how to fight a rental violation

How do they know that you are renting it out? Is there anything that has you registering the property as rental? Technically, rental restrictions can not be enforced if you fight them in court. However, it's just not worth the battle.

If you rent the place out what is the punishment? Is it a fine or removal of rights? Define the punishment besides "Can't". It most likely isn't defined. If it is can you live with the consequences? Plus if you do rent, make sure to have in your agreement that the renters are to abide by the HOA rules. It's not in your off the shelf type agreements. The HOA will hold your feet to the ground for their violations. You are responsible for that property and you want to the ability to kick out your tenants if they violate the rules that cost you money/violations. Otherwise renter's rights kick in and you may not be able to remove them.

Just noticed your in California. They are one of the states that can and does have the ability to restrict rentals. Plus they were smart enough to put in a punishment. Most HOAs fail to do that.
Bad news is that you are most likely being restricted. The CC&R's are considered PUBLIC documents. So they are your responsibility to be informed before you bought. This is something you should have researched.

I can not offer you a solution other than trying to not get caught which most likely will not happen. It is NOT your restriction from amenities. It extends to your renters. They get questioned your a goner. It would be hard to hide it.

May just see what you face and work a deal. Sorry but you are in a pickle....

I'm sorry about your situation, Renny. Even if your realtor or the seller told you there were no restrictions on renting out your unit, buyers really must read the CC&Rs before they close the escrow.

In CA, your hope might be that the HOA made that rental limitation since 1/1/12, when new legislation prohibited that type of new rental limitation.

I know that you don't want to spend the $, but since our CA statutes are complicated, I think you should consult with an attorney who specializes in HOA law, especially the (CA) Davis-Stirling legislation, which affects all Common Interest Developments like yours. It should only cost you a short amount of her or his time. I don't feel confident enough about my understanding of that particular statute to offer valid advice.

If you want to give it a try, go to davis-stirling.com and click on rental limitations.

Renny,

Sorry to hear of your unfortunate situation. Can you leave the place empty for 12 months and take out a short-term loan or borrow from a family member to pay the mortgage for 12 months. Or maybe get a part-time job to cover the mortgage. Life's circumstances can be so hard sometimes but you have to make the best of a difficult situation. I learned a long time ago that when you make a mistake its best to accept the consequences of the mistake, do what you can to fix it, and move on. Count your blessings that the rental limitation is only for the first 12 months.

Carol,

Does that statute apply only to HOA's formed after 1/1/2012 or would it apply to any properties transferred after that date?

Tim & Matthew both make good points. But I don't know if Tim is correct and I don't have the confidence to try to answer Matthew's question. I do not think CA HOAs can restrict rental terms since 1/1/12, but I may misunderstand the legislation.

See an attorney. Your realtor or escrow company may be able to recommend one.

hi guys,
if i go ahead and rent it, but i get ding'd by the HOA, do you think the HOA would be willing to negotiate a settlement amount, instead of holding me to the $1,000 to $2,500 per month? it just seems so excessive.
Are HOA's usually willing to negotiate on these fees?
This particular HOA is in a town which is a small town with really low housing prices, and the residents are in the very low-income bracket. Plus there are many houses in this HOA community that are in short sale or foreclosure. So my argument is that by having me rent it out, i would help maintain the aesthetics of the yard (i have hired a gardender to maintain the yard, it was dead and yellow before) and i am keeping the house occupied instead of vacant at least...Wouldn't the HOA be more willing to be lenient instead of being sticklers?

Do you have any other arguments i could use to defend myself? help!

thanks!

There is no way to tell. You're dealing with people you don't know. My advice? Get to know them.

Oops.

Should have said: Civil Code §1360.2 became Civil Code §4740

You posted that the rental restriction was adopted April 20, 2012. You posted that you recently purchased. Since it's May 2013, I would expect that the rental restriction was in place when you purchased. Therefore, per CA Civil Code §4740, those restrictions apply to you.

So, what your asking in the quoted section is if you choose to violate the covenants you agreed to when you purchased the property and get caught, do you think the penalty can be lowered so it's cost effective to violate the covenant. I think that $100 penalty for driving in the HOV lanes is expensive but, similar to your Associations amount, the penalty is high in order to deter you from considering violating the restriction.

Lets say that the Association would be willing to negotiate the penalty if you get caught. Lets say you start renting it in June 2013 and are caught in July 2013. Even if the Association negotiates the fee down to $500 per month, you are now in a predicament. You rented your property and likely can't evict the tenant without some form of penalty simply because you failed to follow your Associations covenants. Your Association is now charging you $500 (the negotiated price) per month that it's rented. Since it's unclear that when the charge begins (at the start of the lease or when caught) let's say it started in July. Can you afford the additional $5,500 penalty while waiting for the lease to expire?

What if the Association doesn't negotiate? Can you afford the additional $11,000 to $27,500 for the rent to expire.

Of course you could always challenge the issue in court. This will of course require to incur legal fees, court costs and, if you lose, you would still have to pay the penalty. Win or lose, you would have to pay your share of the Associations legal expenses for the case.

To look at the issue from a financial standpoint - you might be better to simply do some repairs and flip the property even if all you do is break even.

I didn't see it either. Perhaps if it is in the governing documents and those documents are provided, the seller is in compliance with the statute.

I would suppose that if Renny was not informed of the rental restrictions in the disclosures from the seller, that an action against the seller might be considered.

However, I would expect that somewhere in the closing paperwork this disclosure exists.

Thank you so much, Tim, for clearing this up for me. Since I first started reading about it back in '11, it was confusing to me and I serioiusly doubted my understanding of it. I haven't paid much attention as it doesn't affect my HOA.

I'm sorry If I misled you, Renny. Sounds like your only chance now is that the seller didn't disclose the restriction to you.

Those fees sound rather steep. Does california have any laws outlining fees?