HOA is going into my home to do repairs when i stated in writing they do not have my permission? is this legal

We have a town home in Southeast Idaho. The complex had mold issues due to issues with the contractor/developer and faulty architecture. Long story short the contractor passed away and architect is defunct. Each owner has to pay for the repairs. They are duplex like units and share a common wall. The repair expenses are 40-50,000 per owner. I have finally paid for the repairs which we had 4 months to cover and they sent me a letter stating they will be doing repairs on my unit next week . I had shared with the HOA earlier that we have our unit rented until September and have people who have made vacations plans and such. I responded in writing saying they can enter as of sept 3rd to do the repairs and to please complete the other units first. i stated they do not have permission to enter my unit or my property to complete my repairs until then. the HOA president said that is my problem and they will be proceeding on the work next week. Can they legally do this and enter my property and begin repairs without my consent? I am so angry and the HOA president is rude, condescending and has never been willing to work with us. If I didn't pay for all the repairs by this month they threatened that they would shut my water off? Please help if you have any insight on who to contact. I am afraid i will be sued by renters who have purchased flights and made plans over a year ago. The property is located in Driggs Idaho
thanks so much
Sharla

Thank you Melissa. The construction will be on going and there are many other unit owners waiting and ready to do the repair . He could easily start in another unit . Issue I think is the person we share a common wall with is on the board of directors and wants his and my unit done first which is why the urgency. Construction will be ongoing for a year. I do think that receiving 3 days notice of when work will commence is not sufficient in any way. We have renters coming in two days as well . I’m at a loss . I guess the next call is an attorney and the. The sheriffs department if I have to enforce the no trespassing

About shutting off your water: This remedy is controversial. Your question comes up a lot nationwide. It is possible it is allowed in Idaho. As an introduction, see links at https://www.google.com/search?q=shut+off+water+hoa+legal&oq=shut+off+water+hoa+legal&aqs=chrome..69i57.3846j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 . Again, read your Declaration and Covenants and also, if things elevate to the point that the HOA (condo) is shutting off your water, you may have to hire an attorney.

I agree Kathy. The timeline right before the holiday is a nightmare. I certainly don't want to put vacation renters in the middle of this fiasco, but giving us 6 days notice on a holiday weekend is unacceptable. we are contacting an attorney to see how to proceed and have also contacted the sheriff.
Prior to making our payment we told them in writing that our unit would be occupied from end of may- September. Never once did they state that this would be an issue or problem. Once we paid the last $34,000 we get a letter stating that was our problem and they were starting 6 days later. We let them know they do not have permission to begin repairs and that it will be occupied. They have stated they we need to plan to have our unit available for repair for 3 months. June-August. That is quite a lot of rental income (which we used to pay some of the repair bills ) lost as well as ramifications from these renters some of whom have flights and such from as far away as Australia. I'm wondering if we could have legal ramifications due to breach of contract with them as well. It's even more frustrating that others in the complex ( 20 units) are ready and eager to get started, yet they placed our unit first since one of the board members shares our common wall and wants his done right away. I just find it hard to believe that when we are paying personally such large amounts of money for these repairs and the HOA is not covering them that they can still dictate when it occurs and demand we break contracts with our renters. He is claiming its a health and safety issue as there may be mold in the walls of the units. I worry and want it rectified in a timely manner as well but if it is a dire safety hazard why are they doing the repairs in stages and not demanding everyone be out or begin now. I have spoken to other owners and they
were already notified that their units will not be repaired until after the winter season. I just don't see the big deal with moving to another unit to start repairs and swapping with another owner who is slated later after the winter. They just refuse to work with us and in response to our letter he stated " the answer to your question is brief is -No and as President this decision is final". They also refuse to call and communicate directly and instead choose to send nasty threatening emails.

I do think it is possible you could win this in a legal fight. In court. However, that will take months to make happen. Even if you are able to get an appointment today with an attorney- I don't see that happening, but maybe?? All they would be able to do is write a letter barring entry into your home and threatening a lawsuit. Again, this is a process. You stated you had renters arriving in 2 days! How will you stop this from interfering with your renters?

You may get sued for breach of contract from your renters. And, yes I suspect you will lose rental income this summer. Especially if this is expected to take months to complete.

My advice is to let them repair the unit. Cancel your rentals. Then sue. For all losses.

I just don't see you stopping this from happening without a fight and law enforcement will likely not get involved in this. If things get physical, someone is going to jail. Is it worth that?

Your HOA board seems resolute in this happening at your place- next week. I don't think they much care you rent your unit out for profit. I hope a judge will.

Please update on how things go.

Here's what I am processing:

-- The HOA can likely legally enter at any time, pursuant to the governing documents.

-- Mold has health risks but it's clear this situation has been deemed a non-emergency (relatively).

-- The HOA needs three months to do the repairs.

-- The HOA could work on other units that do not have renters. True?

