Why Owner responsible for Tenants violations

We talked about this in another thread. Now that I am not typing from my phone can provide a more detailed answer to why a HOA can not fine the tenant but the owner. (Except maybe in Florida but your state laws may vary as well).

A tenant is NOT a member of the HOA. There is no lease agreement between the HOA and the tenant. The tenant does NOT pay Dues. They do not have the right to attend a member meeting. Some HOA's they do allow tenant/residents to be on committees but they have no voting power. The Tenant/resident can't vote for rule changes or who is on the board. The Tenant does not pay the HOA rent.

A member does have rental agreement with the tenant. They are responsible for the tenants. The member does pay the dues. The member is held to the HOA rules as a member. Some states the lease does have to be approved or filed with the HOA. This is NOT EVERY HOA or required by every state. Each HOA is different and separate. The "Best practice" for a owner/landlord would be to include MUST follow the HOA rule or face consequences. This may be eviction or they pay them back if the HOA fines them. However MOST landlords use an Off the Shelf form for rental agreements. They do NOT have this caveat unless the landlord includes it. If not, then "Tenant rights" kicks in. Meaning even the owner can not evict the tenant if they violate the HOA rules if it's not a condition of the lease. It is a contract.

Example: Member is forced to rent their home due to job, hardship, health, or deployment. They have to go out of state or overseas. (Not including those absentee landlord/members who rent as a business in this example). Their Tenant/family member/friend starts violating the HOA rules. Let's say making noise late at night and not taking in the garbage can etc.. IF the HOA was to fine the resident/tenant, guess what? That tenant may not tell their landlord. (IF they did could face eviction). The owner blissfully goes on without any idea there is a problem. There is no consequence to the owner who will continue to ignore the property thinking everything is okay.

The HOA fining the owner resolves many issues. It lets the owner know they have a problem tenant. The member/landlord can take some actions if necessary. Remember the landlord/member pays the dues. If they do not, then the HOA has LEGAL options of lien/foreclosure against the owner. Since the tenant doesn't pay the dues they can't lien/foreclose on them. Plus the HOA is NOT on the lease, so they can't legally evict the tenant. That would be the member/landlord responsibility. They have the lease agreement.

Many states do NOT allow for lien/foreclosures to be based on fines. Liens are for unpaid dues but with some HOA's they do an accounting practice of applying dues towards the fines. (I do not agree with this practice). Well you fine a tenant can't lien for unpaid dues as they don't pay them. You can the owner.

Overall, the HOA has to hold the owner/landlord responsible for the renter/tenants violations. It can't take matters into it's own hands. Unless it is illegal activity like drug deals or vandalism, the HOA has to apply the rules and fines toward the owner/member.

Do not agree fine. However, you have to apply the logic. Again this is general and not specific to anyone's state. Your mileage may vary. Always contact a lawyer for real legal advice and actions.

What legal instrument does the HOA have to enforce? Sue? Lien? Foreclose? Judgement? Eviction? Just because it is in the rules does not make it enforceable on the tenant. They never signed a contract with the HOA. They are not bound by land or property they do not own.

How is that enforceable? tenant not on the deed...

For us, the lease must include agreement to follow the association rules. We reject leases that don’t have the clause. Fines are on the owner outstanding balance. Its not different than any other charge. We also have the right to evict tenants. We have never needed to. We also rarely need to issue fines. Most people fix behavior as long as the rules are clear.

My point is do not assume a HOA can find a tenant. Plus the HOA can enforce anything on a tenant. The owner is usually the responsible party that has to take action.

Whatever we call it or classify it, I'll provide some examples.

I want to give some state laws first and get back to the enforcement by CCRs later.

Connecticut

has very similar laws to Alabama for fining and evicting tenants:

"If a tenant of a unit owner violates the declaration, bylaws or rules and regulations of the association, in addition to exercising any of its powers against the unit owner, the association may: … levy reasonable fines against the tenant or unit owner, or both, for the violation; and (3) Enforce any other rights against the tenant for the violation which the unit owner as landlord could lawfully have exercised under the lease, including any such right to bring a summary process action under chapter 832."

Fine work, Jeff. I & maybe others really appreciate it.

What if an owner who is complaining retaliates against the tenant by using a ceiling thumper??

Thanks, Kerry! And I'm not done, although I'll try to be more concise.

I'm happy to help you make your point that it's NOT that easy to evict or fine a Tenant. However, it's getting much easier when state law supports it.

In some states it needs to WRITTEN in your documents. In other states, the law is simply the law, and the association just has to follow the procedure in the law (e.g., have a hearing) in order to levy fines on tenants.

I agree that it is usually easier to deal with the owner rather than the tenant. I wrote that here in a previous post. I think there is general agreement on that. It is just not the only way to do it.

Conclusions so far:

1. Quite a few states have laws that allow an association to levy fines, deny facilities, and sometimes evict tenants. It is not just Florida or a small number of states. I gave quite a few examples, and there are more.

2. I see a trend of states enacting this in their laws (although I acknowledge that not all states).

3. We here can no longer make the blanket statement that the association has to deal solely with the owner and never with the tenant. (It is usually easier to deal with the owner, but not the only tool in many states.)

Good question on enforcement and good advice about updating R&R's.

That is the thing... Going to small claims court against a tenant. Unless what the renter did caused actual damages as in physical, not much of a case to enforce.

I am not against fining a tenant. However the reality of it need to be prepared for. Which do not think many HOAs are prepared for or understand.

We have so many people coming here complaining about a tenant/renters. They do not understand the complexity of how the HOA being involved is limited. The HOA is not going to be a hero for anyone.

I never said BOTH parties are not notified of the violations. Just saying that the party that the HOA should and can hold to the ground for it is the owner. I don't the need for the HOA to act as a landlord even if they can. That is a bit out scope. Think it is in scope to act against the owner to force them to act.

If you're at the point of deciding whether you need to evict a tenant it's because there's a BIG problem and the landlord isn't handling it. Problems like intentional facility damage and criminal activity come to mind. It's not really a choice between a new mailbox and eviction.

Most landlords care about their expensive property. They won't usually let problems continue.

She can't help herself.