LindaC11 (Colorado)
Posts: 3
Posts: 3
Posted:
My HOA charges all dog owners a $25 monthly pet fee just for owning a dog. I don't think this is fair. How can I get this fee removed from the rules?
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Dog and Pet Fees
Started by LindaC11 • 4 replies • 1337 views
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RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164
Posts: 5,164
Posted:
Linda,
Who wrote the rule and where is it written? Was it approved by the owners or was it decreed by the management or BOD?
I would imagine in any case, that to change it you would have to change your covenants. Unless you wanted to challange the fee in court. It this a customery fee for your area and type HOA, does it comply with any state statutes. Why not ask the Attorney General for a read on the restriction. It sounds way too sever for my taste, unless the animals are being provided with some special benefits. I suppose a case could be made either way, which to me makes the more restrictive regulation harder to sustain. First canvass your area and see what other HOA's are doing, you might get lucky and find one of them may have already fought the battle and won in court. A close look at state law is needed also as far a HOA statutes are concerned.
Who wrote the rule and where is it written? Was it approved by the owners or was it decreed by the management or BOD?
I would imagine in any case, that to change it you would have to change your covenants. Unless you wanted to challange the fee in court. It this a customery fee for your area and type HOA, does it comply with any state statutes. Why not ask the Attorney General for a read on the restriction. It sounds way too sever for my taste, unless the animals are being provided with some special benefits. I suppose a case could be made either way, which to me makes the more restrictive regulation harder to sustain. First canvass your area and see what other HOA's are doing, you might get lucky and find one of them may have already fought the battle and won in court. A close look at state law is needed also as far a HOA statutes are concerned.
KirkW1 (Texas)
Posts: 1,665
Posts: 1,665
Posted:
The first thing I would say is that you should always ensure you can live with the rules before buying (or renting) property. Having said that, you can certainly avail yourself of the procedure for changing a rule.
The first thing is to find the rule. Generally there are three levels of rules involved in an HOA (aside from laws passed by various government levels). The highest is the Covenant. This will state what is needed to change though 66 or 67% is pretty typical. It sometimes goes to 75% or more and occasionally is as low as 50%. Then comes your bylaws. These can often be changed by the vote of a legal quorum, though again sometimes they require a higher level of people to agree. Then there are rules enacted by the Board of Directors.
This last set must be in line with the covenants and bylaws. But unfortunately, the only recourse to fight this last set (aside from appealing to the members on the Board) is to take legal action.
Quite honestly, for the $25 a month I would expect them to have someone picking up my dog's mess. And I would seriously consider any place where I could leave the dog's "business" lay for someone to come pick up later.
The first thing is to find the rule. Generally there are three levels of rules involved in an HOA (aside from laws passed by various government levels). The highest is the Covenant. This will state what is needed to change though 66 or 67% is pretty typical. It sometimes goes to 75% or more and occasionally is as low as 50%. Then comes your bylaws. These can often be changed by the vote of a legal quorum, though again sometimes they require a higher level of people to agree. Then there are rules enacted by the Board of Directors.
This last set must be in line with the covenants and bylaws. But unfortunately, the only recourse to fight this last set (aside from appealing to the members on the Board) is to take legal action.
Quite honestly, for the $25 a month I would expect them to have someone picking up my dog's mess. And I would seriously consider any place where I could leave the dog's "business" lay for someone to come pick up later.
LindaC11 (Colorado)
Posts: 3
Posts: 3
Posted:
There are no other HOA's I am aware of in the area with this policy. I am told the rule was made about 20 years ago, and yes, I was aware of the rule when I moved in. The Board does not want to change the rule, so I guess I am stuck.
MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043
Posts: 7,043
Posted:
Linda,
I'm not surprised the board doesn't want to abolish this little "cash cow" they've got going. All I can recommend is that you gather all the pet owners together and demand an explanation of why this rule is necessary and an accounting of what the money is being used for. If this is a rule contained in the CCRs, it would take a vote of the members to have it abolished; however, if it is a board-adopted rule it can more easily be abolished by a vote of the board.
Frankly, I cannot imagine the need for such a rule. And, what about other pets --cats, birds, fish????
I'm not surprised the board doesn't want to abolish this little "cash cow" they've got going. All I can recommend is that you gather all the pet owners together and demand an explanation of why this rule is necessary and an accounting of what the money is being used for. If this is a rule contained in the CCRs, it would take a vote of the members to have it abolished; however, if it is a board-adopted rule it can more easily be abolished by a vote of the board.
Frankly, I cannot imagine the need for such a rule. And, what about other pets --cats, birds, fish????
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