What Board Members & Managers Should Know about HOA Rental Restrictions

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As an HOA board member or manager, it’s very important to ensure that your community is thriving and you have great communication with residents. It’s common to encounter a lot of homeowners that want to rent their property. However, depending on the situation your HOA might need to impose some restrictions. But what kind of rental restrictions can you impose in the HOA? How can you communicate those restrictions with your residents? Here are some ideas to keep in mind!

Why are there any HOA short-term rental restrictions?

As an HOA you want to maintain great community standards, and a high property value as well. Also, these limits will help keep the liability insurance rates under control. Any limitations like these will help ensure lenders provide loans for new properties.

Plus, limitations can help boost the community’s stability. Not only that, but many renters might not follow the community standards, which leads to violations and other problems. It’s very important to avoid those issues, so imposing certain restrictions can be the right thing to focus on.

The most common HOA short-term rental restrictions 

You will find a variety of restrictions for both long and short-term rentals in HOAs. Here are the most common ones:

Rental caps

Rental caps are ubiquitous and very helpful to keep rentals under control. Some HOAs even require new property owners to reside there for at least a year before they rent the property. 

Lease restrictions

Lease restrictions have provisions that must be part of the lease agreement. Such restrictions can include a minimum lease period, among others. The tenant will also need to comply with the community standards too. 

Evictions

Some HOAs will even require the landlord to add a clause where non-complying tenants can be evicted if they break the community standards either once or multiple times.

Vetting/Screening Prospective Tenants

In some cases, HOAs can even choose to vet/screen prospective tenants. This enables HOAs to avoid any potential renters that are not suitable for their own community. However, this is on a per-state basis, as not all states see this as a legal option.  In addition, board members and managers should refer to the CC&Rs (the community’s governing documents) to see if tenant/vetting screening is allowed or not.

Is it mandatory for HOAs to disclose any restrictions?

It all comes down to the local laws, but also the community’s governing documents. Normally, any HOA short-term rental restrictions must be public and not hidden. This is important because potential tenants and landlords need to know what kind of restrictions are in place. When enforcing these restrictions, things can be a bit difficult.

Tenants are not a part of the HOA since they just rent the property, so they aren’t normally bound to the HOA rules and regulations. That’s why an HOA needs to direct all its enforcement actions to the landlord/homeowner. The homeowner needs to enforce all the rules upon their tenants. An HOA can even file a lawsuit against a homeowner if their rules are not followed either by them or their tenant. 

Communicating HOA rental restrictions to homeowners

Every HOA can establish its own restrictions based on local laws and governing documents, but the challenge comes from communicating those restrictions to residents. There are many different methods your HOA can use to communicate restrictions:

  • Email Communications – Sending emails to the community is one of the simplest methods any HOA can use to showcase and share any of its restrictions. Since everyone tends to check their email at least once a day, it’s a great way to spread the word and inform any residents.
  • Board Meetings – HOA meetings also offer a great time opportunity for HOAs board members and managers to remind residents of their rules. They can also update those rules and let the residents know of any changes too.
  • Website – Creating a dedicated page on the community website is also a great idea. The website can list all the rules and procedures, and show exactly when these changes went into effect as well.
  • Document Library – Having a document library also comes in handy, and here the HOA can easily share documents featuring all restrictions according to their latest guidelines. 
  • Resident Support – A phone line or support ticketing system that residents can use to contact management with any questions is also very helpful. This way any residents can get in touch with any HOA representatives board members/managers and see what kind of rules they need to abide by.

How HOA Software can aid in communicating restrictions

While enforcing these rules can be challenging, these communication methods can make it easier for HOAs to enforce their own rules professionally. 

That’s where HOA software such as Pileracomes into play. With Pilera, you can easily create a community website with private/public pages for all residents, and you can share any restrictions on those pages.  Additionally, Pilera’s HOA management software also offers secure document storage and a help desk feature where board members or managers can provide customer support and reply to tickets issued by residents. 

Conclusion

Every HOA needs to have control over how many people rent a property and how these properties are rented in the first place. It’s very important to focus on the stability of the entire community, while also maintaining a certain resident quality. In addition, any HOA needs to have a say whenever someone enters the community. All these things can be enforced with adequate rental restrictions. 

It’s very important to use HOA management software, as this is an exceptional tool that will help track rental restrictions, while also notifying residents whenever any changes arise. If you’re an HOA board member/manager and want to find a better way to communicate important community information such as restrictions, contact Pilera today!