportable reason for terminating your lease early.

If, however, you are now informed of a noise ordinance or homeowners association rule on noise levels and road use restrictions and you subsequently violate the rules/ordinance, the landlord potentially could have grounds for lease termination.

And the landlord always can refuse to renew your lease once the lease term expires.

Because you know you have neighbors who want you gone, you probably should try not to unnecessarily annoy them. Sometimes, with some neighbors, that is an impossible task.

Good luck.

 

[FarmerJ]

BM so you understand the HOA and neighbors them selfs cannot kick you out, what will have to happen first is if the so called complaints actually have written rules to back them up then they will begin to pressure the LL. AS to your lease then your lease would have to refer to the HOAs rules or have wording that makes it clear that you are to follow them and the LL would have had to provide you with copies of those rules and get you to sign a acknowledgement that you got a copy in order to have the best proof to show a court that you got a copy and knew what those rules were. So in the end here even if the LL did not mention the HOA rules or address this issue in the lease the LL can still choose to not renew your lease. With the non renewal yes you would still have to move. { which is why I previously suggested the next time around to never rent where there is a HOA or to avoid buying a home that is under a HOA . )

 

[bcr229]

Could be a mutual easement that allows property owners (and service/maintenance, visitors, etc) access to their property. If the document limits ingress and egress to just that then they don't have to "make up rules" the rule is already there and recreational use by your go-karts would not be allowed and that can be enforced against you by injunction or restraining order.

If this is the case then all of the property owners are likely on the hook to pay for road maintenance, so they're not going to appreciate you tearing up the road driving the go-karts recreationally.

 

[zddoodah]

My new question is can we get kicked out of our house for something as simple as violating the road covenant?

Do you have a lease for a specified term (e.g., January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020)? Or do you have a month-to-month lease? If the former, you can only be evicted before the end of the term if you don't pay rent or otherwise breach the lease. If the latter, you can be evicted at any time as long as the landlord gives proper notice.

 

[quincy]

... If the former, you can only be evicted before the end of the term if you don't pay rent or otherwise breach the lease. If the latter, you can be evicted at any time as long as the landlord gives proper notice.

... or break the law.