Q: renting rooms/rental units in condos

I’m on a condo board and have a few questions:

To quote from our CC&R “No apartment owner may lease less then the entire apartment” which I interpret to mean that no owner can rent out rooms in their unit. If that is correct does the board need proof that someone is renting a room to threaten the owner to stop this practice? I have a neighbor that is constantly having a friend/acquaintance move in with her. And we do tell her that she is ultimately responsible for her guests, but I’m tired of the problems that the roommates create, noise, parking, etc. Which I’m inclined to believe is why it’s in the CC&R in the first place. If I bring this up at a meeting I always get from some board members “well there is no way to prove that they’re renting”, I say why is this in the CC&R if we can’t use it without needing proof?

Also can you define when a “guest” becomes a “resident” (like after 14 days or 30 days) in your R&R’s if there is nothing in the CC&R that pertains to this? They would then have to register with our management. It’s very easy to know when someone has moved in, our complex is small, 28 units.

One other thing, the board is updating our R&R’s about rental units, I know we can’t have separate rules for rentals, but the CC&R does have some guidelines for specific things like having a copy of the lease, a copy of the insurance that the owner has and is there anything else we can add? Perhaps if need be a background check is required for rentals or an interview of the prospective renter? It seems whenever we have problems it’s always the rental units that are involved.

With owners not being able to sell they might choose to rent out their unit, as I’m sure many complexes are facing this problem, it just seems prudent to make sure that our rules are adequate. Unfortunately we have no restriction on the number of units that may be rented out.

Thanks for the help.

Lois something else to ask the attorney about is if it can be added to the rental agreements the power to initiate eviction procedures against problem tenants; Ohio changed the law and gave condo BOD's that power but you might be able to write it into the docs.

I'm not an attorney so I really don't know when a guest becomes a resident. That is a question for an attorney knowledgeable in WA law. However no matter if the person is a "guest" or a resident the homeowner is ultimately responsible for their conduct. If you have fines in place for these offences direct them to the H/O. Remember treat everyone equally and document, document, document everything.

You should have a written enforcement policy for the Association outlining the escalating steps that will be taken to cure an offence. And there should a clause that repeated violations of the same type will escalate the response. From a previous post on this subject:

Everyone has had a bad day or a brain fart or is new to Association living and can easily goof about when to take in the garbage cans and a friendly reminder goes a lot farther than a dictate from on high - "Do this or we'll fine you $25.00 a day until you do!" That type of communication IMO immediately generates an "Oh yea, you can't do that." or "I'll show you." or "Who appointed you king/queen." response and what is a simple matter suddenly becomes WWIII as the H/O takes a stand on "principle".

You should have a written set of rules and each H/O should have a copy of them along with a copy of the enforcement policy for how violations will be handled. In ours we noted that you only get one "friendly" reminder per violation, i.e. if we send a reminder about garbage in Jan and you do the same thing in April then it automatically goes to step two; good record keeping about violations and actions is a must. Also things that require immediate action i.e. the H/O is suddenly digging an Olympic swimming pool in their front yard may go immediately to step two.

If they are making excessive noise during normally accepted "quiet hours" then you can always call the police.

Lois,

The board cannot just "assume" the guest is renting a room from the owner. Unless the docs. specifically says guests can only stay for x number of days, IMO, you can't do anything about a h/o having a guest in their home for as long as they want them there. Let's use some common sense here. What if you chose to have an adult child or good friend move in with you? Would you think the HOA should be able to prevent that? You didn't say this was an underage person or that you live in a 55+ community that has specific rules regarding occupancy age and the length of time a minor can visit.

Bruce you bring up an interesting point regarding restrictions on the number of people who can live in a unit. The gov. docs. may state "single family dwelling" which is only a designation of the type of dwellings, i.e., single family as opposed to condominium. It does NOT mean only one family per dwelling. Many people read this in their docs and think it means only one family can live in a dwelling. That is not the case unless that is specifically stated in the docs (which I would be surprised to learn). With the exception of HUD low income housing or public housing, cities will not regulate the number of people or families that can reside in a dwelling unless it is an apartment. I know of instances where 2 families have purchased a home -- who's going to tell them they can't all live in it?

Cities can and do regulate and enforce occupancy of homes and apartments, you see and hear about it on the news all the time, especially it seems with immigrants.

Mary here's how our docs define it:
For a single family, meaning a group of one or more persons each of whom is related to the other by blood, marriage or adoption who are living together and maintaining a common household, but excluding more than one married couple and excluding two or more parents (not married to each other and not themselves parent and child) who have their children or stepchildren living with them.

In the alternative, as a residence site for persons who do not constitute such a “family” but subject to the following restrictions on the total number of persons (including children) occupying any unit: Any two bedroom unit may be used or occupied by no more than four persons; and any three bedroom unit by no more than six persons, until and unless the Association adopts rules or regulations altering this requirement and no such rule or regulation may be adopted except by the members of the Association at a meeting duly called for that purpose.

In accordance with the frequent approach in zoning codes of protecting values in residence districts by prohibiting the use of single family residences for roomers and boarders, and in order to provide similar protection for the owners of units., it is hereby provided that no roomers or boarders shall be permitted.

Glen,

Forgot to add. . .

What happens if a potential buyer isn't given the docs b/4 closing? If they have too many children does the BOD make them sell their home? I just cannot fathom an HOA being allowed to regulate how many people can live in a person's home.

So if someone doesn't take the time to read the docs before they buy according to your theory they can pretty much do what ever they want regardless of the CC&R's?

Well the original thread was about rental rules but local ordinances & our CC&R's apply to either or.

What about Mommy having another baby (unexpectedly). Do they have to sell their home or just get rid of one of the kids??? LOL

Thank you! LOL

Harold,

What I find amazing is that Glen has said this doesn't just apply to some HOAs, there are also local ordinances governing occupancy -- and not just on rentals!

Michele,

Is this for rental properties and apartments?