Do any owners in your homeowners association rent out their homes? What are the Association’s obligations to those renters? What are their rights in the Association? Can you control how many units in the HOA can be rented?

Renters are entitled to all the privileges of Association membership except voting. You can’t extend those privileges to a renter, the owner retains that privilege. They do have the right to have access to and use the amenities of the Association. 

Rules & Regulations

All residents, owners and renters, must comply with Association rules and regulations. These reasonable rules protect property values, preserve the nature of your community, and make life more enjoyable for everyone.

Owners need to supply their renters with a copy of your rules. Some homeowners associations require that the owner have their renters sign a copy of the rules for the Association’s records. The Association has the legal authority to enforce all rules, equitably and consistently.

You might not like to take action against those who may not have received this important information, but it’s your obligation to do so. It is the owner’s obligation to inform their tenant of those rules.

If the HOA board decides to call an owner to a hearing for a violation committed by his/her tenant, you must allow the tenant to appear on their own behalf at the hearing. They have the right to defend themselves, even if you will be fining the owner.

Rental Cap

A homeowners association can institute a rental cap. A rental cap limits the total number of units in a development that can be leased. An example is not more than 25% of the units in the development can be rented at any one time. A rental cap can be added with an amendment to the CC&Rs with the vote of the membership or voted in by the board.  

Check with your Association’s attorney on the correct way to do this in your Association. The cap would then apply to anyone buying after the rental cap goes into effect. Owners who bought into the homeowners association prior to the rental cap are exempt.

Lenders may ask the association to report on the percentage of rentals. They are looking for a minimum amount of owner occupied units. It is believed that owners tend to take better care of the Association than a renter would. This is not always the case.

Involvement

You don’t have to own your home to be interested in your community. If your governing documents allow it, some renters might want to volunteer for a committee or other type of service to the Association. Responsible, service-minded residents are the backbone of your homeowners association, regardless of their ownership status.

Almost every Association will have a number of rental units. Just remember that those renters have rights to use the common area and amenities but they have to obey the rules just like owners do.