Dog is breaking weight limit rule

YvonneA: Check your bylaws they may say you can fine the owner X$ for every day the violation continues. You need to get the attorney on it NOW! He should be able to solve the problem. Once you have an attorney in the picture DO NOT CONTACT THE VIOLATER! Let the attorney persue it. You may have to go to court on this. If the judge rules in your favor and I'm sure he would if it's in the DOCs. Then if the dog is not removed the owner will be in comtempt of court and could end up in jail! Be aware that an owner could start a law suit against the board for allowing the dog to remain, make noise,and a mess if you don't get the dog out! Good Luck. As President of a HOA I Been there, done that, it works! TomK2

Thanks for answering. We are more than willing to work with the owner if they would just return our phone calls. They have several other issues going on, the dog is the main one wreaking havoc with the neighbors. We'll see what happens at the end of the week. We have an attorney we can consult with this. We keep writing everything down and at least 2 board members will be present if we have to knock in the door to talk to them. I don't have the lifestyle for a dog but hate to have to remove a family pet from someone.

Ut oh.

How big is the dog?

Your declaration says "each" under 40 pounds, but your Rules change that to no pet over 30 pounds.

If the Declarations had simply said subject to a weight limit as decided by the Rules & Regulations, then you'd be okay.

But how can you make a Rule that's more restrictive than the CC&Rs?

It appears that the maximum weight of the dog can be up to but not over 40 pounds.

So, if the dog is 50 pounds, you're good to go, if it's 35, or 38, you might be not so good to go.

Or was that a typo?

It's a yellow lab at least 50 lbs, I know the approx. wt as it's the same size as a friend's dog I've taken to the vet. No,not a typo, the previous Board at the turnover adopted the rules & regulations with the 30 lb limit. I know the Declaration is more the "binding" document. That's why we consult an attorney, too. Ironically, there isn't a dog over 20 lbs in our 44 condos.

i have always wondered, and anyone can chime in here with the reason:

Why does an HOA "planner" have the feeling that owning three, six, or twelve fish in an aquarium is somehow detrimental to community values, and needs to be banned/outlawed in a set of rules? I see this in MANY HOA rules regarding pets: no more than two (or three) pets allowed, including fish.

Can anyone explain the logical thinking behind how the number of goldfish in my home shapes the community values or property pricing of an HOA?

Brian,
I hope that you were citing a "fish" limit with tongue in cheek because as many sets of CC&Rs that I have ever seen, I never have seen fish mentioned. I have seen Reptiles but no fish. Lucky for fish that they are contained and don't ever escape to get outside.

Now I have seen a size limit on upper story aquariums and that was probably a flooding issue along with waterbed restrictions on upper floors. But never a limit on how many fish.

I'm sorry as I'm new to this site and did not write every single word from the Rules & Regulations as I didn't want to over do it. I also left some words out in the ...... area in the Declaration. I will now! 1. There is a limit of two pets per unit. No individual pet may weigh over 30 lbs. A list of acceptable pets is attached. Any combination of the two is acceptable. 2. There is no restriction on the number of fish. 3. All other pets must be approved in advance by the Board. 4. Pets must be under control at all times in the common areas. They are not to be left unattended. 5. Owners are responsible for cleaning up after their pets. 6. Pets living in the upper condominiums may not utilize the balconies for their "business." 7. Pet odor must be contained within the owners unit and pet sound must be kept neglible. If dogs bark all day, the unit owner is subject to a fine.
Acceptable Pets include: Dogs, Cats, Birds, Gerbils, Hamsters and Turtles. All other pets must be approved by the Board. ALL pet deposits shall be picked up immediately. Fines will be administered if this is not followed. I know you will now say fish isn't listed under acceptable pets. Brian, I think it only becomes the Board's business when multiple complaints are coming in regarding the pets. It's when your pet roaches and mice decide to "visit" your neighbors or those 9 turtles get placed outside to get some sun and dine on the neighbors tomato plants, that's when there's a problem. Please don't ask me to respond to the cow! City ordinances may come in with that. Our original issue is that there is a dog that weighs more than the allowed weight for our condos & multiple complaints are coming in on a daily basis regarding it's size, noise level and pet deposits not being picked up. Ironically two of the owners complaining have small dogs themselves and it's not that their dogs don't get along.

Maybe I'm missing something, but what purpose does the weight limit serve? Sure, keeps out hippos, elephants, etc., though a constantly yapping runt (Okay, I admit it - I'm partial to large dogs) would be much more of a problem than a docile, quiet Golden Retriever, yes? Messing with a dog lover/owner is dangerous business. They are part of their family, just as chldren. My advice would be to either change the the weight limit (unless I'm missing something) and work with the owner on true impact issues such as noise, cleanup, etc.

Our condos are 5 yrs old and I think the weight limit was originally made because of there being upper and lower units and a larger dog moving around upstairs & going up & down the stairs may create more noise on the ceiling down below. I've only been here 3 yrs. & since I don't have a pet (not even a pet rock)I never asked the original board why there's a wt. limit. Whenever someone buys one of our condos, a condo rider is signed by the buyer and seller that asks for the Declaration & By-laws, Rules & Regulations & so forth & the buyer can back out of the deal if they don't like what they see in it. They will know before the closing papers are signed what the rules are. For the past 5 yrs., no one has had a dog more than 20 lbs nor have we gotten complaints that those smaller "runts" are constantly yapping. The violator in question let her sister move in with the large dog which started the complaints of the dog barking/howling all day long when they're gone from neighboring bldgs. even with the windows closed and it's deposits are not being picked up. Many are commenting about the weight limit not being followed. We're trying to work with owner & allow time for making arrangements but they will not return our phone calls. I know pets are part of the family & I actually dog-sit at my friends homes with both large & small dogs.

One of the condos that I own, actually both of them, have weight restrictions on the dogs. What is the real reason something like this was written into the documents is way beyond me. But from what I have learned is that they really don't want dogs at all but by trying to make sure that they are less visable/ small, may be the lame reason. As I said, I would much rather have my 140 pound, gentle giant in my neighborhood, than a 10 pound big mouth, yippy little runt. Both of these units require a disclosure for every pet to be on record in the association office. As a landlord, I do not allow pets for insurance reasons and I won't rent to pet owners because these are 55+ units and there tends to be extra scrutiny from the other members against renters. No pets, no hassle for me. But pets owners are passionette about this issue.

The noise on the floor in an upper unit is also not a good reason either. Most documents require the majority of the floor space to be covered with a sound absorbing material like carpet or wood so that the little lady with the high heels doesn't bother the tenant below. I don't think that the pitter patter of 4 doggie feet can be a reason.