Fees for owners who rent condo units

Is anyone aware of studies which show the damage to HOAs caused by renters in cono units. It could be based on lack of pride of ownership of tenants or otherwise and involve damage to the condo units or the common area, and be part of a plan to reach the magic 70% owner-occupancy level, over time. Is it not reasonable to surcharge an owner, on this basis, who rents their unit. For the purpose of determining reasonableness assume that the rent for a 1000 square foot two bedroom two bath condo in California is $1300 and the surcharge is $50. Assume also that the complex has a swimming pool, a spa, a gym a community room and is in a gated community.

As someone who rented for years before buying my condo I find is annoying when people assume that renters are slovenly and don't care about the property they live on.

Some property owners have issues with upkeep. It's less to do with renter vs owner than a) the personality of the person living in the home and b) what they are allowed to get away with it.

Maintaining the property is the responsibility of the owner. If that is not being done, then the owner needs to be reminded of the by-laws and fined accordingly if they don't correct the issue. If it's a matter of litter, etc, then addressing the issue with the owner will cause them to take it up with the renter.

I personally find as many problems with resident owners as renters. The problem, as stated above, is not making the owners of rental units responsible for their obligations. Many associations are probably already doing the following but ours wasn't:
We now require our management company to deal only with owners except in an emergency situation. Renters must resolve all other service issues, complaints etc.through their landlord. We had some landlords who were using our management company to do their work for them.
We now require the tenant and owner to fill out and sign a "renters agreement" stating that they have received a copy of,read and agree to the rules and regulations with the biggest violations spelled out so there is no "I didn't know" excuses and they understand that they are moving into a condominium complex and not just renting an apartment.
And, of course, fining sometimes is the only way to get results. Owners need to be held responsible for the actions of their tenants the same as resident owners are responsible.

We now have a non resident owner on our board to better understand non resident concerns, help ensure fairness and work out better ways of dealing with any problems specific to rental units.
There should be no need for a surcharge. I also doubt it would be legal.

Perhaps owners could be required to hold a suggested set "deposit" in case any common areas become damaged.

I never understood the logic behind the "owner/renter" arguement on who keeps a better home.
I see people say that renters don't own the property, they have no stake in the appearance, they have no ties/investment/etc.. Owners do.

Then i look at the facts of life in any situation, and do a root cause analysis.

Property A is owned by Joe Smith.

Joe is the owner of the property. If he lives there, he is the owner, and has a stake in the appearance, ties, investment, community etc...

If he rents the property to someone, then Joe smith no longer owns... wait a minute. the property still has an owner, no matter who rents it. It's still the same guy. And if that owner had all these values we ascribe to owners, then the property would still be in the same shape. He would see to it. If the property becomes an eyesore, then who's fault is it, truly?

Sorry people, but root cause analysis tells us that it is always the OWNER of the property who is, eventually, to blame. They control everything, and if they don't control it, it is because they gave away control themselves.

If you had your grandmother's heirloom wedding ring in your possession, and you kept it polished and cleaned and stored properly, and checked the settings twice a year for corrosion and looseness, you are a good owner. If you give that ring to your six year old grandchild for dress up play, who is really to blame if she loses it? Is it really the child's fault? Or yours, for not being a responsible owner of the ring in the first place?

Probably because they remember how they treated rentals. In the immortal words of someone from my past: "Nothing parties like a rental."

Deborah,

I see nothing wrong with having to pay more for more people living in the unit. However I do not agree with charging a fee simply because the property is a rental.