Satellite dish installation & REMOVAL

Here is a link for the "otard" rule. It is a federal rule saying HOA's can't restrict the placement of dishes.
http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html
I live in Florida but this is a federal law.

It should be the responsibility of the dish co to remove the dishes but if they are several years old they might be out of date and the company won't want them but you can call and ask them to come remove them and see what they say.

Thanks for the responses.

I also believe that the HOA can restrict dishes on common areas. What about limited common areas? I guess any area that the HOA maitains is probably restricted.
I also believe that the HOA is responsible for the maintenance, removal or liability of old dishes left behind as well (on common areas)
I intend to request at next meeting that a comprehensive rule governing dish placement and removal be created for membership so all are aware of options
& responsibilities. Right now we have nothing in writing, which leaves the cost of removal on the backs of all homeowners rather than the individual who installed.

Kyle,

If the Limited Common Area is for your exclusive use, the OTARD rule applies. The following exerpt is taken from the OTARD rule:

"The rule applies to antenna users who live in a multiple dwelling unit building, such as a condominium or apartment building, if the antenna user has an exclusive use area in which to install the antenna. "Exclusive use" means an area of the property that only you, and persons you permit, may enter and use to the exclusion of other residents. For example, your condominium or apartment may include a balcony, terrace, deck or patio that only you can use, and the rule applies to these areas."

In other words, the association cannot require you to use the common area roof if you have a limited common area that is for your exclusive use and you can get acceptable reception there that is better than the reception you can get in the required location.

Unfortunately, there are several associations that do not understand the OTARD rules and end up finding themselves on the wrong side of a complaint. Should you try to install a dish on an area that is for your exclusive use, your association may end up citing you with a violation. If an appeal to your association pointing out the OTARD rule fails, you would have to file a complaint with the FCC requesting a ruling. While the appeal is pending before the FCC, the association cannot fine you (although they may try). If the FCC rules in your favor, you have your antenna (unless the association files an appeal). If the FCC rules against you, you will be given a period of time to comply before you can be fined by the association. Of course, you could appeal the decision. If you file a complaint with the FCC, the burden of proof is on the association to show that the location they specify results in equal or better reception than the location you have chosen.

As to the community antenna, again, it depends. If the reception is a good as, or better than, the reception you can get with your own antenna, and if the cost to you is not greater than the cost of using your own antenna, then yes, you would have to use the community antenna. Otherwise, no.

All of this is plainly stated in the OTARD rule and in the Q&A section. You really need to take the time to read and understand the OTARD rules to see how they apply (or may not apply) to you before proceeding. The FCC site even has descriptions of several past rulings that you can read to see how situations which may or may not be similar to yours have been decided.

We have 14 units divided into 4 buildings. Each unit has a gargage but the garages
are also divided into 4 buildings, so, my garage is attached to one other persons garage (is this still a limited common element?). The only places dishes are allowed (although I have yet to see anything in writing) is on the unit building roof. I have been verbally told by President(who is the ONLY person able to get dish reception) that no dishes are allowed on gargage roofs.
There is limited if no reception for dishes on these roofs making cable the only option.
I have requested that the board review the current policy, perhaps consider changing current (unwritten in CCR's rule)or consider a multiple dish option for community. Perhaps the best thing to do is to take it to all owners and ask for their preference.
A. No dishes on gargage roofs, limiting all to expensive cable OR
B. Change policy to allow dishes on garage roofs so community has more than one option for TV service.

In any event, I think it wise for the Board to adopt a current and WRITTEN policy for the homeowners.

Thanks.

Excellent idea. I would suggest that you take the time and do an internet search on rules for satellite dishes so you may offer examples along with your suggestion. If you have the time, you might even consider writing a draft for them.

Tim

Thanks all for your responses.

Yes, all our units are currently cable ready and connected to comcast.

I WAS a former board member last year & still communictae frequenlty with current board members.

Tim, If I understand what you are suggesting - I should contact either one of the satellite dish providers on our area (Colorado) and they should be able to connect all 14 units (or those who wish to) to one dish via very long cables and the charge to the HOA originally would be for installation and set up. Then each owner would recieve a separate bill by address with only their charges?

Our President has suggested that this is illegal (piracy?).

