Q: I would like to remove some deed restrictions from land I purchased. it is not an established HOA, Can it be done?

A: There are a few modes of terminating restrictive covenants in North Carolina. Provisions are often drafted whereby they will expire by their own terms after some number of years (usually 3-4 decades). Also, provisions can be drafted whereby there is some mechanism for terminating the restrictions, written consent of the majority of interested landholders, for instance.

Under the Real Property Marketable Title Act, in Chapter 47B of the North Carolina General Statutes, some covenants will be extinguished by the 30-year marketable record title rule.

An action can also be filed, joining all affected property owners, to have a court declare that conditions and character of the property have been so substantially changed as to make enforcement of the restrictions inequitable and unjust. Showing evidence that a covenant or restriction has not been enforced for a long time (many years) or never enforced may help terminating the covenant or restriction.

Alternatively, you can contract with the parties who are entitled to enforce the restrictive covenant to release his or her rights, just as any other interest in land may be surrendered to a property owner.

How you go about accomplishing this will depend on the nature of the covenants, conditions and usage of the property, and whether any interested property owners (likely adjacent landowners) are opposed to the restrictions being extinguished. Contact a North Carolina attorney with experience in real property issues and have a copy of the covenants and restrictions ready to send to that attorney for review.