Pet Violations

I'm starting a new thread since I'm going to be addressing specific issues in our HOA.

I'm going to have to deal with....

We live in a rural area, where people live as they wish with no regard to ordinances. Our little community was the only one in the area with an HOA. Our covenants say no more 2 pets. We have several residences that have more than 2. The way I look at it, since we are very rural (1-1/4 acre+ lots) what chance would the HOA have in a court of law of winning a suit against someone who has 3 pets? 4? 5?

There is going to be a tipping point where the judge would rule that this is wrong. knowing that point is the hard part.

So, at the members meeting in January, the pet rule was talked about. The president (me) reminded all the residents that the CC&R's are a contract and that they will be enforced. At the next BOD meeting, I suggested using the "attrition through compliance" method of getting everyone back track. We then learned that one of the residents took in another pet, after the meeting, bringing her total to 8.

I believe this rule was put in place to prevent puppy mills. But. I wasn't around when it was conceived so I can't be sure. But once this lady has a female go into heat, and a male that's ready to oblige, boom! We have a puppy mill.

So, do I need a court order to force compliance through attrition? I'm sure most judges, if not all, would rule in favor of that. Or, do we not act until one of the other residents takes legal action against the BOD for not enforcing. I can a judge ruling in favor of that too, since she has 6 too many!

I do appreciate this discussion. It does help me, and plenty others, I'm sure, who face these types of issues.

There is another family that has four, and claim they were not told of the CC&R's and HOA before they purchased. I believe them because I almost purchased without knowing as well. At the last minute it was mentioned to me and I stopped the process to read the rules.

I believe there is also another family that has five.

In our case, it's in the covenants. Maximum of 2.

We have an established resident that complains about the barking. I put out a flyer asking pet owners to be responsible and quiet the pets as much as possible, suggesting maybe a bark collar, and it seems to have helped. But by January the BOD is going to have to do something.

Thoughts?

As for the barking, that is covered perhaps blandly in your CC&R's as nuisances. Check with your local ordnances, Dogs and cats for that matter should not be treated like livestock and left outside 24/7/ Hopefully your local laws has animal cruelty statutes in place that covers animal welfare and animals that are left outside. That would be a matter for your local animal control.

None are service animals, just pets. None are running a breeding business or an actual rescue. The lady with 8 dogs just finds loose dogs and “rescues” them. That’s her definition for it. I call it kidnapping them. LOL.


We don’t try to enforce the barking dog issue. I just sent out a courtesy letter to everyone reminding them that some people work nights or very early in the morning. It seemed to help. I had one resident complain and I suggested calling the county. Nowhere in our CC&R’s does it say anything about noise or nuisance.
I think one household has the dogs outside but they do have shade.


The HOA was originally formed in the late 60’s. The covenants were updated/changed last in 1994. I cannot answer whether the pet rule (2) was ever enforced.
There is nothing concerning noise. The lady with the 8 dogs is in her 70’s and is alone. Not a battle I want to take to court. She pays her dues on time and is very polite. Sometimes overly so.
I moved in in 2012 and became the president in 2014.

We have residents that were here when the neighborhood was originally built. These are the people that do not want change, and do want the enforcement of ALL the covenants.
So, can we, as the BOD, subject these “extra” pets to monetary fees, say 10.00 per month each?
And would it be okay to ask, in writing, that they work towards becoming compliant through attrition?
We have no policy in place for filing complaints, or at least I haven’t found one yet. So, none have been officially filed. I’m not sure we’ll take any action until someone does file a complaint.

Doesn't a standard extra charge and "no action" both say it is okay to be in violation of the CC&R?

The extra charge part was actually suggested by the lady with 8 dogs. But her math skills need work. The way she was asking it to be set up, it would have cost her almost 400.00 a quarter in less than a year.

I just know we are going to need to have some sort of action on the books. So, I'll have the BOD approve a letter of violation and state that compliance through attrition must be the process, and NO MORE NEW PETS until compliance is achieved.

We are in an unincorporated county island. There are county ordinances, but in the past people in this area, not in our neighborhood, built whatever they wanted to, wherever they wanted to. That's what I meant by no regards to ordinances. Some of these folks are now having to tear down buildings and move horse stalls. But that doesn't pertain to our neighborhood.

I don't believe the county has any ordinances dealing with the number of pets, but I'll check.

WOW ... that really surprises me. My current local county only allows 5 "household" pets such as cats, dogs, etc. Then they limit other animals on a per acre basis. To have zero limits on animals is a first for me in dealing with multiple states and HOA's. Your lack of local ordinances potentially increases your HOA legal liability to enforce CCR's. You can ignore them ... but the question is when would someone sue for any violation? And if ignored ... potentially the Owner would win. Ouch ... would not like to be walking in your shoes.

The problem is because your HOA regulates pets via your CCR's you then have an obligation to enforce. If you do not enforce then it leaves the HOA open to an owner enforcing via lawsuits against the HOA. A judge will not look favorably on an HOA who blatantly ignored their governing documents and could be costly.. If the HOA is not going to enforce then your best option is to Amend your CCR's and remove that section if you can get enough owners to agree. That then would remove the HOA's legal liability to enforce.

There’s no chance, in my opinion, of changing the covenant. We will most likely try to at the next meeting in January. But I doubt it will pass. I’d like to get something to pass so we can go through the process of formally and legally changing the CC&R’s.

What you mention is exactly my concern. There is one neighbor in the vicinity of the 8 dog house and a 4 dog house that is not happy with no enforcement.


Exact verbiage=
No horses, cattle, or other livestock of any kind shall be permitted or kept on any Lot except that a maximum of two (2) dogs and a maximum of two (2) cats may be kept on any Lot.

Our governing documents contain a two (pet) restriction which follows with pets meaning dogs, cats, and or birds. Specifically our they state that under no circumstances shall an owner have a pit bull or rottweiler on the property. I'm curious as to what action can be taken against an HOA for not enforcing this restriction as it appears all an owner would need to do is have a licensed vet write a letter stating the dog is in fact not a specific breed or that the dog is a service animal. What recourse does an HOA have in this case or better yet, what liability then does the HOA incur if the animal becomes " a nuisance" to any other owner?

I would respectfully disagree. If you point out to the owners the cost of legal fees vs changing the CCR's you should be able to get most to agree. My last HOA meeting we needed to raise assessments to fund our reserve for future irrigation costs. Initially for a few minutes everyone at the meeting was against. I then made factual statements noting that it was better and why (because causes a hardship to some families) to pay a little bit more each year vs having potentially a many thousand one time assessment against everyone's property titles. When everyone sat back and though about it for a moment ... they knew I was right. It is how you approach an issue to win everyone or majority to your side ...

There has not been a complaint filed yet, so I wouldn't say it is not enforced. But I get the feeling there will be a complaint filed soon. That's why I'm researching it.

I don't know exactly how many cats she has, or if she has any at all. Her pets are indoor pets and I drive by her house at least three times a week and have never seen them. As I stated before, we have large acre+ lots.