Paint your house or else !

Our CC&R's state that " Each owner's repair and maintenance obligations shall extend to and include: Painting , repairing, replacing and caring for roofs,fences,exterior building surfaces, exterior glass surfaces,exterior doors and to maintaining all yard area's not expressly required to be maintained by the Association." ------That is it. all of it.----- Now in the past 4 years a new management company has taken to telling several hundred of our home owners that "staff has inspected your home and you must paint the entire exterior" A series of letters are sent each one getting more strident and finally threatening fines for non compliance . Most homeowners buckle and comply , some have been hit with as many as 60 plus letters and an escalating fine total in to the thousands. No where in our well written CC&R's is any authority given to management to do this and management simply says it is for the good of the community. -- Is there case law (California) that covers this?

Exactly, the CC&R's are completely silent on that, as in NO criteria of any kind. It is just the opinion of paid staff. The targeted properties look as good as the neighbors . So far no one out of several who have tried has been able to pick out the targeted houses even when told what street they are on.

No peeling paint. Looks as good or better than the whole street, No one has been able to pick it out as needing paint. As the CC&R's govern, they state as quoted It is the "Home-owners responsibility" and to me that is WHEN to paint. There is NO authority given or implied to any-one else. The board cannot create powers that are not in the CC&R's. If we change color we must get the new colors approved but that is all that is said about paint in all 58 pages.

With all due respect the only question is . The CC& R's rule, absolute,right? they state as quoted, the home-owner makes the decision as to when! My question is how can management substitute their opinion for what is the rule as stated in the CC&R's? We keep saying here on every subject--check the documents and when that is suggested their answer is gibberish.

John, Not the CC&R's? We see it here all the time----- Check the governing documents!--- The BOD must be bound by what they say AND what they do not say. The rest is all opinion and that is the real problem we have. Opinions are like --------. every one has one .

What about your Rules & Regulations, Jack? Any elaboration of your CC&Rs there?

We're a high rise and are responsible for maintaining our balconies. In both our 17 y.o. CC&Rs and in our Rules & Regs, there's a statement that if we do not keep them in good conditions, the board can call the owners to hearings and even hire someone to paint them.

Per our bylaws, the board may delegate some of its powers to a management company (MC) and, in our case, the MC provides our HOA with a Property Mgr. (PM). That person sends out violation letters after corroborating alleged violations along with many other duties.

My point is, you & others need to put pressure on the Board at your monthly open meetings to formulate a policy about house paint (that doesn't conflict with your CC&Rs). The PM, we assume, is only following the board's instructions.

For a lot of valuable info, visit Davis-stirling.com which has a wonderful Index about almost every HOA topic you can think of. It's by CA HOA attorneys.

I quoted the CC&R's verbatim, period. It is the home-owners decision as to when. No where do they cede any power to any-one else! Weak-- YES but that is what it says. And again no one of several interested and involved people could pick out any(not one ) of seven including the one that had the longest record on attention and over 60 letters, of the targeted houses even when given the street that they were on. . And don't suggest changing the CC&R's , that has proved to be dismal expensive failure over the same period of time.

Kerry, been there, done that, several times. They will not produce any CC&R authority and rely on the manager to keep on keeping on. The houses owned by investors do not stand out as most rentals do, because our landscapers do a fantastic job year round and they (the land lords) just discard the letters and ignore them knowing that there is no real enforceable penalties.If and when they decide to sell a house the current median price is a 1/2 mil and generate multiple offers in a short time. When the next crunch comes, that may change but now a minimum touch-up of gutters, trim and facia prior to listing will ensure good curb appeal and a quick sale. thanks for your input.

Yes because the point is -The documents (CC&R's) control, always. Staff assumptions are worthless against that. Show me authority to decree painting on a staff assumption or leave it up to the home owner as the CC&R's state clearly.

Jack,

The section you cited specified that the owner has to paint.

Nothing you have provided states when to paint or who makes that decision.

As others have pointed out, there is likely something within the covenants or elsewhere in the governing documents giving the Association the authority to determine if a property is being properly maintained or not. There are many broad statements and ambiguous words such as visual harmony or aesthetic that makes it judgement calls of the individual.

If there is a disagreement, the options are:

1) the parties involved work it out on their own.
2) the parties involved agree to arbitration
3) the parties involved take the issue to a court of law for a ruling

That said, here are some articles with recommended painting time frames based on material being painted:

How Often Should You Paint the Exterior of Your House?

How Often Do I Need To Repaint My House Exterior?

How Long Should My Exterior Paint Job Last in the San Diego Area

How long will an exterior paint job last in the San Francisco Bay area?

"There are likely" and "I can't help believe there are" ??? I have the original well worn copy of the CC&R's on my desk, I know it chapter and verse, because I have read it many times. I bought my home here in part because of the well written CC&R's compared to dozens of others I have read for clients over the past 40 + years as a broker. It is our constitution and bill of rights rolled into one. I want to pay my assessments on time, see my lawns and plantings taken care of enjoy all the services it provides and be left in quiet enjoyment of my retirement home. All 58 pages are clear. concise and easy to understand. and there are not any other entries pertaining to painting in it. I obey the rules and know what they are and if it is not there, please don't imply that it is. Selective enforcement and spotty collection practices over years, clouding titles with baseless liens, are an invitation to a class action suit that the home-owners will win and some attorney will end up with the assets and the reserve money. I have had to line out fines on escrow closing statements and institute quiet title actions on behalf of sellers over the years and have never failed to put the matter right. That is probably where we are headed here.

Jack,

Two questions:

1) Have you requested a meeting with the Board to discuss the issue (as it's possible that they are only aware of what the MC is telling them)?

2) When was the last time you (or had someone) paint the exterior of your home?

Mellissa, Ours as I have quoted does not. And Tim. (1) yes (2) Two years ago, I am acting as a visable spokesperson for a group of similar like minded P.O.'d home-owners caught up in this power grab. I am here collecting input to put before them in preparation for the next board elections. Thanks for all the help.

Glen, I have and they can't, they come up with, "well it should have be in there" And again, no one of a dozen people who have tried could pick out a targeted house even when given the street that the house was on!

In case it was missed:

Virginia, yes 3 of the board members too the challenge and failed and 1 made the comment, "well it should have been in there"

Thanks for the help, it seems we are repeating most input now. Do I kill this off or just let it sink?

I am lost. You say it's verbatim stated the owner decides when, but that is not what you quoted in your opening post. And it wouldn't make sense. The owner could decide never and that wouldn't work.

OK but those 4 lines DO NOT explicitly say the decision of 'when' is up to the owner, that is all I and another poster pointed out. Well, I went on to say that wouldn't make sense. Someone could decide when is never which wouldn't work.

I'm not saying I agree with what they are doing. I have no idea. They can't put liens? Then what teeth do fines have?

Then why do you CONTINUE the Ka-Ka ?

PERIOD

Read and understand the governing documents or make up the rules as you go. Simple choice.

Recorders # 19961031----- 8.46 am 10/31/96

Master Declaration of Covenants,conditions and restrictions for
--- --------- -- ------ a master planned development.

I spent over 40 years reading CC&R's for clients as a very active RE broker and bought here partly because of these well written CC&R's. They are as good as any I have ever seen AND they leave the home owners in quiet enjoyment of their homes. Either read and follow the rules or make them up as you go along with each change on the board.

Not necessarily true in all states. Florida, for instance, allows reasonable rules and regulations on parcel use. A parcel is a lot with or without buildings on it and is not part of the common property.