Restrictive Covenant Modification-Affordable Housing Form – Ventura County, CA

The Restrictive Covenant Modification-Affordable Housing Form is a Ventura County document recorded solely to modify or remove a restriction in an earlier recorded document that cannot be enforced against the owner of a housing development.

The form covers a restriction or private limit that restricts or prohibits the residential uses of the property, the number, size, or location of the residences that may be built on it, or the number of persons or families who may reside on it. Under Section 714.6 of the Civil Code, as the form cites it, the owner records this document to change or remove that restriction.

The recorded modification identifies the original document by page number, recording date, and Book and Page or Instrument Number in the Official Records of the County of Ventura, California. It attaches a true, correct and complete copy of that document with the unlawful restrictive covenant modified or removed. The form states that the modification is indexed in the same manner as the original document, citing Civil Code Section 714.6(b)(2)(F), and that its effective date is the same as the original document's.

The lower part of the form is a County Counsel determination block. County Counsel either states that the original document restricts the property in a prohibited manner and that the modification may be recorded, or finds that it does not and that the modification may not be recorded.

The Clerk-Recorder's forms page lists a second use under the same heading: redacting covenants based on characteristics such as age, race, religion or disability that violate fair housing law. This form is the one for housing development restrictions.

The owner or owners of a housing development whose property is covered by a recorded document containing a restriction of the kind described on the form use it. The form begins "I/We ____ owner(s) of the housing development of the property that is covered by the document described below."

The restriction must be one that restricts or prohibits residential uses of the property, the number, size, or location of residences that may be built, or the number of persons or families who may reside there.

Limits stated on the form:

• County Counsel decides whether the original document restricts the property in a prohibited manner, whether the owner has submitted documents sufficient to establish that the property is a housing development, whether required notices were provided, and whether an exemption under Civil Code Section 714.6(g) or (h) applies.
• If County Counsel finds that the restriction is not prohibited or that the property does not qualify as a housing development, the form states that the modification may not be recorded.

The form calls the signer the "Submitting Party" and gives no rule on who may sign for an owner. It does not cover covenants based on characteristics such as age, race or disability; the Clerk-Recorder's forms page treats those as a separate use.

Use the form when you, as the owner of a housing development, want to record a modification or removal of a restrictive covenant in a document already recorded in Ventura County. The form prints no filing deadline.

Timing depends on the County Counsel determination. The form says that, once County Counsel has determined that the original document restricts the property in a prohibited manner and the other conditions are met, the modification may be recorded. If County Counsel finds otherwise, it may not be recorded.

Once recorded, the modification takes the same effective date as the original document. The form carries the printed notation "Effective 1/1/26."

The form is recorded in the Official Records of the County of Ventura through the Ventura County Clerk-Recorder. The form itself prints no mailing address, portal or appointment rule, so use the contact details on the County Recorder Forms page.

• Before recording: the County Counsel block on the form must be completed by Ventura County Counsel, with the signature of the Assistant County Counsel and the seal.
• Return address: fill in the "Recording requested by" and "When recorded mail to" block at the top so the recorded document comes back to you.
• Copies: the Clerk-Recorder states that Ventura County does not conform copies. Do not send additional copies to be conformed, because they will be returned.
• Fees: the Clerk-Recorder publishes a list of fees for the County Recorder. This page gives no amount; check that list or ask the office.

FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.