Covenants can only be enforced by the Homeowners Association, not the government, which affects the degree to which things are enforced. The only recourse a HOA has is to levy fines, post liens, or sue all of which are very expensive and often not worth the trouble. Sure they can levy fines and place liens, but if you're not planning to move, what's that matter to you. The biggest issue is from governmental ordinances. If your county/city allows it but covenants don't then it's all up to the HOA. Get involved in your community and run for a position on the HOA Board, then change the covenants. I am the president of our HOA for that very reason. I didn't want a bunch of "neighborhood Nazis" running the show so I got involved. We keep a very nice community--by actually BUILDING relationships with neighbors---and we use a TON of descretion in enforcement of covenants. And the HOA Board can change the covenants without the approval of the entire membership--just 50% + 1, and we have a couple times.
I applaud your building community and relationships; that is certainly the way my HOA works. However, state statutes can limit things that covenants can forbid. A couple of examples in Arizona are guaranteeing the right to fly an American (and several other) flag, and placing solar panels on the roof. They do give HOAs some leeway, such as saying that a homeowner cannot have a flagpole that is a hundred feet tall (we can limit it to the height of the house) or not having 100 flagpoles (to are guaranteed by right). FCC already overruled covenants against satellite dishes for television reception. With solar panels, we can make reasonable stipulations that do not affect their efficiency; so placement, number, etc. are pretty much things that could not easily be dictated. I suppose an HOA could require that the framework holding them in place match roof colour or something similar.
If a covenant is not enforced, or is enforced unfairly, after a period of time in which violations of that covenant are not addressed, or addresed only against some violaters, not all, a court can, and often will rule that that particular covenant is no longer enforceable. But generally that does not impact other covenants.
Many states allow homes to be foreclosed upon for unpaid assessments and even for unpaid fines. This has been a very hot topic in many states. There have been cases where a home was foreclosed on when only a very few hundred dollars in fines were owed. In Arizona, we can no longer foreclose at all based upon fines, and foreclosing based upon unpaid assessments is very strict.
In most cases changing the covenants requires a large majority of all property owners to approve a change--typically either 2/3rds or 3/4ths of all owners. Changing bylaws or rules is usually a simple majority of the board. Some older covenants have no built-in procedure for being changed, which means that it would take 100% of the lot owners to agree to a change.
I have almost reached term limits for being on my board--most of that time I was president plus a year's stint as VP to a president who was almost never there. A few months ago I threatened to resign if someone else did not take the job. I am looking forward to a well-earned break
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