rental rules in ccr's

Our HOA has had problems in the past with owners not paying dues on their property they rent out (single family residences). We implemented simple rental rules but these owners refused to follow so we are trying to change our CCR's. We have had a Seattle attorney who is well versed in our state laws draft the new amendment but of course we have one homeowner who insists what we have put in the amendment is "illegal" and wants out HOA attorney to call her attorney to discuss even though we specifically conveyed this owner's question to our attorney and what we are adding in the amendment is legal. Can any of you share your rental restrictions with us? Thanks!

Karen, following are used by one association we manage to deter investors from purchasing for the sole purposed of renting; and to help prevent problems which may occur with rented properties. These are in the Declaration of CC&Rs and affect only future sales and rentals after the date of filing of the amendment.

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SALES AND LEASING OF UNITS

Home Sales: Upon the purchase of a Unit the new owner must live in the Unit for the first 12 months of ownership.

Rentals/Leasing: All rentals shall require an executed lease. The lease shall be for a minimum of 12 months and may not be month to month tenancy. The leasee shall include the following statement: “The lessee has received and herein agrees to abide by the Governing Documents. It is understood that failure by the lessee to comply with all of the governing documents shall be cause to terminate the lease. The Owner shall provide to the Association, prior to occupancy, (a) an executed copy of the lease; (b) the names of all occupants, a phone number, and an email address (if available) by which the lessee may be contacted; and (c) the license numbers of all of the lessee’s vehicles. No Owner may lease their unit for transient or hotel purposes. No more than two unrelated tenants are allowed to reside in any one Unit.

Thank you Roger! This was also our other purpose regarding investors so thanks for reminding me it affects "future" properties no current. We have a 35% delinquency rate and 1/3 in foreclosure. What a mess!

If you cave in when she starts yammering about her lawyer, whose fault is that?

The next time she starts threatening to get her attorney involved, tell her that since she is represented by counsel that all further communications between her and the association must go through her attorney. Your attorney ought to be able to provide you with the citation to the correct ethical rule for this in Washington State. I doubt that she really does have an attorney, or at least one with whom she has discussed any of the HOA matters with. This ought to shut her up if you don't back down again.

Not sure what Melissa is talking about. Generally speaking, Renters are required to abide by the Rules & Regulations of the association, so you can absolutely impose new rules/regulations on renters by passing R&R's through board meetings. It is true the association does not own the property, however, the association does have a deed restriction on the property which provides them the right to enact and enforce rules on said property - including rental limitations.

Technically, the homeowner is ultimately responsible for the behavior of their renters, but any good landlord will provide a clause to their renters which requires them to follow the rules.

You can normally limit the amount of homes in the association that are being rented, typically by percentage. It may also be possible to pursue the renter for unpaid assessments that the homeowner is responsible for.

I think it is hilarious when homeowners threaten to sue/talk to their attorney/etc. when they have no basis for argument, they just make the statement to get everyone to back down. The above suggestion, is the same as mine, my response to that statement (threat) is "then I can no longer speak with you regarding this matter and all communication must be through your attorney to the association's attorney." 99% of the time, I never hear from the homeowner again. 1/2% of the time I (or the association's attorney) receive(s) a letter from the attorney requesting information on the issue, and thats the end of it, and the rest of the time a case is filed and later thrown out of court. Its incredibly rare to see a homeowner prevail in a court-case unless there was wrong-doing.