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Decisions about common areas are made by the
homeowners' association (HOA) or its board of directors. Larger
complexes typically have a management company, which is hired by
the HOA to handle bookkeeping, maintenance contracting and other
day-to-day matters.
Although tenants are residents of the
condominium complex, they are not
entitled to vote at HOA or board of directors meetings because
they don't have an ownership interest. The only exception occurs
when an owner gives the tenant a power of attorney, which appoints
the tenant as the owner's representative to the HOA. That type of
arrangement is rare because it gives the tenant some of the
owner's legal rights. If the tenant is a relative of the owner,
misunderstanding may arise about voting rights. However, the
confusion is only superficial because a family relationship is
largely irrelevant. The owner retains his or her rights, and the
relative is treated like any other tenant.
Tenants may or may not be welcome at HOA and board meetings. Some
times, some tenants attend the board of directors meetings every
month to observe. Usually, they are tenants who are looking to buy
a condo in the complex in the future, so they want to become
familiar with how the association operates.
Some HOAs also allow tenants to speak at these meetings on their
own behalf, even though they aren't allowed to vote. If the
tenants do say something, it's usually taken into consideration.
The owners don't ignore their comments.
>>> As a resident, you are
welcome to assist at any of the monthly meetings of the HOA.
This is part of the community life.
Another major difference between an apartment
building and a condominium complex is that condominium
associations have covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs),
which govern everything from the elections of HOA officers to the
allocation of parking spaces. Unlike the rules of an apartment
building, CC&Rs are legally enforceable documents that apply to
tenants as well as resident owners. Tenants must abide by the CC&Rs
and all the other rules and regulations, but the owner of the
condominium is the ultimate responsible party. If the owners don't
protect themselves, the tenant can cause problems and the owner
ends up receiving notices from the association about rule
violations, and do impose fines if the CC&Rs or other rules are
disobeyed. And those fines can be levied even if a tenant was
responsible for the violation.
Condominium landlords give their tenants a copy of the CC&Rs.
Tenants should take the time to read the CC&Rs and ask for
clarification of any rules they don't understand.
Condo rental agreements usually
have a paragraph stipulating that the tenant has been given the
CC&Rs, agrees to abide by them and will be financially responsible
for any fines levied against the owner as a result of the tenant's
actions. The owner of the
condominium should put in the
rental agreement that the tenant must follow the CC&Rs and rules
and regulations and that any violation will allow the owner to
take action against the tenant.
>>> Twin-Cities-Condos.com
will provide you with a copy of the Rules and Regulations at the
signing of the lease agreement.
Tenants who rent a unit in a
condominium complex, rather than
a traditional apartment building often are in for a few surprises
about community life. Common areas of misunderstanding include
rules and regulations, repair responsibilities and the
consequences of the owner's nonpayment of homeowner association (HOA)
dues.
An association's rules and regulations can be found in its
covenants, conditions and restrictions, which govern everything
from the elections of HOA officers to the allocation of parking
spaces. Unfortunately, inexperienced owners often neglect to
provide a copy of the CC&Rs to their tenants. The tenant moves in,
but the owner doesn't put forward all the disclosures about things
like the number of parking spaces they are allowed, the number of
people they are allowed to have in a one, two or three-bedroom
condominium and whether there are specific rules and
regulations for noise, pets and the recreational facilities.
Parking may be one of the biggest issues. Many communities have
limited parking facilities and rules limiting the number of
vehicles that can be parked. When the tenant rents the home, they
are unaware that the rule exists. They get themselves and the
owner in trouble. The parking, the number of people living in the
home and pets usually can be the biggest trouble.
>>> Your lease agreement with
Twin-Cities-Condos.com provides you the necessary information.
Tenants often are also in the dark about what
to do if the condominium they are renting needs repairs. The
difficulty is determining whether the individual owner of the HOA
is responsible for a particular repair. Generally, if the problem
concerns the individual unit, the tenant must contact the
owner/landlord to have the problem resolved. Unlike an
apartment manager, the
association's management company rarely handles repairs within the
individual units. If the needed repair is in a common area (e.g.,
an entry way, hallway or recreation facility), the tenant often
can contact the HOA or the HOA's management company directly. If a
problem in an individual unit also affects a common area (e.g., a
water leak is dripping into subterranean parking), the tenant
probably should contact both the owner and the HOA. In some
instances, the HOA or its management company will make the
repairs, then bill the owner for his or her individual share of
the costs.
>>> You contact Twin-Cities-Condos.com:
we take care of the problem. You don't have to deal with the HOA.
Perhaps the greatest area of concern for
tenants arises when the owner fails to pay the association dues or
assessments. Few tenants have any notion of this possibility or
the consequences. The association can be taking action against the
owner and the tenant might not have any idea what's happening.
Some associations have the power to file a lawsuit, obtain a
judgment and collect the rent to offset the nonpayment of the
condominium fees. The tenant
usually is very confused about who to pay.
>>> Twin-Cities-Condos.com is
on automatic withdraw: this situation won't happen.
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