establishing a clubhouse policy

Greetings from Florida!

My HOA has only been in existence for less than 2 years. We are a gated community of 121 units, with a community pool & clubhouse. Our annual dues are $495 a year. I am currently on the HOA board as Secretary and Clubhouse chair. I have the responsibility of composing the clubhouse and pool policy.

Currently, the committee has decided to have renters of the clubhouse pay a $50 non-refundable fee and a $75 security deposit. The deposit would be return upon inspection of the clubhouse. Is this unreasonable? Several residents feel that since the clubhouse pool are apart of the community and they pay their annual dues that they technically the own the clubhouse and should not have to pay a fee. I feel a fee would help with some of the upkeep of the clubhouse. Many residents would like to decorate the clubhose for the holidays, purchase more furniture, purchase blinds for the windows, etc. I feel that this money should have to come from the annual dues. The HOA has to use that money for pay put bills, insurance, & general everyday maintainance.

My personal issue is that I am a people pleaser and I am trying to do my best to stay unbias and do what is best for the community.

If your community has a clubhouse/pool, what do you charge?
What are your regualtions?
I would love to view your clubhouse policy document. Please send all examples to [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.

Becky
Leesburg, Fl

INO - you have two "classes" of folks in your community. Those that own, and those that rent. Those that owner, are in fact in that they "own" the clubhouse (and any other common areas) joint with the other owners. The renters do not "own" their "rights" are contingent upon the landlord's status (the owner). I would be careful in establishing "rules or conditions" for one but not the other. The argument that I would make as an owner who rents is that you are treating me differently than other owners, and ask for the basis, or legality of such actions.

Question - you mentioned "inspection of clubhouse" triggers return of deposit - are we talking daily inspections, otherwise how to you ascertain who damaged what, when etc - owner or renter..?

We charged at first a $15 per rent and a $100 damage deposit. That later changed to a $25 per rental and $100 damage deposit. The rules were that the pool could NOT be exclusive use to the people renting the clubhouse. (They were attached) Meaning other residents could use the pool while parties were in progress in the clubhouse.
I can understand the concept of not paying if it is supposed to be already covered in the monthly dues. However, the monthly dues cover the right of ACCESS and ability to rent the clubhouse at a low price. If someone was behind in their dues, they were NOT allowed to rent the clubhouse until they were up to date on their dues. If it was that important of a meeting, they paid up their dues immediately.
As for the renters in the neighborhood, we didn't deny them rental priveleges as long as the OWNER was up to date with their dues. The owner is responsible for paying the HOA dues NOT the renter. We also charged the renter the same rate as the other owners.
Although the clubhouse fees isn't necessarily "extra income" to the HOA, it does help in covering the costs of useage. I know our utilities and water bills increase in relation to an increase in rental. The members have got to realize that the fee charged really is to cover the overall USE costs of the clubhouse. There has to be Paper towells, toilet paper, soap, dish washing supplies, air conditioning filter changes, and other small items purchased routinely and that comes out of the dues money. Having the "extra" rental charge helps put the money back into the committee fund to support such items.

Becky:

I don't have a clubhouse, but I do have strong feelings on this. Normally I would agree with your homeowners that yes your dues pay for their right to use the clubhouse and pool and should be provided free of charge. However, if a homeowner wants to have a private function and close the clubhouse off to the rest of the community for his/her benefit then I think that falls outside the realm of what dues pay for. I think in your case the deposit and rental fee for this are well within reason. I think a good project for someone would be to research similar size rooms and amenities at local hotels and such and see what the pricing would be. Then show them that being a member of the community can save them this much on a rental.

Hi Becky,

Our HOA charges $ 50 for the clubhouse rental and a $ 250 security deposit. The maximum number of occupants by the Fire Department is 52, so we have 35 guests as the maximum allowed, just for some wiggle room.

Guests at the party can't use the swimming pool or tennis courts, which keeps the parties from overwhelming the members using the facilities.

We try to have only party there per weekend, so the people who rent it have both days to set up, have their party and clean up. Our clubhouse has a special key that has to be given out and returned after the event, so someone from the Board meets with the renter both before and after the party to give them a tour beforehand, answer any questions and to make sure everything is cleaned up and turned off after the party.