dish

Cockeysville, MD- we have regulations on the dish and know the law has changed. We want change the by-law to read that the dish must be placed on the roof. We are aware that the law can not restrict the right of a homeowner to have a dish but can we restrict the area for it to be placed if we do not hinder his reception. If we say roof and he can prove that by placing it on the roof he can not receive reception, can we ask for two alternative locations recommended by the professional installer allowing the Board to determine the best location as not to restrict his neighbor. (we are townhouses)

Eleanor:
Joe, is addressing the rules applicable to condo's.
Your's and the other townhomes in your community are on Private Property and the rules are very different.
Our townhome community is also in Maryland, and I have looked into this because we have homeowners who have them attached to the sides of their homes, on their decks and the front roofs.
I talked to someone at the FCC, and she told me we can restrict the location for asthetic reasons, but once they are installed we cannot force them to go through the added expense of relocation.
Our homeowners did not submit the arc request, because they thought it wasn't necessary.
FCC rules say the homeowner cannot be prevented from installing a dish if other areas would prevent their receiving the sought signal to aquire the services they seek. You cannot restrict the installation of the dish but, if their desired signal can be obtained without putting it in areas such as I mentioned above you can dictate where it can be mounted.

Jim

Ah, the fine distinction between townhomes and condominiums. The crucial thing is: does the homeowner own the siding & roof, or does the Association?

In a townhome, if the homeowner owns the roof & siding and the Association simply maintains it, then the homeowner is entitled to put the dish anywhere they want. If the siding and roof is owned by the Association, then the Association can regulate.

With a condo, it's a no-brainer, since they own the exterior of the building. Then, it's an issue of where the limited common elements are (such as deck).

A caveat: if the homeowner owns the siding/roof and the dish antenna is installed in such a way that it causes water damage, there may be an insurance issue with regard to who pays the repairs - since the damage is caused by the installation, not by a failure of the roof or siding.

J. Patrick Moore, CMCA

I live in a townhouse development in Columbia, Maryland organized as a condominium regime and I own my roof and exterior walls. There are some townhouse condominiums organized differently and one must always check one's documents to figure out which you are.