Utility shut off for military renter

I am so sorry to hear about your situation. Sadly, this sort of thing is happening a lot these days - owners don't pay maintenance fees and then the HOA has no choice but to take action to compel him/her/them to pay up. Unfortunately, there are times (like this) when renters who ARE paying their fees every month get caught in the middle.

Years ago I worked with some folks at Fort Benjamin Harrison here in Indy and they were in some sort of program that assisted servicemen and women and their families in situations like this - see if there's something similar in the Concord area. You might also be able to get help from Legal Aid or a consumer protection office (try the state's attorney general office) It seems to me you have grounds to file a lawsuit against the homeowner to break the lease, get your deposit back (if you paid one) and maybe even damages to pay for moving expenses, a deposit for a new place, etc. Between your lawsuit and the HOA also going after this guy, that may compel him to pay up.

The HOA has a contractural relationship with the homeowner, not you, so if the homeowner doesn't pay fees, the HOA can't go against you because it's not a party to your rental agreement. It would be the same if a tenant were to break a HOA rule - ultimately, the homeowner would be held responsible because it's his/her unit. So it may seem the HOA is being unfair to you, but it appears they're doing what they must to collect the fees.

That said, as a board member, I wouldn't have had the water shut off, but would have filed a lawsuit against the homeowner to have the rent garnished - instead of paying the homeowner, you would pay the association your rent and the amount would be applied to the unpaid amount (no, the rent wouldn't increase, because once again, that agreement was between you and the homeowner). It's interesting how some homeowners would straighten up and fly right when the rent checks get intercepted.

At this point, you and your wife will have to file suit against the homeowner - he or she provided the unit, which should be in livable condition (have running water, trash pickup and such). Between lawsuits filed by you and the HOA, that may compel him to pay up or at least get you out of the lease agreement.

Thanks for your sacrifice to keep our nation safe and good luck to you!

Bottom line..... when homeowners get foreclosed, renters suffer.

If you haven't paid July's rent I would see about putting the rent in escrow with the court until the HOA fee's are paid. You can't just withhold it but there is a legal way to do this which should have been done months ago. If you come to some type of deal with the leasing company (who must be getting paid) or the landlord make sure it is in writing. Otherwise if it gets in court it becomes he said /she said and you could come out on the loosing end.