Renter controls a condo HOA can demand?

(Texas) - but I'm just looking for general information for the Board, which we'd let later with attorney.

Large condo complex (> 100 1 bedrooms) is 90% rentals and we active owners and Board want to implement policies to get better control of to whom and how the place is rented.

Can the HOA require things such as:

Criminal background checks? In order to enforce no serious occupants with serious crime records policy.
Copies of applications with photo IDs of all adult renters to keep on file with property manager?
Copies of leases to keep on file?
Occupancy limits? (As long as complies with laws- e.g., we have 400 square feet units with 6 people in them.)

Any comments related to this general subject matter appreciated. We're trying to clean the place up more directly than relying on fines. We're also looking at limits on renting by new owners, such as not allow renting of the units the first 24 months of ownership in order to increase owner occupancy.

Jd,

What can and can not be done varies by State.

Typically, a condominium association can get away with more on rentals then a home owners association can.

Requesting/requiring copies of leases typically isn't an issue for either association.

Copies of the application, I doubt it (check with an attorney to be sure).

Occupancy limits, your local zoning department should already have that covered. Find out what they are and call them in when needed.
Otherwise, the Association may be facing legal action trying to enforce.

Criminal background checks - perhaps (something to check with an attorney about).
You will need definitive guidelines on what rules someone out and what doesn't (not having such guidelines can leave the Association open for legal challenges).
There is a lot of discussion with this issue in FL (do an internet search on Condo criminal background checks)

The only occupancy law is that no more than 4 unaffiliated individuals may live in a dwelling, which was primarily aimed at single family homes. However, apartment industry standard is the 2+1 policy based on bedroom count. Do you have an opinion on if the owners or the Board (whichever is required) modified the condo cc&rs/bylaws to make it 2+1, that such would be adequate for restricting occupancy? Again, we'd run all this through an attorney.

Controlling rentals is one of the most important aspects of association management, in my opinion. I have witnessed many communities degenerate over time as owner-occupied communities became more and more populated by renters.

When the community I recently moved from was turned over from the developer in April 2007, one of the very first things we did (I was elected to the first homeowner-controlled Board there) was solicit the owners to enact an amendment to the CC&Rs that, among other things, limited rentals to no more than 5% of the homes in the community at any one time.

We also required criminal background checks on all prospective tenants, copies of all proposed leases to be furnished to our CAM, mandatory clauses to be included in each lease (e.g., authorizing the Association to collect delinquent assessments from the tenants directly), and a number of other things.

Occupancy limits are tricky, and raise potential Fair Housing concerns. However, your local city/county codes should speak to this issue and should be consulted. Additionally, federal law generally supports limitations on occupancy of no more than two adults per bedroom.

This is an area of association regulation where it is essential to get experienced counsel involved lest you create more problems than you solve. Just Google "Fairing Housing - lawsuit - association" to get a sense of what I am talking about....

Good luck!