What difference does it really make when violations are selectively enforced. They seem to go after people with little white crosses with vengeance but totally ignore people disrupting a whole neighborhood by renting a revolving door room out of their house to transient customers on a nightly basis. Go figure?

Things change.

If 80% of a Village is violating the same restriction, maybe there need to be a way to amend the restriction.

Ah, the difference between deed restrictions and democracy. People vote with their feet, if they don’t like the deed restrictions, they don’t buy in The Villages. Lots of other places in Florida.

Any examples of deed restrictions that should be changed that would likely have widespread support?

Since one violates the deed restrictions but the other does not (in most areas) that might explain it.

The "accuser" is the deed restrictions you signed.

Why? So you can retaliate?

As far as I know, I don't have any deed restrictions. If I do, and someone notifies me, I will correct it. I don't care who it is, anonymous or not. It shouldn't matter.

I have always chosen a deed restricted community with covenants to make sure the area stays consistently nice. I am not in favor of the anonymous process. However, I do think the restrictions need to be enforced. That being said, the problem in the Villages is most people have never read their covenants and restrictions and, in fact, do not maybe even know they signed and agreed to them. I think what would help the most is an awareness campaign from the Districts as to what is included so people can take their own actions to correct. Then, have a volunteer committee that notifies people that are out of compliance. This worked well in two of our past neighborhoods. Most people were quick to get into compliance and those that refused, the neighborhood board got involved.

Two possible reasons. The first reason is because it is not their job. Secondly, and more importantly, if the CDD essentially took over the role of reporting deed restriction violations then they could possibly be accused of selective enforcement. With the current system of only investigating possible deed restriction that are reported by others, it is hard to see how that could happen as long as they uniformly investigate possible deed restriction violations. If the CDD was to take on the job of reporting deed restriction violations then they will have to essentially catch all of them.

Three Common Covenant Enforcement Defenses – Waiver, Estoppel, and Selective Enforcement | Florida Condo & HOA Law Blog

I don't think people's issues are with deed restrictions but as characterized, by Mrs. Kravitz driving the neighborhoods with her clip board and phone and recording what she feels is a deed restriction. One would hope the CDD would clamp down and discourage this behavior. Neighbors can police themselves and often do. I do think the Community Watch could provide some assistance as well since they drive through the area anyways, not to enforce but to report. Stay in your lane....

I wonder if any of you have been the subject of an anonymous complaint? Shortly after we moved here, we received a note on our door stating we were out of compliance due to two metal sand hill crane figures in our front planter. The cranes were held over from a previous owner and according to our next door neighbor had been there for years. We removed the cranes despite the fact that there are other homes in our village and elsewhere that display the same cranes in their front yard (and also various other lawn ornaments) and continue to do so. Does this seem fair to you?

One could make the argument that, if Community Watch WERE charged with assuring that homeowners in TV follow the covenants in force in their area, they are thus helping ALL law-abiding Villagers by ensuring that egregious violators do not, by their action or inaction, drive property values in the neighborhood down.

Right, pit neighbor against neighbor in the reporting or stop the reporting so the neighborhood goes to pot. Nice going.

It doesn't seem fair but some are targeted and others are not. Also remember not all districts have the same restrictions.