Bad landlord with extremely bad tenants. What do we do?

In our complex, we have a bad landlord who doesn't pay his dues however, his tenants are even worse. The police have paid them multiple visits in recent months, last one at 3a about another domestic dispute. I have sent a letter to the owner but know that he will not comply given his lack of paid dues. I need to send another letter about the last police visit but want to ask him to either control them or ask them to leave. Not wanting the HOA to get in any trouble, is it legal to ask that they relocate? Thank you all.

Ingrid,

Follow the law and then follow your by-laws and pound on the landlord. With dues being in default, you have the most powerful legal option at your disposal. But remember, the landlord is accountable. Your HOA has no account w/ renters. They don't even have to be spoken to. Legal process defines how they are to communicated with.

I am not an attorney and I do not work in the legal profession. If you need a legal opinion you will need to consult a local attorney.

Giving a layman's opinion, I would say NO unless there is language within your governing documents specifying that the Association may ban individuals from being in someone's private property. Typically there is no language like that in any CC&Rs. The Association may be able to ban someone from the common area (providing rights of ingress and egress are maintained). However, for me to say you can no longer have a specific individual or individuals on your own property is probably not legal.

Here is a link to davis-stirling.com's webpage about renters. Perhaps it can provide some guidance for you.

Ingrid:

I would not even converse with the tenants, you may send them the covenants so they know the rules. This is a case where I would hold the owner's feet to the fire, if he won't pay assessments then assess late fees and slap a lien on his home. If the rentors don't comply with rules then fine the owner. This may be a case where foreclosing on a property if done properly is not a bad thing...

There needs to be stronger laws about paying dues. Really your only final option with a non-paying HOA member is foreclosure and with most homes upside down on the mortgage this becomes an option that is not viable. So an HOA forecloses on a Home but can't sell it for what the bank is owed and the HOA stands in 2nd or 3rd position. Not realistic. There has to be other powerful options for an HOA to collect from delinquent Homeowners that are not paying their montly dues.

I say this because we had multiple owners who did not pay dues because they knew the HOA really had no recourse against them except filing a lien against their property. They knew the HOA would never foreclose on them and as the HOA didn't have the funds to cover the process or the repercussions. They felt that when they sold/short-sold/foreclosed the dues/fines/etc... would be payed by the new owner. I don't say this out of jest it actually happened to us.

DavidA, you might receive more replies if you start a new thread since this one is specifically about renters.

You also should check david-sterling.com for info about your problem. The site has an outstanding index of every topic under the sun!