Rec room reservations-- methods and fees?

I'm a new member of a BOD in a new (open less than 9 months) urban condo building (237 units). We're very near a downtown bar and restaurant district. Within our building, we have a second floor terrace with barbecues and a separate common/recreation room with pool table and 65" plasma tv. We are trying to devise fair rules for use of these areas.

In similar situations, are residents allowed to reserve such areas for private use? Is a fee charged? Are there stated limits on numbers of people (other than the fire reg numbers)? Are there limits on how often an individual can reserve the space? We don't have onsite 24 hour security, but are considering requiring this for parties when the areas are reserved.

If anyone has suggestions on how to write a policy that allows residents to have assurance they can plan a party and how the space available while not overly restricting access by others AND protecting the property, I'd appreciate hearing! The more we discuss the issues, the less agreement is reached!

Thanks.

Joan

Joan:

A contract (agreement) between the HOA and the Owner would need to be drawn up. You would need to have rules for reserving the room in place. Definately the HOA should charge for a deposit, rental fee and a cleaning fee. Only the deposit should be returned upon the room not being damaged etc.

A calendar for the reservations should be established to keep track of who's renting and when.

We have a contract. The homeowner reserves the room with a $250. damage deposit, $100. rental, $100. cleanup. They do get the $250 back if the room is not damaged. There is a sign posted the week before that the room will be closed on that night. We do have a video camera and it has helped in deciphering problems with the renters.

We also require liability insurance from the homeowner.

Joan, you might want to explain to the residents that the "fee" covers the wear/tear on the clubhouse for things like clean-up, additional utilities (gas, electric, water, etc) and "fairly" addresses how one owner is using the clubhouse, "exclusively," versus everyone. Common elements are to be for the use of all owners, not just one - so when one owner wants to use (exclusively) then it is appropriate that they assume the costs.

Hi Joan,

Lots of good feedback here. Since you have a new association, you can always start with a set of rules and regulations regarding the community room and change them over time as things progress.

As you can see, most associations charge some type of rental fee plus a security deposit. My HOA charges a $ 50 rental fee and a refundable $ 250 security deposit for renting the clubhouse at our recreation center. The $ 50 fee goes towards paying the gas, water and electricity used during the party and towards the wear and tear. You might be surprised at how much electricity, air conditioning and water 50 people can use at a party!

In your situation, it sounds like this room is available for all the members to use on a regular basis. If you're going to allow people to reserve it and have exclusive access, then there should be some limits on how often it is rented, maybe a limit of one weekday and one weekend day per week. You might also consider limitng members to renting it just once a month since you have so many members in your HOA.

If you don't have any renting limits or fees, I could see someone reserving the room every Sunday from now through January just so he and his buddies could party and watch football on the big plasma tv each week.

Perhaps you can start by sending out a newsletter to the membership to get feedback. A lot of them may not want to have the room reserved on weekends because that's when they want to use it. Others may be concerned about where all the guest's cars will park. other people may have othr concerns that you haven't even thought of. By getting comments and feedback, you can have the first set of rules made to address these issues. As time goes by and you see what works and what doesn't, the rules can always be updated.

Hi Joan: Our senior gated community has a large clubhouse and a smaller cabana that our Rules & Regulations allow to be rented by an owner; but has limitations on the type of event; i.e., no graduations or birthday parties for minors, and no rentals on major holidays. We also have a rental agreement that the owner must sign, that spells out the terms of the agreement. You have already gotten some very good suggestions, but one I did not see is "Security." If an event will have 50 or more attendees, we require hiring a security guard to be present during the entire event(Our onsite Manager selects the security co., & makes the arrangements). The cost is added to the rental fee.

JoanW