Daily and weekly rentals in our community

We live in Phoenix in a gated condo community.
When we moved in we were not aware, nor we informed, that there were upwards of fifty units (out of 300) that were being rented short term - that is, less than 30 days and sometimes just overnight or for the weekend. There is even a couple here who bought 13 units and started a timeshare exchange business affiliating themseves with two big timeshare companies, RCI and TAN. When a few of us questioned this, our HOA said it could do nothing, because the last developer was able to change the CC & R's from one year rentals minimum to no minimum when he finished the complex in '96 - 2000. He did this to attract investors.

I guess this may have been ok when there were only a dozen rentals, but now the time share people are also managing othere people's property and a number of other investors have jumped on board.

We live in a metropolitan area and feel there are safety issues with so many people coming and going and also that the rentals (which keep getting cheaper and cheaper) negatively impact our property values and the crowd at the pools were not something we expected when we purhased in a residential community.

A few months ago we found out that our area is zoned R3A, which requires rentals to be 30 days or more. Some homeowners complained about the rentals and the City issued a couple of Notitces of Violation, but has done nothing else, so far. The HOA Board keeps saying they won't do anything either even though the CC&R's state that homeowners MUST ABIDE BY CITY CODES, One of the Directors is also the owner the timeshare exchange business. Our management company is owned by the sister-in-law of the devevloper who changed the CC&R's.

What can we do to get the HOA Boaed to abide by the portion of the CC&R's that say homeowners must obey the law?

Actually we are asking them to enforce the part of the CC&R's that say homeowners must abide bu state and local ordinances. Couldn't they fine homeowners who don't comply, just like they fine you if your patiio umbrella is the wrong color? Aren't they actually compelled to as part of the binding contract that we all sign off on as members of the HOA?

Deborah,

One of the basic problems as I see it is that your CCRs are in violation of city code if rentals of less than 30 days are allowed. The BOD should take steps to amend this provision of the CCRs and should also start sending violation notices to all property owners who violate the CCRs. I also believe it may be a violation of your CCRs to operate a timeshare since your HOA was not set up for this. Timeshares have their own set of statutes and operate differently than a regular HOA. I think you could check this out with the Dept of Real Estate. As long as one of the board members is a director of the time share business it will be difficult to get the BOD to comply with the CCRs regarding this issue. You may want to get your friends and neighbors who have the same feelings as you together to form a committee to demand that the board stop the timeshare activities and comply with the city code. If they do not, then perhaps a recall is in order. Since there is no state agency to handle HOA complaints, the only other recourse is a lawsuit which can be quite costly.

Deborah, since they are using them for short term rentals, you might try contacting whoever regulates hotel/motels in your area. Not only are the laws different for these animals but the taxes are too and I would be willing to bet they are not paying them. You could also try contacting the County Treasurer (or whoever regulates property taxes in your neck of the woods) to make sure they are being taxed at the correct rate. While you can call to get information on these matters, I would follow it up with a complaint letter to the various agencies. Telephone calls are easy to forget or ignore but a letter that has to be answered, not so much.