Rogue Owner rents unit just longer than 30 days

May 3. Yet again, the rogue owner is not here, hasn't provided any information about who they are renting to, and the renters are creating problems with our solid wastes. This is more yet unnecessary work to monitor the solid wastes to avoid getting fined by Seattle ($650). Also, there are access rights and issues around personal safety in case of emergencies the Board insists everyone who lives here know and comply with.

In February, The Board sent him a First Notice letter. Instead of complying he broadcasted it to all the other owners accusing me of horrible tyranny and harassing his renters, asking me to apologize (?), and demanding I step down from the Board. As we were preparing for the annual meeting, he stated he would not vote for my re-election to service.

I did not replay to his rant, but I did summarized what had happened to the owners at our annual meeting. They were very supportive, and support updated rules, commercial fees on renting owners, and sufficient data collection to ensure everyone is operating as a landlord within the frame of the law. And I was re-elected.

One priority is meeting the renters and getting them up to speed on condo access rules and dealing with solid wastes.

Another priority is that he complies with the lawful rules and fees established by our Board.

Question: As I suspect this owner continues to advise his renters to not cooperate—he certainly isn't—how do I proceed?

Note: with the 2nd Notice we will begin researching going to court. What do I ask for re: the rogue owner? What do I ask for re: the renters to stop them from their unauthorized use of our common area resources (utility bins) until the board knows who they are has shown them how how to sort? We're going to need some type of order that's immediate and applies to the renters. What would that be called and what do we say to the court?

Thanks for reading.

Location: Seattle, WA
Size: multi-family 12 units

I think you know the answer to this question, but in case it has to be spelled out, here you go:

Ultimately, the owner is responsible for the behavior of his/her household (or in this case, tenants). I don't know if you have rules requiring owner-landlords to disclose the names of their tenant (if not, you won't get that, and you'd probably need an amendment to the bylaws to require this of homeowners. Another can of worms we won't get into here).

You will have to (1) gather proof these tenants are violating the solid waste requirement (not sure what you're talking about - a dumpster or something else?) and (2) take legal action against the owner for continued violation of community rules. Since you do have community rules about this stuff, I wouldn't single out the renters, otherwise, you'll be accused of selective enforcement. Ignore the "I'm not gonna vote against you" stuff - you won and it appears the homeowners support your actions regarding the tenants. That said, your contact really should be with the homeowner, not the tenants - the homeowner is the one who has legal obligations to the association because he's a member, whereas the tenants have an agreement with the homeowner, not the association.

By the way, you might not know the names of the tenants, but other homeowners might - you can't go snooping into their mail (that's illegal), but maybe asking around in confidence might work. If you can get names and confirmations from others that Mr. Zombie and friends live there, you can try suing them and the homeowner. They may move out, but you can still sock it to the owner.

Instead, send a letter to all homeowners from the board reminding everyone of the rules, note that continued violations put the community at risk for being fined by the city, starting at $650 (find out what the maximum is, along with other possible sanctions and put that in the letter as well), and that everyone who rents out their unit are responsible for ensuring their tenants are aware of community rules and comply with them. Failure to do so will result in legal action by the board.

As for this person, if he/she hasn't paid fines and you've sent a proper notice of the fining schedule (it should have been done before all this started), you can levy those fines and if he refuses to pay, you'll have to turn this over to your attorney and let him/her handle it. If you wind up in court, be sure the lawsuit requests reimbursement of all attorneys fees and court costs related to the action. But before that happens, remember what I said about gathering proof - that will likely mean gathering time and date-stamped photos and testimony from neighbors who've seen it. If you have a security camera in the area start there or the board can consider getting one. It will mean someone must monitor it, so the association must consider that cost. It will affect assessments, so let homeowners know the board is considering that option - sometimes the threat of a wallet smackdown is enough to encourage self-policing.

If you have any CCRs concerning landlord-tenant issues in your community, start reading them and discussing options with your attorney. You might also educate yourself on landlord-tenant law in your state, starting here: https://tsquareproperties.net/eviction-process-washington-state-overview-of-wa-eviction-laws/#:~:text=3%2DDay%20notice%20for%20nuisance,enough%20to%20warrant%20an%20eviction.

Note this link only addresses relations between the landlord and tenant, not the HOA, which isn't a party to that agreement. However, it could help with establishing or amending current rules or CCRs (homeowners have to sign off on the latter).

A final suggestion: If you haven't already done so, start documenting the hell out this situation. Good luck to you.

We have been there and it doesn't end with going to an attorney, or even winning a lawsuit.

IF you win and receive a judgement you still have to collect.

We didn't get any money until the mortgage holder stepped up and paid the fines, but the owner is still not in compliance, so we had to sue again and we expect the same result.

If the owner has a mortgage foreclosure is an option but even then you are on the short end of the stick because the mortgage holder is first in line. And, in our case the owner has multiple liens from the IRS and others.

Laws are for honest people and dealing with someone who is dead set on violating the rules and laws.

Good Luck.