Some CC&Rs are enforceable without an HOA.
For example, the owner down the hill from my client in La Jolla has palm trees that are starting to block the view of the ocean.
He can enforce the view provisions but will need an attorney.
An HOA would provide an alternative resolution (putting a buffer between you and the other owner).
My favorites are the CC&R’s from the 20’s and 30’s prohibiting occupancy to “Jews and non-caucasians”.
I have sold houses to a few Piggs that included those.
My granddad once explained to me (his dad started the family business) that CC&R’s originated in the 1880s to keep Italians and Irish out of respectable neighborhoods.