KyleP,

Based upon your responses, I am assuming that you would like to “receive satellite TV”, and that you are Condominium Townhouses.

1. Apparently your Board is not restricting Antennas per the OTARD FCC regulations, to exclusive use limited common areas such as Patios, Decks, or a Balcony, since they have allowed a Dish Antenna on a Common Area, which per the OTARD regulations does not have to be allowed.

(I have no idea why a Satellite Dish antenna would not be allowed on a Garage Roof except perhaps for structural or esthetic reasons, since a Dish has been allowed on a Common area roof).

Also, the roof itself is probably not the best place to mount the Dish. We were told that mounting it on the building peak is a better place.

2. Multiple Condo Units on one Dish Antenna is certainly a good option. That is what we do.

We have four (4) Condo Units per building, and each building has one Dish antenna mounted on it. Each Unit Owner tied to that Dish has their own plan. And it is each Unit Owners’ choice within that building whether or not they wish Satellite TV or Cable TV.

3. If your buildings are pre-wired anything like ours, the Satellite Dish installer should be able to find a junction point some place outside where the Cable TV enters and is split, with a wire going into each individual Condo Unit within that building.

At that outside “Cable TV junction point”, the Cable TV “feed in wire” for the specific Condo Unit that wants Satellite is disconnected, and then the Satellite “feed in wire” is then connected to where the Cable TV lead in wire was.

The Satellite signal now uses the wiring that is already in place for the Cable TV, and there should be no need, or little need, to drill any “new holes” through the siding to get the signal into a Condo Unit.

4. TO GET STARTED, and this is what we did:

Find a Local Authorized Satellite Dealer with a “store front” in your area. This is important. You want someone you can actually visit, talk with, as different from just “an installer” that is "hired" to put up the Dish.

Contact your Local Dealer, or Dealers, by phone and/or in person. Explain that you are looking into service for Condominium Buildings and that the Board is willing to allow Dish installation, wherever needed to get reception.

5. Set up an appointment with that Local Authorized Dealer – either with the Owner or with whomever the Owner suggests – and invite them out to your property to actually “look at” your buildings, and discuss various options with you on site.

6. Let the Dealer know that you would like to minimize the number of Dishes and ask the Dealer to explain about how multiple Condo Units using one (1) Dish per Building, or Buildings, would work.

7. And take it from there.

8. The last time we had our Local Dealer out, we had 2, 3, new pending requests for Satellite service, all in different buildings.

9. Because all our new Dish installations would be thru the Dealership, we were able to arrange for them to take down several “old Dishes” no longer needed (at no cost to the Association), when the new Dishes were being installed.

10. Based on our experience, the “key” is to work person-to-person with a local Authorized Dealer. If you give this a try, please report back and let us know how things worked out.

The OTARD rules do not permit restrictions for aesthetic reasons (unless its to preserve an historic site). The FCC always shoots such restrictions down. Your board member would lose.

However, restrictions CAN be enforced if it is for safety reasons. Thus, if the garage roofs are not strong enough, then restrictions might be enforceable. Again, the garage roofs would have to be limited common elements for your exclusive use. If the garages are common elements (ie., for more than one homeowner), then OTARD rules do not apply.

Yes, but since "limited common areas" didn't appear until a later post, it wasn't clear to me if in the OP he meant strictly common areas, or if he left out the word "limited."

I think that is the key question. Are the garages common elements or limited common elements and we may need to clarify that issue first - by looking at CCR's and plats. My garage is one of two in one building in front of my unit. It is a totally separate garage from the other (we only share the roof). Other garages are in buildings with 3 or 4 in each. We have a total of 5 buildings with garages for 14 units.
Personally, I believe them to be limited common elements as they are limited to the owner of the unit assigned to only.

Thank you.

Yes, Ellie, that is it in a nutshell. The garage, I beileve, is a limited common element, but is the roof above it assigned so? Yes dishes are allowed on common elements already. So far the only place a signal can be recieved from are the garage roofs.
By the way & no offense taken, I am a woman!

It's a simple process.

Send someone to the roof with a couple of wrenches and remove the dish from the mounts. If they have roofing adhesive (or better yet roofing shingles) remove the mounts and plug the holes (or better, plug the holes and replace the shingles).

Tim