Pet policy

In my experience, pets are not a problem to the HOA until they are a problem (noise, such as barking, whining or someone in the community is afraid of dogs or, worse, has been bitten). Unless your HOA has rules requiring you to provide proof of current vaccination, they can’t force you. But they can change the rules. (And I can’t think of any proof they can require short of something like registration papers from the AKC, but most people do not have purebreds).

Personally, I’d aim to keep to the limit. I can think of nothing more heartbreaking then someone having the power to insist you remove one or more of your animals.

-- Anyone can knock on your door as long as they are not making a habit of bothering and, say, harassing you.

-- Do an owner have to answer the door? No.

-- Does an owner have to respond to questions about how many pets you have? If an owner does not respond, then I would argue the HOA has the right to issue the owner a violation notice. If the owner lies about how many pets he/she has, then it's up to the HOA to prove the owner is lying. And the HOA board/manager better not be stupid enough to come onto your property without your permission to try to get proof you are lying.

-- On the other hand, I think an owner had best make sure their pets are not some kind of nuisance, like barking noise, or a cat that gets in fights, or odors coming from the property due to improper pet waste disposal.

If the HOA has common area where people take their dogs for walks, the HOA might be on solid legal ground to create a rule requiring vaccinations for pets using the common area.

Does your HOA have common area, such as roads, sidewalks or a park?

This is an important California case, appealed and confirmed by CA Supreme Court. Appeals Court said pets would actually have to interfere with neighbor's enjoyment of their property for HOA to enforce.

https://casetext.com/case/nahrstedt-v-lakeside-village-condominium-assn

Ours states they can come onto to the property for inspection but our board thinks they can come on the property anytime they feel like it. I have no trespassing signs and my gate is locked. They would come into my backyard and leave the gate open. I have a dog and he will escape if the gate gets left open. Then the board would blame me for him being loose.

I agree with Liz. I would think it might be a challenge for someone to hide more than two animals because they bark and poop and that can be heard and smelled. That said, if that's the rule, you can petition the board to change it, but you'd better be prepared to address issues like people running a would-be dog breeding operation in the backyard.

There are also city or county ordinances that may require dogs and cats to be vaccinated (our area also requires ferrets to have their shots). I would think if you're a responsible pet owner, you'd have no trouble with keeping your pet vaccinated and showing proof, if necessary - especially if Fluffy or Fido go off and bite a neighbor or two. If someone has to get treated for rabies or other diseases that can be spread by a bite, you may wind up with a nasty lawsuit that will cost you far more than having it vaccinated.

Yes, you did misread. You did so grossly, such that you put out false information. You claimed:
From the Ca Supreme Court decision:
Accordingly, we [the Ca Supreme court] reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand for further proceedings consistent with the views expressed in this opinion.

One reason I corrected you is because it is important for readers to understand that the original, un-amended covenants get great deference by the courts.

The Court of Appeals screwed up. The Ca Supreme Court called out the lower court on this.

Correction: the dissent would have concurred.

So a resident can only keep two fish in their fish tank ?