Senior HOA community with residents with small children

ask your attorney for legal advice

how would you suggest the HOA "remedy the situation" ?

? sterilization ?
? euthanasia ?
? eviction ?

imo: an underage actual child of an owner is NOT a guest but a legal resident since the owner/member has legal 'guardianship'

? what is your problem with living children ?

? do you prefer the exclusive company of your fellow 'walking dead' ?

ps. I, myself, am one of the 'walking dead' in a 55+ community

John I didn't come on here to be verbally abused by a dolt. Our senior status is at risk and the board is failing in their fiduciary duty to the association. If we lose our senior status our property values fall and communities which have lost their senior status in this area have fallen to disrepair and have become very delapidated. I was on the board and therefore people often ask me for advice when they have complaints. I am a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Your response sounds as if you are a very angry man who likes to take your frustrations out on an anonymous woman. If you have no intelligent input, you shouldn't be on this site.

to repeat:

"an underage actual child of an owner is NOT a guest but a legal resident since the owner/member has legal 'guardianship' "

supposing I am 63 and my wife is 55 and we decide to adopt ?

check the HOPA act itself - legal guardianship RULES THE ROOST

it is only when 'grandma' takes the grandchild w/o legalities in place that it 'hits the fan'

us old farts DO NOT repeat NOT rule the world

JoyceN1,

Are you a “55 and older” community and do you use the 80/20 rule? Or by chance does the Association impose an age limitation that is more restrictive than that required by HOPA?

Many over 55 age restricted communities define underage as under 18. The reason for this was quite simple. The community would not have school age children living there requiring the expense that goes along with such. Many communities welcomed the no one under 18 restrictions for this reason. There have been many court/legal decisions on this.

In some states one can marry at age 16. So let us assume I am 56 and my wife is 16. I say as long as the town does not have to provide school services for her, we are good....and we are legal in some states....LOL

Whenever you are "told something", especially something that affects how you do your job, it's best to claim you are from Missouri and ask to be shown proof.

ImB4;

You, sir, are but a figment of my imagination.

;)

ps. .....yes, I do.....

Got in trouble with that song, seems the local Psychiatric Hospital took offense over me playing it through the ambulance's PA system as we were driving in.

JoyceN1,

Following up on your words “and when I was on the board I was told we can't have anyone under 55 living here or we lose our senior status”.

I do not think that is entirely correct as HOPA modified the statutory definition of housing for older persons, as housing intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person 55 years of age or older per unit.

So you only need one (1) person in any particular unit or residence, that is 55 years or older. All the other residents living in that unit, with a 55 and older person, may be younger but not under 18. And then as I understand, that requirement only refers to the 80% portion, in order to maintain 55 and older status.

This link provides information in Question and Answer format:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/library/hopa95.pdf

Here are a few excerpts:

Question 11
How frequently should a housing/community provider update its lists of occupants to be in compliance with the age verification requirements of HOPA? Are there any consequences if a housing provider fails to update its list of residents?

Answer
HOPA requires that a housing facility/community re-survey its lists of residents every two years to ensure that the 80% requirement is met.

A housing community's or facility's failure to survey or re-survey its list of occupants in accordance with its age verification procedures does not demonstrate intent to housing for older persons, and could jeopardize the housing community's status as 55 or older housing.

Question 15
Is it lawful to advertise or market the 20 percent portion of the units not required to be occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older to prospective tenants/purchasers under age 55 and to families with children?

Answer
Yes. However, the marketing must be done in a way that identifies the facility/community as housing intended for older persons. Advertising and marketing must not be inconsistent with the intent.

Further, the facility/community needs to plan with care any attempt to sell or rent the entire 20 percent portion of the remaining units to incoming households under age 55, because it could risk losing the exemption if some occupants over 55 die, with surviving spouses or heirs who are under 55 years of age.

Such planning should address notice to incoming households under the age of 55 regarding how the housing provider will proceed in the event that the 80% requirement is endangered.

Question 17
If a housing facility or community meets the requirements of HOPA but permits up to 20 percent of the units to be occupied by families with children, may the facility/community impose different terms and conditions of residency on those families with children who reside there?

Answer
Yes. If a housing community/facility qualifies under HOPA as housing for older persons, the community/facility is exempt from the Act's prohibition against discrimination on the basis of familial status.

The housing community/facility may restrict families with children from benefits of the community, or otherwise treat family households differently than senior households, as long as those actions do not violate any other state or local law.

However, the community/facility is not exempt from the provisions of the Act that prohibit discrimination against any resident or potential resident on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or disability.

Question 18
If a 55 or older occupant dies and leaves his/her property to a surviving spouse or heir(s) under the age of 55, what rights, if any, do the survivors have to possession?

Answer
The right to possession by a surviving spouse or heir is not governed by the HOPA or the Fair Housing Act.

Whether an underage heir or surviving spouse can occupy the unit upon the death of the 55 or older occupant is a matter of state/local law or custom, and generally is governed by private contractual agreements between senior housing developers and the individuals who purchased or rented the dwelling.

The provision in the Act permitting 20 percent of the units to be occupied by persons under 55 is intended, in part, to prevent a housing facility/community from losing the exemption due to situations where there are surviving spouses and underage heirs when the 55 or older occupant dies.

regardless of HOPA

you may NOT discriminate based on familial status - PERIOD

if one member of the residing family is 55+ (even if they are part time)the home qualifies as per HOPA

if an owner or legal resident / tenant (in the legal sense, eg. non owner) has a child or is the legal guardian of a child -> the child is legal and STAYS even in a HOPA approved community

sorry if you don't like legal FACTS but they are facts none-the-less

nope

apples to oranges

while the HOA's rule was legal regarding 'residents', the court did not address its application to a family as per the fair housing act (which would have been a federal issue)

the grandparent's mistake was that they did not get 'legal guardianship' and that therefor the 'kid' was not part of the legal 'family'

you may not, ever, for any reason, discriminate based on 'familial relationship'

the courts have ruled over and over that a child, foster child, 'ward' by court order (guardianship), etc. constitutes 'familial status'

unfortunately for the 'kids' (fortunately for us old farts) most elderly grandparents are totally ignorant of what the law actually says

? wanna bet ? coffee at starbucks ?

JohnB26

Re what you just posted from the Fair Housing Act. Yes, but HOPA provides for an exception for communities that meet the requirements of “55 and over”, unless a State or Local Ordinance comes into play.

See:

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/FHLaws/yourrights

excerpts below)

Housing Opportunities for Families

Unless a building or community qualifies as housing for older persons, it may not discriminate based on familial status. That is, it may not discriminate against families in which one or more children under 18 live with:
•A parent
•A person who has legal custody of the child or children or
•The designee of the parent or legal custodian, with the parent or custodian's written permission.

Familial status protection also applies to pregnant women and anyone securing legal custody of a child under 18.

Exemption: Housing for older persons is exempt from the prohibition against familial status discrimination if:

•The HUD Secretary has determined that it is specifically designed for and occupied by elderly persons under a Federal, State or local government program or

•It is occupied solely by persons who are 62 or older or

•It houses at least one person who is 55 or older in at least 80 percent of the occupied units, and adheres to a policy that demonstrates an intent to house persons who are 55 or older.

I will NOT quit.

The fact that something is legal does NOT make it RIGHT.

? Where are the windmills ?

..... the windmills of my mind .....