Delaware panel: a no-leasing covenant binds the owner, not the tenants
Delaware panel: a no-leasing covenant binds the owner, not the tenants
2026-08-19 · Delaware · Courts
A Delaware Justice of the Peace panel has drawn a line that associations with rental restrictions need to know: the covenant that bars leasing is enforceable against the owner who broke it, and is not by itself a ground to evict the people living in the house.
The Pines at Long Neck Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Ward, C.A. No. JP17-25-001046, was tried de novo on September 8, 2025 before a three-judge panel — Chief Magistrate Alan Davis, Deputy Chief Magistrate Deborah Keenan and Justice of the Peace Jennifer Sammons — and decided October 17, 2025.1
The dispute
The Pines at Long Neck, in Sussex County, has covenants that eliminate an owner's right to rent out a home. They also purport to let the association “stand in the shoes” of an owner who rents in violation — including by seeking possession of the property.
The association learned that the record owner had moved out and that others were living in the home. It brought a summary possession action in the Justice of the Peace Court against both the owner and the occupants.
The association had standing — and that is the half boards will like
The panel accepted the first step. Where an owner leases in violation of valid covenants and will not remedy it, the association may step into the owner's position as landlord, which gave the Justice of the Peace Court jurisdiction over the case.
The statutory hook is 25 Del. C. § 81-302(c), which contemplates an association enforcing against a tenant rights the unit owner could lawfully have exercised as landlord.2 That section also lets an association levy reasonable fines directly against a tenant after notice and an opportunity to be heard, and require rent be paid to the association up to the amount owed.
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Related Delaware HOA Topics
- The Pines at Long Neck Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Ward, Bell & Drummond, C.A. No. JP17-25-001046 (Del. J.P. Ct. No. 17, Oct. 17, 2025) (three-judge panel) ↩
- 25 Del. C. ch. 81, subch. III — Management (§ 81-302(c), association enforcement against tenants) ↩
- 25 Del. C. ch. 55 — Residential Landlord-Tenant Code (§ 5501, creation of a tenancy) ↩
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