Quote:
Posted By NorrieM on 12/12/2020 9:57 AM
Our HOA has an amendment regarding leasing and subleasing that was attached to only one of the Developer's Declarations (we have two separate plantings merged into Articles of Incorporation). Developer signed off his Declarations 1980 and 1985. It prohibits the subletting by a tenant to another party. However State law seems to say that when a landlord rents out a property , that tenant can sublet it. Does this apply to an HOA which includes: apartment style Condominums, row Townhouses, and Bi-Attached? We do require owners to first have physically occupied premise 1 year before renting out; leave a deposit on file (returnable) ; and notify the BOD who their tenants are. We would like to have a cap on number of rentals identified in the new By-Laws currently being undertaken. Can we continue to prohibit subleasing by tenants?
Short answer: In my opinion, yes, absolutely.
Long answer:
-- Iowa courts do not appear to me to have flat-out prohibited lease clauses that prohibit sub-leasing. For one thing, Iowa courts have said that, when the lease allows sub-leasing by permission of the landlord, the landlord has to be reasonable. See the citations on page 50 at https://www.iowacourts.gov/static/media/documents/140820_99A4E4F246B11.pdf
-- Because I am not an attorney and you do not want to pay an attorney (yet), consider this: https://caretaker.com/learn/sublets/local-laws-in-iowa . It says that subleasing is allowed in Iowa as long as the lease does not prohibit it. This site says the same thing: https://www.avail.co/education/laws/iowa-landlord-tenant-law . With more effort and like three years of education in the law, you could probably find the case law or statute to support this.
-- Your HOA's covenants apparently say no sub-leasing is allowed, period, end of discussion. This is a restriction on the use of property. The courts view covenants as contractual terms. Given that Iowa landlord-tenant law does allow a lease to prohibit sub-leasing, I think the HOA's covenants against sub-leasing may be lawfully enforced against Owners who let their tenants sub-lease.