condo rules and fees need help

[mmovrwrkd]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

We just moved here in June. We rented a condo we asked our landlord if it was kid friendly
he said yes so we signed the lease. now we find out that there is condo rules that he never told us about. my 11 yr old son got a fine for 50.00 dollars for riding his skateboard how can they do this?? then there is other kids he plays with nothing is done to them
there is no place for the kids to play they want me to send my son a long way from were we live to a park were i cant see him please someone help me out or do i got to deal with this
i can't keep my son in all the time to make certain people happy that dont want kids around.

[ecmst12]

It's not your landlord's fault that you didn't read the condo rules before signing your lease.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by mmovrwrkd

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

We just moved here in June. We rented a condo we asked our landlord if it was kid friendly
he said yes so we signed the lease. now we find out that there is condo rules that he never told us about. my 11 yr old son got a fine for 50.00 dollars for riding his skateboard how can they do this?? then there is other kids he plays with nothing is done to them
there is no place for the kids to play they want me to send my son a long way from were we live to a park were i cant see him please someone help me out or do i got to deal with this
i can't keep my son in all the time to make certain people happy that dont want kids around.

**A: did L give you a copy of the House Rules?

[mmovrwrkd]

we read his rules
he did not give us the condos rules

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by mmovrwrkd

we read his rules
he did not give us the condos rules

**A: your rental agreement states that you must follow the condo rules.
Pay the fine.

[mmovrwrkd]

no our rental agreement never stated anything about the condo rules it was his rules only about his unit that we signed

i wanted to go to a board meeting to discuss this matter ( fine ) im not aloud because im not a home owner

and is it fair they can print my phone # for everyone to see without my permission

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by mmovrwrkd

no our rental agreement never stated anything about the condo rules it was his rules only about his unit that we signed

i wanted to go to a board meeting to discuss this matter ( fine ) im not aloud because im not a home owner

and is it fair they can print my phone # for everyone to see without my permission

**A: good luck to you.

[zimtekcom]

(my opinion only)

A thorough review of the CC&R's may get you out of paying the fine...

I'm the president of our condo association and have a pretty good understanding of our CC&R's.

In my humble opinion (based on our rules), if in fact you were not made aware of the condo rules by being provided a hard copy of the actual CC&R's, By-laws and house rules for review, the the homeowner (your landlord) most likely was not compliant with his requirements set forth in the CC&R's which most likely specify that he must provide copies of all of these rules if he is to lease his condo. You are still responsible for your sons actions (as ignorance is never a defense), but now so is the Homeowner for not disclosing the the condo rules at time of signing of the lease which makes this an issue between you and him. Note: Ultimately he being the homeowner is responsible for his condo and your actions while leasing his condo, and if you were to refuse to pay the fine, the homeowner would be responsible to pay the association. I'm not recommending you take this action, I just want to put things in proper perspective.

I would recommend that you start by getting yourself acquainted with the condo association president, and discuss your situation directly with him or her. You never know, you may find that he or she is a decent human being actually interested in promoting a healthy community, providing you with a copy of the rules and waving the fine. in reading your last it appears that you do not have access... but try again, and finally i recommend that you contact their management company directly.

Our association would much prefer issuing fewer fines and having less drama, as fines are not a huge profit center and angry people do not lead to a cohesive and productive association. Some associations simply hate renters... If they turn out to be nasty, then try to work out a compromise with the homeowner.

I would expect that privacy laws should protect your privacy as some Association members have kept their contact info a secret, forcing homeowners to contact them through the management company. I would never print the contact info of anyone here without their permission as I would expect that I might get the association sued.

If all else fails then demand copies of CC&Rs, Bylaws, and House Rules... I would refuse to pay until you have complete copies of all of them, because without them you will never know if you are being compliant (depending on their resources this request might cause them to wave the fine)... Once you receive all of them, pay the $50 (it is only $50), chalk it up to life's lessons, acquaint yourself with the house rules and ask yourself if it's worth ruining your entire experience there, as $50 probably isn't worth suing over.

