HOA Rentals

Do the homeowners who are renting out the properties pay the fines incurred by their renters? That would seem the fastest way to get things straightened out, I think. If a homeowner is getting fined every month because their renter isn't following the rules, then the burden will be on them to follow up with the renter and correct the issue.

Thanks for all the replies. I will take note of the advice and pass it along to our BOD. I'm just curious, how do other HOA's handle rentals. The options that we are seeking are 10% limit throughout the community and then having the BOD authority to demand eviction of the renters if the homeowner doesn't address the problem. Some homeowners feel this is excessive? Have we over stepped our authority in proposing this?

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I appreciate all the input. It sounds like the problem would best be solved by just putting alot of pressure on the owner through constant fines. We are asking for the renter to acknowledge in writting that they have recieved and will obey all CC&R's and R&R's but outside of this and fines, how do other HOA's deal with renting? Fines are OK but we are afraid there will come a time that our community will be overrun with renters and the board will just be dealing with fining and collecting fines from homeowners. Most renters do care, but unfortunately, it only takes a few to sour the whole community. Our community is made up of 112 single family homes. Our homes are in somewhat close proximity to each other. Problems with renters are just compounded because of our close proximity. We just want something that will give the community and the BOD some control over how and who rents? That seems fair to us, especially since our community property values hinge on each other so much. Let's face it, communities that are full of renters are not as appealing to buy into, unless of course you are a renter or looking to rent. The other problem we anticipate is that as the homes that are occupied by renters increase, we, the owners who actually live in the community, will lose more and more control. Usually,,,, the homeowners who rent their homes do not vote on community issues. Why I do not know, maybe because they don't live in the community they see no reason to vote. Since renters don't have a vote, a large number of renters would essentially take power away from the actual homeowners who live in the community. Personally, I wish there was no renting allowed from the beginning. I'm afraid that now a can of worms has been opened that can't be closed or may become very difficult to be controled. Any other ideas would be appreciated.

You could probably accomplish a lot of what you want by changing your By-Laws and Covenants, but the members would have to vote to approve any changes. I have dealt with Condo HOAs that had clauses allowing the Association first right of refusal of any prospective tenant. The applicant is consensually investigated by the HOA (or their delegates) and often interviewed too. The problem with this approach are several. Good investigations are expensive and not always quick. Likewise if taking the panel approach, who sits on the panel? How many units are involved? How often does the panel meet and to interview how many applicants per day? I looked at this for a mid sized HOA (houses) and we concluded it was a lot of trouble with only a little benefit and instead simply strengthened our communications with the landlords and issued a few fines for tenant misbehavior.

It should be understood that sometimes when the Board wants to see the sex offender drug dealing tenant on the corner property gone, so too sometimes does the landlord who is at their wits end on what to do about them. In VA if a tenant fights back in court the eviction process can stretch out for many months (I saw one case that took a year and a half, the tenant had quietly moved out while the eviction process was underway, but because they were still fighting the eviction in court (just to be mean) the landlord couldn't even legally enter the building for maintenance until the judge finally agreed.)

One tool you can play with is an agreement between the landlords to not rent to a tenant other members of the association have found to be unsatisfactory. You as the HOA don't even have to get involved in the fine details once they agree to the principal. Simply introduce the landlords to each other and (consensually) give them each other's emails or contact information and encourage them to communicate. This helops prevent the problem in house 1 from moving across the street into house 2 and pushes them out of the neighborhood when house 1 is successful in their eviction.

The following web site may be of interest. Apparently Utah is considering modeling their ACT after the UCIOA.

http://www.utahlac.com/ulac-news/utah-common-ownership-interest-act-ucioa-sb-182/

From the 94 UCIOA and 2008 UCIOA:

Comment 10. Unruly and disruptive tenants have been a significant problem in association administration. Revised Section 3-102 gives rights to associations to enforce the declaration, bylaws, and rules and regulations not only against the unit owner but also the tenant. Associations may now levy fines against tenants and enforce the rights of the unit owner as landlord.