Every property in the neighborhood has a set of rules that are legally attached to the property and are legally binding regardless of whether the property owner pays their dues or not. These rules are called "Covenants". When you bought your property, a copy of the covenants should have been included in the documents you received at closing. The covenants run with the land and each property owner is legally bound to follow the covenants for their property. Ignorance of the covenants is not a legal defense, so it could save you a lot of trouble if you take a few minutes to review your property's covenants. The purpose of the covenants is to maintain property values in the neighborhood, and to maintain the neighborhood's look and feel.
The covenants that run with every property in the neighborhood prohibit short-term rentals (rentals of shorter than 180 days). If you are looking to invest in a short-term rental property, please look elsewhere. More detail on Top of Skyway covenants can be found below.
Here are two ways to find the covenants connected to your property:
1. One option is to locate the documents that were given to you at settlement, when you closed on your property.
2. A second option is to go to the El Paso County Assessor's website https://property.spatialest.com/co/elpaso/ , type in your property address (do not enter the city, state or ZIP), and look at the "Legal Description" section. For example, "FIL NO 1" in the legal description section designates Top of Skyway covenant filing 1. Then download the appropriate filing document from the download section on the TOSHA web site below.
Currently there are 14 different sets of filings/covenants in the neighborhood.
If you are considering changes to your property, please check with the Architectural Control Committee ("ACC") first. This could save you a lot of money and legal problems.
General ACC guidelines and the ACC review form are available under the "Links/Files" tab above.
The Top of Skyway Architectural Control Committee ("ACC") is a group of neighborhood volunteers who enforce the covenants by providing information, and by taking legal action if necessary. The ACC may be able to provide you with general information about your covenants, however since the covenants that apply to your property are legal in nature, you should talk to a lawyer if you need specific advice. It is each resident's responsibility to follow the covenants attached to their property.
You can contact the ACC through the "CONTACT US" link at the top of this page. IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING LANDSCAPING OR REMODELING PROJECTS, PLEASE CONTACT THE ACC FIRST. This could save you a lot of money because any changes to your property that violate the covenants may need to be undone. Through legal action, the ACC can force property owners to undo violations to the covenants. Also if a property is changed in a way that violates the covenants attached to that property, it can make it difficult to sell the property. PLEASE CHECK WITH THE ACC FIRST.