Homeowner "gifts" her home

I hold a special place in by bowels for people that tap dance around rules and regulation. Are the people being gifted the use of the home causing trouble in the community? If not let it go. May not be worth the time, money and energy to pursuit this.

May not be worth it to pursue, but it may be worthwhile to run this by the HOA's attorney if you can do so without having to pay an arm and a leg for legal work.

The purpose of a rental restriction is not to stop homeowners from making money by renting out their homes - it's to prevent the issues associated with a constant stream of transients. The owner may not be charging rent, but is the church compensating her in any way? The church is using the property as an adjunct to its own facilities and to support its activities. In my view - although I'm sure the law says otherwise - this is more akin to running a business on HOA property than a true rental situation. The fact that the owner claims she isn't being paid *by the missionaries* is beside the point.

My usual advice to people who have issues with "tenants" is vigorous enforcement of the CC&Rs. If the missionaries violate any of the CC&Rs, document the violation, notify the owner, hold hearings, and start the fining process. You want to transfer the aggravation to the person who's causing it and make the situation more trouble than its worth.

You mean religious discrimination? If you were an attorney forced to make the best argument you could that this owner is being discriminated on the basis of religion, what would this look like? All I can come up with:

"My client is being discriminated against based on her religion, because her religion requires her to provide use of her home regularly to fellow missionaries. It's my client's church's tithe."

If I were an attorney not interested in frivolous arguments, even if the client offered me a lot of money, and assuming no such church requirement exists, I do not think I'd agree to represent this HOA owner.

Mark this down as one vote in favor of rental units at HOAs and COAs, covenants be darned.

I was thinking that if the HOA tried to fine for violations by the missionaries, the home's owner would claim that she's being discriminated against for her religion. In this case the HOA would need evidence that they enforce the CC&Rs across the board and are not singling out one person. The homeowner's argument wouldn't have to make legal sense, just that she'd be likely to try it.

I'm not part of that demographic, so I don't know if certain religions expect their members to open their homes to people who need accommodations. To the best of my knowledge I've never come across it - but it's a reasonable scenario of the congregation in question doesn't own the facilities to put up people overnight.

Glad I'm not on that board. If all the coming and going is truly impacting the neighbors, how can the board ignore it? But it seems like a bit of a minefield. (If this were my part of the world, one of the neighbors would put up a For Sale by Owner sign and the offending homeowner would have 5 offers by the end of the day.../grin)

Good advice.

I do understand about the LDS, but this has been going ton for over 10 years.

And the issue is not the fact that she may be gifting her home. The issue is that it seems that she is renting, gaining income, against the rules. Keep in mind, that other owners lose money because they follow the HOA restrictions, and they don't appreciate it when one owner profits by illegal renter.

We are a very quiet elderly community. We are not gated. Our homes are attached and the courtyard is shared. Her neighbors have to put up with different people going in and out, noise, and rules that sometimes are not followed, because they do not know the rules.

We don't believe they are missionaries most of the time, if not all the time.

We believe they are renters.

From the comments, I realize now that this is not something that has an easy solution, but I sincerely appreciate your comments and willingness to try to help.

Thank you.

Your problem is "it seems." Do you have evidence, or are you just unhappy? Have you asked one of the missionaries if they are paying rent?

Again did I miss the part of "Are the dues being paid"? Why else would a HOA need to be involved? Paid dues and adhering to the rules is all you need in a HOA.

OP has left the building.