rental in subdivision

JohnnyF - Is it the policy of renting that is the problem, or is it the enforcement of violations? Many owners who choose to rent do so because they want to capitalize on a more market that will net more profit. The accomplishment of a higher sale price benefits the entire association. Restricting an owner's ability to make the choice of renting or selling at a loss (due to a down market) may be unwise. The association should institute policies to the owners (that choose to rent) to educate and integrate their renters into the community with notification of the cc&r's, by-laws, policies, etc.

JohnnyF: to directly answer your question, you would have to review your own community's CC&Rs, the documents which govern how your community association has been set up by the declarant, and the Bylaws, which dictate how it is to be managed.

Many community resident owners do not appreciate 'renters' because there can be evidence of a lack of commitment to the community's rules/regs. That is for the owner to detail to the 'renter' and to ensure that they comply.

I am one of "those" owner's who rented out their HOA property. It's my right to do whatever I want with my home. I chose to rent my home out because I found investment property in another neighborhood close by. The ONLY way I could purchase the home was for me to have a 1 year rental agreement signed. The bank wouldn't allow me to live in that home while I fixed up the other to sell. One had to be rental.

Unfornately for me, my renter wasn't very good. They ran a business from my home (against the CC&R's), had a few motorcycles (various kinds), didn't pay me rent for over 5 months, and had a baby Emu living in the back yard!!! By the time I got them evicted, my house was almost destroyed inside. The carpet was ruined from motorcycle repairs. The walls had holes, hooks, and leftover poster stickies.

I was so desparate to get these people out that I put the house up for sale while they were still in it! They complained they didn't like people coming by looking at the house! I didn't either with the trash piled up in almost every corner.

Keep in mind, that I was the president of the HOA when they first moved in. I then became a board member. So I was involved in my HOA. However, I was NOT legally allowed to do ANYTHING with my renters until their lease came up. Then it took me 5 additional months to get them out after that! That's because Renter's have rights too! Can't violate their rights! In my state, a renter can legally STOP paying rent for over 6 months to over a year WITHOUT being evicted! Regardless of lease agreement.

So before you "judge" and say that an owner is being neglectful or NOT doing anything, keep in mind the laws. I was a good landlord. Often repairing items and keeping my property as best I could. I never missed a dues payment! (It was of course a tax-write off.) There were circumstances that were involved that did keep the situation going a bit longer than it should have I admit. However, I did do everything legal I could to evict my bad renter.

Don't assume other owner's aren't trying to evict a bad tenant. It takes time, money, and effort. Many of our Renter's owners were simply people who got job transfers and didn't have time to sell their houses immediately. We rarely had a professional company handling rentals. Usually the owner's would get word if their property wasn't being taken care of properly and return. If not, then we would monitor their accounts to see if they were up to date with the dues. That way we could contact the owner about liens/foreclosure getting their attention. We can ONLY lien/foreclose for UNPAID dues. Most states don't allow for fines to be the basis of liens/foreclosures. So fines don't work.

I foreclosed on a house and placed plenty of liens. Liens are NOT a form of fines. Most states do NOT allow legally for the collection or filing of liens/foreclosure to be based on fines. It's ILLEGAL. Even if fines are written into the documentation itself, your HOA may still have issues with actually enforcing them.

In order to place a lien or to foreclose it has to be based on a money loss NOT a rule violation. It has to be "tangible". A rule violation is "subjective". If someone puts out their trash every monday morning on the curb and trash pick up isn't until tuesday, then issuing them a $5 fine for the violation isn't enforceable if challenged in a court of law. Did the garbage pickup cost the HOA $5 in damages they had to pay out? NO. Leaving the trash where it was wouldn't cost the HOA a dime. It's JUST a violation of the rules.

However, you may be correct in thinking that the cost of the rule violation letter and postage may be an item for a lien. If your HOA had to contact a lawyer in an effort to remedy the situation and any court filing fees, may be grounds for a lien. These are items that were above and beyond the normal activity of the HOA. These costs may be lienable but they are NOT fines. It's more like "resitution".

Fines and late fees are also NOT consider means of income. They fall outside that definition. That's because they aren't a source of reliable income. Your HOA can't "bank" on John Doe leaving his garbage out each monday. You can't depend on old sally to forget to pay her dues on time and be subject to late fees. These are factors a court/judge will look at. A judge can only give back what was lost not what a HOA could gain.

Johnnie:

Here is your State's website where I am sure you can search for your answer:

Ohio Legislative Service Commission

77 South High Street, 9th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215-6136 ² Phone: (614) 466-3615

² Internet Web Site: http://www.lsc.state.oh.us/

Gloria,
Do you have a source for this kind of information in South Carolina?
I have been able to get the Horizontal Act of South Carolina, but not been able to find any official state or county document that addresses rental units in condominiums. We happened to be located in a PUD and have an HOA, but for 17 years all I found out is; this subject not addressed at all. Each PUD may be different, I don't know, but I suppose a Condo Association located within a PUD has to follow the Horizontal Property Act when dealing with Condo matters.
I have contacted a lot of people from the Governor on down and it always ends up, "I suggest you get a lawyer," especially when it come down to information of how to "Control numbers of rentals," and anything related to that. The Board does not want to resolve or open this can of worms. (For unknown reason,for personal reasons, for personal gain, too out of touch with the problems of the association, and don't give a damn.) Those that rent say they will sue, those that don't rent say something should be done and through my 17 years here we have gone from 80/20 nonrental to rental to the inverse. In our situation living in a resort area (how I hate that proclamation) it may be necessary to have a healthy ratio of rental units, I think we passed that mark and are on the verge of being a Condo Hotel or something, but we sure are not a Condominium. I suppose this could happen to the PUD we have also. Sounds like a sure fire way to big trouble, and I doubt we are the only place like this in SC.