ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Some homeowners may find discriminatory and illegal language in their deeds, according to Monroe County Clerk Jamie Romeo. That language, called a restrictive covenant, is now the target of a bill working its way through the New York State Senate.

The bill would require those covenants to come out the next time a property changes hands. Introduced last year, the bill is halfway to passing. With the legislative session ending next week, the county clerk’s office is making a last-minute push of support.

A restrictive covenant in a deed is a rule or condition you make when selling your house. For example, the property may be sold if and only if you agree to never put up a fence. Historically, some covenants stated that you could only sell to someone of a certain race, religion, or marital status.

“Counties across the state will be able to have this information and be able to learn from it, teach from it, so that we don’t make those same mistakes in our future,” said Romeo. “Really we can identify that full impact that these illegal and unenforceable and plainly racist covenants – the impact that they had on the development of our community.”

Such language was legal for decades but outlawed in 1968. Depending on your identity, your deed might say you’re banned from owning your own home.

This bill would let you remove that language for free. It would also make finding and deleting that language mandatory for selling property and create a database of which properties had these rules.

Romeo says we’re seeing this kind of work already on a grassroots level. People are coming to the clerk’s office about this outdated language.

If you find a restrictive covenant in your deed, you can take it out right now by amending your deed. That’s a long and often very expensive process, but not impossible.

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