Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Sherman Anti Trust Act and HOAs

A local homeowners association (HOA) is trying to become a master association over several sections of a neighborhood.

Each section is allowed to form its own association and has its own covenants.

The original covenants for each section granted every homeowner the ability to form an Architectural Review Committee (ARC) and the right to enforce the covenants, giving them the freedom to establish their own HOA.

This HOA has decided it is in charge of the surrounding sections and had rewritten the covenants. The new covenants make the HOA the sole authority involving enforcement, as well as control over the ARC. They also wrote covenants granting them the ability to charge assessments (of any value) on all homeowners regardless of membership and the ability to make modifications on one�s property.

Can the measures made by this HOA be seen as restricting commerce for the homeowners, since the HOA is forcing non-members to be subjected to their service? Could this be viewed as a monopolization of trade and fall under the Sherman Antitrust Act?

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