Being a board member

NO. They are NOT members of the HOA. They aren't even supposed to attend meetings. Not to say good renters shouldn't be involved. It's just technically they are NOT owners and do not hold any of the rights as owners. They don't even pay the assessments/dues to the HOA.

It's great to have good renters but there is a line. Unfornately, they do not meet the requirements to be a HOA member.

Thank you MelissaP1. I did not think so. It has been asked at meetings and I was not sure. In our neighborhood though the renters do pay HOA dues. That is why the question was brought to our attention. I just did not know the answer. Again thank you.

Cindy, what kind of HOA do you live in? I've looked for any Missouri statues that might prohibit a renter from serving as a member of an HOA board, but so far, haven't found anything. What do your governing documents have to say about it?

Rob

Hi Cindy, this is by far the best online forum I've joined. Most of the regulars who post here are motivated to help others, with no obvious hope of gaining anything by it, at least not in any material sense. For me, personally, it's partly altruism, and partly what I suppose you might call enlightened self-interest. I like the challenge of digging to the bottom of many of these questions, and the research I have to do makes me a better-informed volunteer in my own HOA.

In your case, I've failed to find anything online about your question as it pertains to renters serving on your board, and unless the state of Missouri prohibits it, only your governing documents might speak to it. If they don't, then I can't see any reason why renters can't be members of your board, or at least officers.

Let me tell you what I found on my end, and I'm speaking only for California HOA statutes in general (Corporate Code/Davis-Stirling Act), and also for my HOA (177 units, of which 156 are condos, and 21 are town houses).

California statute: There is no prohibition in the Corporate Code to allowing renters to serve as directors or officers of an HOA.

My HOA governing documents: Our CC&Rs are silent about it, but our bylaws state that the directors have to be members, and only homeowners can be members. That means renters can't be directors. However, the same bylaws go on to state that only two officers must be directors. The rest can be non-directors, and nothing in the bylaws prohibits renters from serving as officers. I believe (and this is only my gut feeling, non-attorney opinion) that your board could appoint the renters to serve as officers, unless specifically prohibited from doing so. Keep in mind that if Missouri is like California in this regard, officers don't have voting rights - only directors do. But that does not mean that your board can't honor these fine neighbors by giving them useful tasks to perform, if they want to volunteer.

This is only my opinion, but I strongly feel that one of the problems with HOAs is that they don't try very hard to include renters in their activities, or to even seek input from them, and just because they aren't homeowners does not mean they aren't neighbors. They share the facilities, they enjoy many of the same privileges, and they are certainly no less observant nor conscientious than homeowners by default. When HOAs ignore renters (except to complain about the), renters often feel excluded and disenfranchised, and this can't be good for anyone.

My 2 cents, anyway.

Rob

I understand your concerns, Melissa, and it may very well be that renters can't be directors in this situation, either.

I share your confusion about the renters paying the association fees directly to the HOA. How does that work? Is the HOA communicating directly with the renters in official correspondence?

On the subject of benefits: Here in my HOA, homeowners give up some benefits when they rent. For example, they transfer to their renters their pool privileges, spa privileges, use of the tennis courts, sauna, rec room, etc.

Rob