HBA-AMW H.B. 3517 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3517 By: Turner, Bob Land & Resource Management 4/18/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, some real estate developers rely on restrictive covenants and building restrictions in deeds to control the orderly growth of real estate developments. Many of these covenants and building restrictions contain time expiration provisions while other restrictions do not. As a result of such inconsistency, many rural counties throughout Texas have had a difficult time regulating the growth and development of the residential development of subdivisions located in unincorporated areas. House Bill 3517 sets forth provisions relating to amending building restrictions in residential unincorporated subdivisions in counties with a population of less than 65,000. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 3517 amends the Property Code to specify that provisions regarding amendments to building restrictions in residential unincorporated subdivisions apply to a residential real estate subdivision and any of the subdivision's units or parcels located in whole or in part within an unincorporated area of a county that has a population of less than 65,000 and to all restrictive covenants regardless of the date on which the covenants were created. The bill also sets forth that provisions relating to the extension of the term, renewal, creation, or change of building restrictions apply only to a subdivision which, by the express terms of the instrument creating existing restrictions, some or all of the restrictions affecting the real property within the subdivision or any of its units or parcels provide: _for no means, manner, or method for amending, changing, or modifying the restrictions; _for the unanimous consent of all the property owners in such subdivisions or the unanimous consent of all the property owners in any of its units or parcels of the amending, changing, or modifying of the restrictions; or _for the consent of the developer of the subdivision or the consent of an architectural control committee for any amendment, change, or modification. EFFECTIVE DATE The Act takes effect on the 91st day after adjournment.