What the recorded documents actually say about Tawny Lake in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
14 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
These answers come from the recorded Tawny Lake Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, made May 1, 1991 by Portage Realty Corporation and filed with the St. Joseph County Recorder on May 15, 1991 as Document No. 9112428, together with its two recorded amendments and the association's own current rules booklet.
The First Amendment, dated June 4, 1992, allowed single-dwelling-unit buildings and a home built across more than one lot, fixed Phase I at not more than 22 lots, and - the part that costs money - made the owner reimburse the association for all exterior painting or staining of siding and trim boards, with an unpaid invoice becoming a lien on the lot. The Second Amendment, effective November 10, 2002 and recorded March 19, 2003, changed mortgagee notice and voting rights and set three-year staggered terms for directors; it changed no use restriction.
Several answers also draw on the association's Rules and Regulations booklet of October 2023. That is not a recorded document and the board can change it. It says of itself that it is condensed from the complete covenants and by-laws and is not intended to replace them. Where an answer below rests on that booklet rather than on the recorded covenants - renting the home out is the big one - the answer says so. Get anything that matters to you from the association in writing.
Coverage. The declaration created Phase I, which it describes as 22 lots in eleven buildings, and reserved the developer's option to annex land in Phase II and Phase III, up to 250 further lots, with any annexation to be completed by December 31, 2017. The supplements that would record such an annexation are not in this collection, so this page cannot show from the documents which lots were added and when. The association's own 2023 rules list five neighborhood streets it maintains as common areas plus one that is county-owned, which is a good deal more ground than 22 lots. What that means for you in practice: the covenants and the association are the same across Tawny Lake, but if you want the recorded chain for your particular lot, the Recorder's office has it and a title company can name it from your legal description.
A fence needs the prior written approval of the Architectural Review Board, which is the board of directors itself. The declaration names fences in the same sentence as buildings, walls and any other structure, and says none of them may be commenced, erected, maintained, improved or altered on a lot without that written approval first. No height, material or placement standard is written down. One thing that sets this neighborhood apart: the association already maintains the privacy fences here, because the declaration treats them as part of the exterior it repairs and upkeeps alongside the siding, trim boards and porch posts.
No additional building may be put up anywhere on the property other than the buildings already designated in the declaration and shown on the recorded plans, unless the board of directors consents. The association's own October 2023 rules booklet repeats that in plainer words and adds that no structures of any kind at all are permitted on the common areas. Since the association maintains the lawns and treats them as common areas for maintenance, there is very little ground here that a shed would not touch. Any structure would also need the Architectural Review Board's written approval.
The declaration bars boats, campers, trailers of any kind, buses, mobile homes, trucks, motorcycles, mini bikes, mopeds and any vehicle other than a normal passenger automobile from being kept, parked or stored anywhere on the property, and then names a permitted place: it says expressly that nothing in it prevents parking or storing such a vehicle completely enclosed within a garage. So a camper or boat that fits in the garage is allowed and one that sits outside is not. The lake is a separate question with its own rules. Under the association's October 2023 rules, boats and watercraft such as kayaks and paddleboats under fifteen feet are allowed on the lake, sail, electric and human powered propulsion is allowed at up to five miles an hour, inboard and outboard combustion engines are not, and anchoring or mooring is only permitted while the boat is in actual use. Those lake rules are the association's own and can change; the fifteen foot limit is not in the recorded declaration.
The recorded documents do not mention an owner putting in a swimming pool, so there is no pool-specific rule and no size or fencing standard. What applies is the architectural rule: no improvement, alteration, excavation or change in grade that alters the exterior of a lot may be made without the prior approval of the Architectural Review Board, and no structure may be erected on a lot without its prior written approval. A pool is both. The only place a pool is named in the declaration is as an example of a recreational facility the developer might have built in a later phase, which is not a rule about your lot.