If all parties refuse to provide copies of the rules then I suspect that you would have legal grounds for action.

Good luck,

-Bill Zimmerman-

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by zimtekcom

(my opinion only)

A thorough review of the CC&R's may get you out of paying the fine...

I'm the president of our condo association and have a pretty good understanding of our CC&R's.

In my humble opinion (based on our rules), if in fact you were not made aware of the condo rules by being provided a hard copy of the actual CC&R's, By-laws and house rules for review, the the homeowner (your landlord) most likely was not compliant with his requirements set forth in the CC&R's which most likely specify that he must provide copies of all of these rules if he is to lease his condo. You are still responsible for your sons actions (as ignorance is never a defense), but now so is the Homeowner for not disclosing the the condo rules at time of signing of the lease which makes this an issue between you and him. Note: Ultimately he being the homeowner is responsible for his condo and your actions while leasing his condo, and if you were to refuse to pay the fine, the homeowner would be responsible to pay the association. I'm not recommending you take this action, I just want to put things in proper perspective.

I would recommend that you start by getting yourself acquainted with the condo association president, and discuss your situation directly with him or her. You never know, you may find that he or she is a decent human being actually interested in promoting a healthy community, providing you with a copy of the rules and waving the fine. in reading your last it appears that you do not have access... but try again, and finally i recommend that you contact their management company directly.

Our association would much prefer issuing fewer fines and having less drama, as fines are not a huge profit center and angry people do not lead to a cohesive and productive association. Some associations simply hate renters... If they turn out to be nasty, then try to work out a compromise with the homeowner.

I would expect that privacy laws should protect your privacy as some Association members have kept their contact info a secret, forcing homeowners to contact them through the management company. I would never print the contact info of anyone here without their permission as I would expect that I might get the association sued.

If all else fails then demand copies of CC&Rs, Bylaws, and House Rules... I would refuse to pay until you have complete copies of all of them, because without them you will never know if you are being compliant (depending on their resources this request might cause them to wave the fine)... Once you receive all of them, pay the $50 (it is only $50), chalk it up to life's lessons, acquaint yourself with the house rules and ask yourself if it's worth ruining your entire experience there, as $50 probably isn't worth suing over.

If all parties refuse to provide copies of the rules then I suspect that you would have legal grounds for action.

Good luck,

-Bill Zimmerman-

**A: thanks but in this case the fine is per the CC&R's

[DoRight]

Here are a few things to consider. Your landlord in the member of the HOA. He has the right to attend HOA meetings; you don't. That's just the way it is.

Your landlord is the one being fined (probably). The HOA usually doesn't fine the resident (you) because the resident isn't the member. However your landlord can pass on the fine to you. You pay the landlord and the landlord pays the HOA.

I see one thing wrong with your post and your response to this situation. You don't want your son to stop riding his skateboard on HOA property and you assume that something is being done to your son because certain people don't want kids around.

At least that's the way I read your post. You don't want to send him to a park. Sure, I can understand that. You'd like to keep him close to you and safe. BUT, you cannot let him ride his skateboard in HOA property. That's against the rules and you must follow the HOA rules. That's just the way it is. If you don't want to follow the rules (even if you don't agree with the rules), then you need to live somewhere else. Can you imagine the pickle everyone would be in if the members had to follow the rules and you (a non-member) had a different set of rules?

So where does this leave you? You can write a letter to the HOA sent through your landlord, acknowledging that a rule was broken. You apologize and ask that the fine be waived as you were unaware of the rule. You very clearly communicate that the rule will not be broken in the future. You clearly communicate that you have requested from your landlord a copy of the CC&Rs so you are able to follow them in the future. You want to be a good neighbor and you understand the the CC&Rs help create harmony in the neighborhood.

just my vho....