-- You will lose rental income.

If all the above is true, then I think I would write my own 'letter of demand' to the HOA saying I will be seeking the HOA paying me for my lost rental income and the costs of breaking a contract. You can google for the terse format such a 'letter of demand' requires. Alternatively you could spend say around $1000 for an attorney to do this. If the attorney has to review your CC&RS, the cost will be on the order of at least another $1000 for the review. Send the letter certified mail, return receipt requested to the person you know is the designated legal agent for the HOA on such matters. This could be the manager, the president or maybe the HOA attorney. If you're not sure, mail them all with your demand letter.

Can you check on whether the repair staff really will be in your unit every day for three months? Are you sure it's not a window, and the repair staff will only be in your unit for say a week or so?

Sharla, here is some advice.

May I ask what is the reason for the mold abatement?
If it is caused by another owner or element of the common area, I would reach out to their prospective insurance carriers.
If it is just routine abatement then you may not have any recourse.

If the mold treatment was caused by something else, your renter and you might benefit because insurance would put your renter up in a hotel or
similar accommodations, and you still get to collect rent money. it is sort of a win win for you.

PS I've seen this type of mold redemption happen when a penthouse owners infinity pool was overfilled, and the water caused flood damage to many units 20 floors below his.

Hold the horses... The renter situation you may have an issue and could be sued by your renters. Your responsible for their health and welfare in that home. A mold issue can put you on the hook or a reason for them to cancel the contract. Heck, they can even NOT pay you rent until the mold situation is fixed.

You can't withhold certain repairs on a rental property. Like if the heating/cooling system is broke. Serious plumbing issues. That can also be conditions that can effect health/safety. Mold could be one of those.

So before we jump on the HOA. Let's look at the whole situation. You have renters going to occupy a unit that has mold in it. Instead of being a responsible homeowner/landlord, your going to delay the fix so you can make money off the renters? Is it you don't want the HOA to enter the home to tip off your renters about the mold situation?

OK - it sounds like the HOA is trying to do the right thing, and you agree it is right thing.

But, it sounds like you don't like the timing and believe it is due to politics.

Sounds easy - tell your renters it is required repair that is not part of your ability to preclude.

Good luck on that. I don't think they owe you anything for loss of rental income. You are responsible for your home and thus if you choose to rent it. The HOA has a right/need to do work that they have scheduled. Just because those 2 overlap doesn't mean they owe you anything. It's just an inconvenience.

Sharla, thanks for the elaboration. Like Guy, I want to know how long the work will take. You wrote that most of the work is exterior. If it's only about a week that the repair crew will be working on your townhome, I would check wording in the lease on the point. If the wording allows repairs, and if the tenants can continue to reside in the home (setting aside some messiness and dust), I think I might work with the HOA and just get this done. It just depends.

Even if the HOA reschedules to say next year, won't you potentially be losing rental income? The difference would be that you can rent the unit letting people know in advance they are going to be inconvenienced for a certain period.

I know time is tight at this point. Hopefully your knowledge of the details will lead to a good decision in negotiating this with the HOA.

he has stated he will not give me specific dates or even an estimate of how long it will actually take. He will also not allow communication with the the work crew. If it's only a couple weeks, we could accommodate easily, but he will only state there is a 3 month window. I gave him the dates of our rentals and said he could have access if we could just let our renters know what was transpiring and what time noise and work would start and stop each day. He stated the decision is made he will not answer questions or provide any information. We really tried to communicate with him and work together so that everything can proceed in a timely manner. We have no other choice but to cancel and work through our attorney. Mold testing has never been done on any of the units. They have stated due to the roof issues units could be at risk for mold. I agree we know nothing on their side as to what they did on the insurance part and why its not covered. we were all given a blanket statement that it was not being covered and that there was no one to go back on. They stated that the repair costs were to be paid by each individual owner and range between $30,000- to $50,000 and then threatened that our water would be turned off if we did not have payment complete in a 6 month timeframe. They are completing the next 20 units over a one year time period. We will be completing our work and putting this home on the market. It is not worth the stress and headaches

the HOA was in litigation on this matter for over two years with to try and hold them liable financially- planning department, architecture firm, developer etc. the end result was that it was not going to be covered by anyone except the homeowners. the homeowners insurance have stated this was pre existing and would not cover due to it being the developer, builders fault. they have gone round and round to no avail. It's an unbelievable situation and exhausting both mentally and financially during this whole process. So to answer your question, yes we should have had our attorney involved much earlier.

Out of time, maybe ... attorney to ask for injunction of some sort to block? However this requires significant proof and audit trail.

Any update Sharla?

Sheriff's Dept would not do any good. The best thing is to request a meeting with the BOD and see if they can give a 30 Day notice or either start at another unit or set of units. Unless this person basically runs the BOD they may compromise but this is probably to late for you but it may help others.