This is a tightly controlled exterior, and it is worth understanding before you buy. No improvement, alteration, repair, change of colour, excavation or change in grade that alters the exterior of a lot may be made without the prior approval of the Architectural Review Board, which here is the board of directors. The board has thirty days to approve, modify or disapprove an application in writing. Separately, nothing may be hung or displayed on the outside of the windows or placed on the outside walls, and no sign, awning, canopy, shutter, antenna or other attachment may be fixed to the exterior walls or roofs without the board's prior consent. The association's October 2023 rules add that the exterior colour palette is set and homes must remain the same colour, that any exterior change needs board approval in writing before work begins with the timeline, colours, dimensions and materials given, and that a committee inspects every home's exterior once a year. On money: a 1992 recorded amendment makes the owner reimburse the association for the cost of all exterior painting or staining of siding and trim boards done by the association, within thirty days of the invoice, and an unpaid invoice becomes a lien on the lot. The 2023 rules say the same thing from the other direction, that homeowners are responsible for exterior staining and repairs and the board may bill an owner who has not attended to them within two years.
No radio or television antenna, and no other attachment or thing, may be fixed to or placed upon the exterior walls, the roofs or any other part of a building without the prior consent of the board. The declaration was written in 1991 and does not use the words satellite dish, but a dish mounted on a wall or roof is an attachment under that wording, and the architectural rule separately catches anything that alters the exterior of a lot. Ask the board before you order an installation, and get the answer in writing.
Solar is not mentioned in the declaration, the amendments or the association's 2023 rules, so there is no rule written for panels either way. Two rules reach them. Nothing may be affixed to or placed upon the exterior walls or roofs of a building without the board's prior consent, and no work that alters the exterior of a lot may be done without the prior approval of the Architectural Review Board. There is also a practical point particular to this neighborhood: the association maintains, repairs and replaces the roofs and the exterior of each home as part of the common expenses, so anything fixed to a roof affects work the association pays for and controls.
The association does most of the yard work here and the owner's room to plant is narrow. A member may not plant trees, landscape or do any gardening in any common area or limited common area except with express written permission from the board. The association mows, waters, fertilizes, weeds and replants the lawn inside each lot boundary, and cares for, fertilizes, trims, removes and replaces the shrubs and trees the developer planted or that were there when the declaration was made. It does not take on shrubs, trees, flowers or other plants an owner has planted since. The association's October 2023 rules put the boundary plainly: the area around the foundation of the home may be planted by the homeowner, and no planting or structures of any kind are permitted on the common areas. Its services list adds that landscaping around the perimeter of the home is the homeowner's responsibility, that the contractor will include those areas in the spring and fall clean-up and the periodic pruning, and that a homeowner who wants specific plantings left untrimmed should mark them with a red ribbon.
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 →Pet dogs, cats and customary household pets may be kept in the dwelling. Raising, breeding or keeping animals, livestock or poultry of any other kind anywhere on the property is prohibited, and no pet may be kept for a commercial purpose or allowed to create a nuisance. The owner is fully liable for any injury or damage a pet causes, including to the common areas. Two things here are stricter than most: the board may require a security deposit from any member who wants to bring a pet onto the property, returnable when the pet leaves except for damage it caused; and a pet the board judges to be causing a nuisance or unreasonable disturbance or noise must be permanently removed from the property within three days of written notice. The association's October 2023 rules add that pets must be on a leash whenever they are outdoors and that owners must pick up after them, and they name exotic animals among what may not be kept.
The association's October 2023 rules booklet states that all homes must remain with the owner and that renters and sub-renters are not allowed. That is the clearest statement in the file and it is what the association tells residents. Read it with one caution: that booklet says of itself that it is condensed from the complete covenants and by-laws and is not intended to replace them, and the recorded declaration and the two recorded amendments on file here do not themselves contain a leasing ban. If you are buying here to rent the home out, or you expect to keep it and rent it later, get the association's answer and your title company's read in writing before you commit.
A basketball hoop is not named anywhere in the documents. The rule that reaches it is the one barring a member from placing furniture, packages or objects of any kind on front porches, the drive, the lawn or similar areas in the common areas without the written consent of the board of directors. That matters more here than it would elsewhere, because the lawns are treated as common areas for maintenance and the drives and streets are association common area. A hoop fixed to the house or set into the ground would also need the Architectural Review Board's written approval as a structure.
