Resident Owners vs. Non-Resident Owners

Located in Tampa Fl and governed by FL Statute 718, I have the following question:
Can the HOA (CONDOMINIUM BOARD) pass a policy to prohibit non-resident owners who lease their units that NO Pets are allowed. Owners now, can have pets of a certain size and weight. However, with the downturn in real estate in FL, many owners chose to leave their condos and lease them. For those non-resident owners, on a prospective basis, may the BOD pass a rule that no pets for non-resident owners are allowed.
Thank you.

To control the pet population, flees, wear and tear on carpet, noise and respectful of those who do not have pets.

I would suggest you check your governing documents. Ours state that all rules must apply equally to all lawful residents without discriminating on the basis of whether a home is occupied by a homeowner or his/her lessee. If I’m not mistaken, this is in accordance with 718.

Thanks Lori, will do. 718 does address the tenant and use of the common area, but we are trying to address the non-resident owners. We had an issue during the real estate boom where condo units were being bought up for rental purposes only. As a result, we changed the condo docs, via a vote of the ownership, to restrict any new owner from leasing his/her place for the first 2 years of ownership. It passed overwhelmingly and worked until the bubble burst. Always new challenges in community living.

Hi Judi:

I believe what Donna was getting across is the fact that each unit has a viable “owner”. Now whether your association allows rental of said unit is potentially up to your governing documents. However, pertaining to the unit and rights of those within the unit must in essence be applied equally to all "owners".

Apparently according to your statements the allowing of pets applies to all units and it is then up to each “owner” who may rent their unit to allow pets within said unit. If you now have fleas does not necessarily mean that they came from an individual who is renting, they instead could have come from an owner's pet.

If you want to control pet population then you need to potentially have all homeowners agree to either X number of pets per unit OR not allow pets at all. However, keep in mind if you no longer allow pets in your association you will reduce the pool of potential buyers when homeowners sell the properties. I own pets and therefore that would be one of the first questions asked, and if no pets are allowed I would purchase somewhere else.

NO-to your question. By definition a non-resident owner is an owner who does not live in the bldg. It does not have to do with their residency such as Canada or Italy or Florida. That term was probably confusing so my apology. I should have said, owners who do not live in the bldg and lease their units. As indicated, we have restricted owners in the past, such as those who purchased their units after Aug 31, 2009 cannot lease their units for the first 2 years of ownership. The leased unit approach is only a suggestion of how to manage the pet population, but your answer maybe a better one. Our association thinks that owners who live in the bldg with pets have a vested interest in taking care of their units and the common areas more so than those that lease. So that is why we went the lease unit approach. IT is still under discussion and I will update all of you. I appreciate your input as it is difficult everywhere, but the coastal states as Case-Shiller indices have shown, suffered the worst in the real estate downturn.