Exterior post light replacement

I was wondering if anyone has specific approach or process for the following.

We are a 110 unit townhouse community and each home has an exterior post light. The residents are supposed to replace their post lights when they burn out. There are always lights out and it can because some the residents don't check them, perhaps some of the older residents can't do it and others just don't pay attention.

It really constitutes a safety issue for the community because we don't have many street lights. The post lights are on the private residents' property.

Boards have tried several approaches including having post bulb replacements that residents can purchase, a board member posting notices regarding lights that are out by street rather than address, and currently telling residents to report lights out to the property management company and have them send the resident a letter with an eventual fine if it is not addressed.

It occurred to me that if a post light being out is reported if we had the proper rules we could have the property management company simply replace the light and send the bill to the resident or have the charge tacked on to their assessment. Seems like big brother but just a thought at this point.

Does anyone have a solution to this kind of problem?

I question how much of a "safety issue" it really is. That term is trotted out far too often, in my opinion, as justification for something somebody wants to do without any shred of evidence that "safety" would be affected one way or another.

Having said that, if it's the homeowners' responsibility then hold them to it. Use fines, if necessary. I don't think it's wise to put the burden of maintaining the lights on the HOA in the name of "safety". Especially if they're on private property. If you do that and something bad happens, like violent crime or vandalism, then the HOA could find itself in the crosshairs for negligence.

Appeal to the greed of the common ...

Someone from the Board drop off a free LED replacement bulb (we're not really talking about lights, right?) - to make sure all bulbs (even the old incandescents) are matching I would recommend 2700K LED bulbs.

Rob

Can the owner turn the light on and off or are they automatic?

I agree with Eric, replace the bulbs and absorb the cost.. Look at it at a practical standpoint, you mail out a letter USPS cost 50 cents.. How much does a bulb cost?
You will also retain community cohesion, because one unit might put in a yellow bulb, another a white one, one unit installs a 45w bulb another 60w.

You say townhome community? If you have grounds maintenance, just add this to their duty list.

We went back and forth on this issue in my HOA over the years. It was always easiest to just have the maintenance crew replace the bulbs as needed and roll it into the maintenance budget. It wasn't very much money, and the time needed to notify and follow up with homeowners wasn't worth it. Plus they were better able to keep the lights looking the same rather than having a number of different bulb types in use.

Robert ... how many properties are we talking about? Sorry, I may have missed this.

I agree with those who recommend an informal process of walking around and replacing bulbs that are out.

No community-wide announcement needed. If someone objects, deal with that objection one-on-one.

Here is how we handled ours. The HOA would replace the light bulbs. We would consider this a maintenance item as it was on common area. However, if the light post itself needed replacing the homeowner was responsible. That being because they are responsible for making sure it stays operational. We also had an assigned supplier and designated shade design. So you could not buy a random post and shade.

The ex-president would charge people a fee to install the light posts. You could hire a handyman service or electrician. The installation cost wasn't covered by the HOA.