No for sale, for rent or for lease sign, no other sign, and no other window or advertising display may be put up anywhere on the property or on a dwelling without the board's prior written consent. The developer and the board kept the right to place for sale and for lease signs on unsold or unoccupied homes. The association's October 2023 rules soften this in practice: they say no commercial or political signs may be placed on the property, with an exception for realtor, security and temporary contractor signs. Those rules are the board's own and can change, so if a sign matters to you, ask what is allowed now.
Only normal passenger automobiles may be parked or stored anywhere on the property. Trucks, motorcycles, mini bikes, mopeds, buses, campers, trailers, boats and mobile homes are all named and excluded unless they are completely enclosed in a garage. The streets here are association common area, not city streets, which is why the rule reaches them. The association's October 2023 rules add that there is no parking on any grassy area, that a homeowner is responsible for damage to the lawn or the sprinkler system, that additional parking is available near the Tawny Way entrance, and that a 20 mile an hour speed limit should be observed on the neighborhood streets.
The declaration prohibits any industry, trade or other commercial activity, educational or otherwise, from being conducted, practiced or permitted on the property. There is no home occupation exception written into it and no route to board approval, which is unusual; many covenants nearby allow a quiet home occupation on conditions. The association's October 2023 rules repeat the ban in the same words and open by saying that Tawny Lake is a residential community. The declaration separately requires dwellings to be used exclusively for residential purposes. If you work from home, ask the board how it reads this before you rely on it.
Short-term letting is not named by that term, but the association's October 2023 rules say all homes must remain with the owner and that renters and sub-renters are not allowed, which on its face leaves no room for a nightly or weekly rental. The same caution applies as for longer lettings: that booklet describes itself as condensed from the covenants and by-laws rather than a replacement for them, and no leasing restriction appears in the recorded declaration or its two amendments as filed here. Confirm with the association in writing.
This is one of the few covenants in the county that addresses vehicle repair head on, and it is absolute on its face: no repair work may be done anywhere on the property on any vehicle, and the sentence goes out of its way to add that this includes passenger automobiles. So an oil change or a brake job in your own driveway is caught by the wording, not just a long-term project car. The declaration says nothing about work done inside a closed garage one way or the other.
Garbage, trash and refuse must be stored in appropriate containers inside the dwelling, garage included, and kept there until no earlier than sundown on the evening before scheduled collection. It has to go out in sealed disposable plastic bags or other containers the board has approved, at the collection point the board designates. The association's October 2023 rules put the collection day as Tuesday with recycling every other Tuesday, ask residents not to put containers on the street before Monday evening, and say trash and recycling containers must be kept inside the garage. Trash removal is covered by the monthly association fee; recycling, the association says, is covered by property taxes.
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 →Clothes, sheets, blankets, rugs, laundry and other things may not be hung out or exposed on any part of the common areas, or anywhere they are visible from the common areas. In this neighborhood the lawns are treated as common areas and the streets are association property, so there is very little outdoor space a line could occupy without being visible from one. No approval route is written into the paragraph.
Flags are not named in any of the documents, so there is no rule aimed at them. What catches a flag is the attachment rule: nothing may be hung or displayed on the outside of the windows or placed on the outside walls, and no sign, awning, canopy, shutter, antenna or other attachment or thing may be affixed to or placed upon the exterior walls or roofs or any other part of a building without the board's prior consent. A bracket screwed to the siding is an attachment under that wording. A flag on a freestanding pole would be a structure and would need Architectural Review Board approval as well. Ask the board what it permits.
Nothing may be hung or displayed on the outside of the windows without the prior consent of the board. A second paragraph adds that no window or advertising display may be maintained or permitted on any part of the property or any dwelling without the board's prior written consent. Between them the documents reach a display in a window as well as one attached outside it. Nothing addresses curtains, blinds or anything else inside the glass.
Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.