What the recorded documents actually say about Royal Oak Estates in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
11 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
READ THE FOURTH AMENDMENT BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE HERE. The 1999 declaration says nothing about leasing; the 2019 amendment bans it, and a buyer relying on the original document alone would get that exactly backwards. This is also one of the more prescriptive covenant sets in the county - it reaches pet breeds, basketball hoops, clotheslines, exterior lights, weeds and the height of a shrub in the front yard - so read the page in full rather than spot-checking one topic.
Chain link is prohibited outright. A fence goes on the lot perimeter only, in an open split-rail design or vinyl, free of any attachment, two rails high and no more than four feet - and no fence at all goes up without the architectural review board's prior approval, which may add further limits or bar fencing in a rear yard or along the detention area. An additional fence around a pool or patio is allowed where a statute, ordinance or zoning rule requires it. Privacy fencing may be permitted along the subdivision boundary with written approval. Every fence has to be kept in good repair. Nothing over eighteen inches may go between the front property line and the front building setback line.
Sheds are out. The covenant prohibits building or placing any detached storage structure for lawn tools, toys or other personal property, and prohibits pet shelters outright. The one detached building it contemplates is a pool house, which needs the architectural review board's written approval and may have to be screened. Any approved outbuilding goes behind the house at the rear of the lot and has to be properly screened. No trailer, modular or manufactured home, prebuilt home, barn, shed, shack, tent, boat, basement or garage may be lived in.
A recreational vehicle, motor home, commercial truck, trailer, boat or disabled vehicle may not be parked in a driveway or on the street, or stored overnight in open public view on a lot, for more than fifteen days in a calendar year in total. Recreational motorised vehicles have to be operated strictly within the law, and the covenant separately calls using a moped, go-cart, three-wheeler or ATV a nuisance.
Above-ground pools are not permitted. A tennis court or a private basketball court is allowed only on a lot larger than three-quarters of an acre and only with the architectural review board's prior written approval. An in-ground pool may be fenced where code requires it.
The architectural review board approves a full Lot Development Plan before anything is built - a site plan from a licensed engineer or architect, foundation plan and proposed finished floor elevations, building plans with elevations and floor plans, material plans and specifications, a landscaping plan, and anything else the board asks for. The board may also inspect the work. An accessibility note worth raising rather than assuming: the covenant says a handicap ramp has to go inside the garage and that no outside ramp will be permitted. A request for an accessibility modification is handled under fair-housing law rather than by this paragraph, so take it to the board rather than reading the covenant as the last word.
A satellite dish of eighteen inches or less that is not visible from a public way or another lot is the only one that avoids the approval process. Anything larger, and any visible satellite receiver, down-link, AM, FM or short-wave antenna, needs the architectural review board's prior written consent. The board may not consent to an exterior television antenna where cable is available unless a majority of owners agree, and may not consent to any other exterior antenna unless every owner within 200 feet agrees in writing. Federal rules on over-the-air reception devices limit how far a private covenant can restrict a dish under one meter on property in your own exclusive use and control, so ask the board how the two fit together.
We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.
We can find out →An owner may not let weeds or volunteer trees and bushes grow, and has to keep the lot reasonably clear of unsightly growth - if they do not, the board has the work done and takes a lien on the lot for the cost. Nothing higher than eighteen inches may be planted between the front property line and the front building setback line, except on a landscape easement or as foundation planting rooted within four feet of the house. A landscape easement on your lot is yours to keep up unless the board takes it on. Retention basins may not be altered in any way without the board's prior written approval.
Every mailbox has to be properly installed and be of a type, colour, size, location and manufacture approved by the architectural review board - so this is not a choose-your-own item here.
Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed, none kept or bred commercially. They have to be kept inside the residence and confined to the owner's lot, and no outdoor pet shelter of any kind may be built, placed or installed. An owner has to control barking so it does not disturb the neighbours. The covenant excludes dogs of the breeds commonly known as Rottweiler, Pit Bull and Doberman Pinscher, and any variation or cross-breed of them. Reptiles, amphibians, livestock and poultry may not be kept. A request involving a service or assistance animal is handled under fair-housing law rather than by this paragraph, so raise it with the board rather than assuming the breed line settles it.
This is the one to know before you buy here. A Fourth Amendment to the covenants, voted at an association meeting and recorded in 2019, says that leasing a residence by an owner is not allowed and that each residence has to be occupied by an owner and their immediate family. The amendment gives its reason as keeping the neighbourhood's residential character and protecting owners with regard to financially responsible residents. If you are buying to rent out, this neighbourhood is closed to that.
No basketball rim may go outside the sidewalk setback, and no permanent basketball standard or pole is permitted at all. A private basketball court is possible only on a lot over three-quarters of an acre with written approval. The same paragraph bars archery ranges, sand volleyball courts, target shooting ranges and paintball ranges.
No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view except one of no more than five square feet advertising the property for sale, or a builder's sign during construction and sale. The developer and the community area are exempt.
The fifteen-day rule governs: no recreational vehicle, motor home, commercial truck, trailer, boat or disabled vehicle may be parked in a driveway or on the street, or stored overnight in open public view, for more than fifteen days in a calendar year.
A home occupation is allowed if it is carried on entirely inside the house by a member of the immediate family living there, stays clearly secondary to living there, and uses no mechanical or electrical equipment. There can be no sign or display visible from outside, nothing sold on the premises, and nobody employed from outside the immediate family. A barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlour, tea room, fortune-telling parlour, animal hospital or any form of animal care such as dog trimming is named and excluded.
We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.
We can find out →A disabled vehicle counts the same as a boat or a camper here: it may not be parked in a driveway or on the street, or stored overnight in open public view on a lot, for more than fifteen days in a calendar year.
No lot may be used as a dumping ground. Rubbish has to be kept in sanitary containers out of public view, and the storage and disposal equipment kept clean and sanitary.
Once the house is finished, no trash, leaves or other material may be burned, and no fire is permitted on any street or roadway. Only an incinerator that complies with the law is allowed. A grill or a contained fire pit is not addressed, so ask the board.
The covenant lists clothes line dryers among the exterior fixtures that are not permitted.
We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.
We can find out →No exterior light may be put between the building line and the rear lot line in a way that shines or reflects directly onto another lot, and no other exterior fixture is permitted.
Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.