Here is a new one (at least for me) recycling bins

It depends on the contractor policy. Is there a replacement cost? If so, I would ask the new owner if they would pay for it? The response will be telling for more interactions later. If they say no and say it's a HOA expense, then you know most likely this will be how things are viewed on other issues down the road.

I would inform the contractor that this is a NEW owner and never had been issued a bin. Maybe it can be that each new owner gets a bin. After that, any replacement bins will be responsibility of the owner not the HOA.

What responsibility, if any, do the governing documents assign to the HOA for collection of trash and recycling? Is payment for trash and recycling included in the monthly HOA assessment?

What does the purchase agreement say, if anything, about turnover of items that go with the home?

Else I echo Melissa's response.

We have the same setup with our trash contractor and I've been waiting to encounter this same issue in my HOA.

Declaration probably says (more or less) that HOA pays for trash/recycling. As an owner, I'd assume that I wouldn't be financially responsible for anything other than my monthly dues, part of which is for trash/recycling. As such, I wouldn't pay my own money for something that should already be supplied to me.

I think the HOA should just pay for the new bin if the contractor insists that someone must pay. Then work on a process for trying to prevent it from happening in the future.

The only other options are to have new resident pay (which may start the relationship off poorly) or have old owner pay (which is worth a shot, but probably unlikely to occur).

Also, I might suggest letting the new homeowner contact the trash company and explain that they just purchased and do not have a recycling bin. I'd think that unless this happens frequently, the company will simply provide a replacement with no questions asked. Good business practices will put customer relations and potential future business ahead of a minor recycling bin cost. Of course if it happens frequently, this is a different story.

Let us know what happens.

I have lived in several different homes in different cities and towns. The trash services, whether municipal or private party, have always supplied the bins at no charge. My city-supplied recycling bin was recently damaged and the city replaced it at no charge without even asking. It is just a cost of doing business that is passed on the customers as overhead.

I cannot imagine a trash contractor so petty as to charge for lost or damaged bins. If your bin gets lost or damaged, will they allow you to purchase a replacement from another vendor? Does the bin become the homeowner's personal property?

MelissaP1,

In other words: "I don't know."

Update:

I've contacted the previous owner and have received no response.

I've contacted the contractor and there is a $10 charge for a replacement bin (a charge the Association may have to pay anyway at the end if enough bins are not returned).

Our board meeting is in a couple of weeks. Therefore, the issue will have to wait until then.

That'a good, I've never heard of HOA's being responsible for providing garbage cans or bins, that is always on the service provider.

What you describe is precisely the way we have done things in Phoenix for at least 20 years. The city issues each home two 96-gallon bins - a blue one for recycling and a dark green one for all other trash. Both are picked up on the same day by different trucks. The driver operates the truck solo and never gets out of the cab. I have timed them and it takes 10 seconds per house. On pick-up days, some people set their bins on the sidewalk but I set mine on the street at the bottom of the rolled curb. If there are cars parked on the street we set the bins a little farther into the street and often in front of the driveway. It is just not a problem.

BTW, the bins are marked as to which side should face the street. That part should be a no-brainer.

Since my home is not in an HOA, we have no CC&R's to worry about. If the city has an ordinance against storing the bins in a visible location, I am not aware of it. Mine are stored beside the garage on the side of the house.