Hoa requirements

I applied to an HoA in Florida and I was asked if I had a dui. I was honest and answered the question the best I could. The dui was in New Jersey years ago and is considered just a traffic violation. Will the Hoa give me any problem with it.

None of us can say what some association will decide. It's not clear from your post what you are applying for? Is his an application to be a tenant, or are you buying?

I’m applying to rent. I already have a lease with landlord scheduled to move in November 30th.

If I were on this board, then I would approve you as a tenant.

Maybe give the landlord a heads up, so the landlord can go to bat for you as needed.

People with any brains know that messing with a landlord trying to get a good tenant is a mistake. I would hope this board knows they need to tread softly. On the other hand, volunteer directors can be clueless about the law; can make a mountain out of a molehill (all for ego validation); and so on.

The HOA tenant evaluation application site asked if I had dui. They even asked me to upload documents of to the site. I was honest about everything they asked of me. Now I’m just waiting for a response and approval from HOA. It’s so stressful and nerve wracking because my lease starts in two weeks.

Renting

I hope your landlord is going to bat for you.

Got a citation?

I do not think there is any statutory prohibition on HOAs doing background checks on prospective tenants.

Note that the law does view COAs/HOAs in some circumstances as landlords, because the HOA/COA provides access to common areas in a kind of landlord-tenant arrangement.

I understand New York co-ops, for one, can still reject prospective owners for any reason not protected by the fair housing act.

Fair point, AFAIC. A board cannot add restrictions unless the Declaration gives them authority of some kind or another to do so.

If the Declaration says the HOA can create reasonable rules for rentals, or must approve the lease and/or tenant, then things get murky. As I repeat here often: Case law says that, where the covenants give a board discretion, the board has to be "reasonable" in the exercise of this discretion.

And if this board is delaying letting the landlord know about approval of the tenant, god help them.

No sex offenders allowed, actually written into the original covenants?

I could be mis-remembering.

Florida HOA here. We use a private company that does tenant evaluations for leases. While we don't do this for purchasers, they do the same approval process with the same company for both leases AND purchases in the COA where we own a unit. I had to go through this process. It is legal in Florida to do this.

When you set up your account with the company, you tell them what things you are looking for. We do a credit check and a criminal background check. In the OP's case, if it shows up on a criminal background check and you were denied but you protested, the board can consider it and override it. We had a case last year where the guy had a 20 year old drunk in public charge. We overrode the decision and let him lease.

Please keep in mind that every state is different and you shouldn't make blanket statements about the legality of this. Yes, it is an invastion of privacy, but if you don't want to provide this information then maybe you don't belong in an HOA or COA. This is not a new thing - our documents have had this language for over 20 years.

Here's what our documents say.

10.4 Approval Process; Disapproval. Any Owner intending to lease his Parcel shall submit a copy of the proposed lease, an application, and any other requested information and required fees at least thirty (30) days in advance of the commencement of the lease or renewal or extension term. Upon receipt of all information and fees required by Master Association and an interview (if requested by the Board), the Master Association shall have the duty to approve or disapprove all proposed leases within thirty (30) days of receipt of such information for approval and the completion of the Tenant/Resident interview (if required), by sending written notification to the Owner within such time frame. All requests for approval not acted upon within thirty (30) days shall be deemed approved. Applications for renewals or extensions of lease agreements shall be submitted at least thirty (30) days in advance of the expiration of the lease agreement. If the Master Association disapproves a proposed lease or renewal or extension, the Owner shall receive a short statement indicating the reason for the disapproval, and the lease shall not be made, renewed, or extended. The Master Association shall neither have a duty to provide an alternate Tenant nor shall it assume any responsibility for the denial of a lease application if any denial is based upon any of the following factors:
10.4.1 The Person seeking approval (which shall hereinafter include all proposed Occupants or Residents) has been convicted of, pled no contest to, or has been released from incarceration, probation or community control for:
(a) a capital, first or second degree felony involving violence to Persons within the past ten (10) years; or
(b) a first or second degree felony involving illegal drugs within the past ten (10) years; or
(c) any drug offence involving the manufacture and/or distribution of illegal drugs regardless of when that conviction, plea or release occurred; or
(d) a felony involving sexual battery, sexual abuse, or lewd and lascivious behavior regardless of when that conviction, plea or release occurred;
10.4.2 The Person seeking approval has been labeled a sexual offender or a sexual predator by any governmental or quasi-governmental agency regardless of when that label occurred;
10.4.3 The Person seeking approval is currently on probation or community control for a felony involving violence to another or damage to or theft of property;
10.4.4 The application for approval on its face, facts discovered in connection with the Master Association's investigation, or the conduct of the applicant, indicate that the Person seeking approval intends to conduct himself in a manner inconsistent with the Governing Documents. By way of example, but not limitation, a Tenant taking possession of the premises prior to approval by the Master Association as provided for herein shall constitute a presumption that the applicant's conduct is inconsistent with the Governing Documents and may constitute grounds for denial;
10.4.5 The Person seeking approval has a history of disruptive behavior or disregard for the rights and property of others as evidenced by his conduct in other housing facilities or associations, or by his conduct in this Community as a Tenant, Resident, Occupant or Guest;
10.4.6 The Owner or Person seeking approval has failed to provide the information, fees or appearances required to process the application in a timely manner or has made material misstatements or withheld material/information during the application process; or
10.4.7 All Assessments, fines and other Charges and monetary obligations against the Parcel and/or Owner have not been paid in full.

With the caveat AFAIC that some of your HOA's prohibitions on felons are now, according to HUD, possible violations of the Fair Housing Act.

These are interesting reads and seem quite thorough.

In some states, if a landlord/owner is in collection, one of the conditions may be that rental income is paid to the collecting agent (usually the HOA's attorney) until the delinquency is satisfied. If the landlord is in financial difficulty, you want to keep the money flowing in.