New AZ law gives homeowners power to remove old offensive language in HOA contracts | News

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) — It is hard to believe but for nearly a century racially offensive language has remained in housing documents but on Friday that changed in Arizona.

A new Arizona law went into effect Friday that now allows homeowners the power to remove old race based language in homeowner association agreements.

“Ah no I did not (know) at all,” said Aaron Tremblay, a man who lives in the Vista Del Monte neighborhood.

“Yeah we got a mailer from the neighborhood association that spelled that out for us,” said Matt Haverty, another Vista Del Monte neighborhood resident.

Whether neighbors at the Vista Del Monte neighborhood knew it, some developments near Columbus boulevard and Glenn street have old homeowner’s association agreements where some of the wording may be considered racist.

“No part of said premises shall be sold, signed, transferred, demised, leased or sublet to any persons of African or Mongolian descent,” Tremblay read in a document.

News 4 Tucson asked Tremblay to read one of the conventions, covenants and restrictions known as CC&RS from a development at Vista Del Monte from the 1930s, needless to say he was shocked.

Although restrictions like that are not legal in today’s times, the Vista Del Monte Neighborhood Association president says homebuyers here still had to sign agreements with the offensive language because long standing federal housing laws prevented it from being removed.

“Was meant to be there forever and could not be revoked there was no legal process for removing that language,” said Laurel Shane, the president of the Vista Del Monte Neighborhood Association.

That is until the Arizona State Legislature passed a law in March 2024 allowing homeowners to remove this type of language from the documents it went into affect Friday.

“We’re in the time of equity and inclusion and we got to get rid of that stuff,” Haverty said.

Matt Haverty says he has lived at the Vista Del Monte neighborhood for 20 years now and says this kind of language does not represent his community.

“There’s people of all types here. There’s a lot of inclusion in this neighborhood,” Haverty said.

“It should have been something that ended decades if not longer ago,” Tremblay said.

This Sunday the the Vista Del Monte Neighborhood Association says homeowners will be signing an amendment to remove the troubling language in front of a notary near Swan and Fort Lowell roads.

The association president says she then plans to take it to the Pima County recorder on Monday.

A lot of the neighbors knew all this information from a website called Mapping Racist Covenants, click here to learn more.