HOAs and landlord relationship is making life difficult for us as tenants

[Frippledip]

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

I hope I am posting this in the correct section...I have kind of a two-part question. My husband and I recently moved into a complex that is maintained by an HOA, and recently we have received a couple of absurd violation notices complaining about the color of our curtains. The notices were sent to our residence and addressed to "Tenant". We showed up to their hearing to contest the violation and were told that we were "not welcome" because we are not the homeowner, our landlord is. Then they told us that they do not have an address for our landlord and then asked if we would give it to them.

I refused to do so, because while I don't think it is our place to play middleman between the HOA and our landlord, I also think that may be violating a privacy law. So my first question is, is that correct?

Secondly, when we signed our lease, we never received a copy of the HOA handbook from our landlord, and don't remember signing anything stating that we did. He admitted having a contentious relationship with the HOA for years, and for this reason we're not surprised that he hasn't given them his address. We have seen people walking around the complex taking pictures, looking for these violations, and given how strict their rules are, knowing what we know now, we probably would not have moved in here. I feel like people are watching us and violating our privacy, while not valuing one shred of an opinion that we have about it.

So the second question is, can we legally break our lease if we find that we have never acknowledged the HOA rules by signing anything? Thank you for all help!

 

[sandyclaus]

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

I hope I am posting this in the correct section...I have kind of a two-part question. My husband and I recently moved into a complex that is maintained by an HOA, and recently we have received a couple of absurd violation notices complaining about the color of our curtains. The notices were sent to our residence and addressed to "Tenant". We showed up to their hearing to contest the violation and were told that we were "not welcome" because we are not the homeowner, our landlord is. Then they told us that they do not have an address for our landlord and then asked if we would give it to them.

I refused to do so, because while I don't think it is our place to play middleman between the HOA and our landlord, I also think that may be violating a privacy law. So my first question is, is that correct?

I would tend to agree here. The relationship between your LL (unit owner) and their HOA is their issue and you need not put yourself in the middle. The HOA has made it clear that it is not YOUR problem and that there is nothing you, personally, can do to resolve their problem. Additionally, it is not your responsibility to keep the HOA updated as far as contact information for the unit owner. Let them do their own detective work to track them down.

Secondly, when we signed our lease, we never received a copy of the HOA handbook from our landlord, and don't remember signing anything stating that we did. He admitted having a contentious relationship with the HOA for years, and for this reason we're not surprised that he hasn't given them his address. We have seen people walking around the complex taking pictures, looking for these violations, and given how strict their rules are, knowing what we know now, we probably would not have moved in here. I feel like people are watching us and violating our privacy, while not valuing one shred of an opinion that we have about it.

So the second question is, can we legally break our lease if we find that we have never acknowledged the HOA rules by signing anything? Thank you for all help!

Herein lies the problem.

If you don't know what the rules and regulations of the HOA are, you can't even begin to know what is and is not a violation. The best part is this: if you were never informed of those rules, then you cannot knowingly violate them. That means YOU cannot be held liable for any HOA fines that result from such a violation.

This is a two-sided sword, however. Because the LL (unit owner) CAN be held liable for your violations, and the HOA can take certain steps against the LL for those violations, which (depending on their agreement) could include taking possession of the premises (in an extreme case - definitely not anything you've stated would rise to that level).

The 3rd problem is that since the HOA hasn't done their due diligence to find current contact info for their unit owner, then they have decided to beat you up (figuratively) over the violations. This can be simply solved with a written request to the HOA stating clearly that if they have any issues with unit owner that they need to contact them directly, and leave you out of it. Cease and desist, and you can seek a court order against them for harassment.

As for ending the lease early over these issues, unfortunately, it would have been to your advantage to research such issues BEFORE signing the lease. This is not sufficient reason to break the lease at this point.