Please Help !!!! Can a HOA demand renter pay renters "Liability" insurance?

Started by CoreyG • 9 replies • 4042 views

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CoreyG (California)
Posts: 3

Posted:

I am a tenant of a condo in Florida.

I pay a private landlord.

The HOA President does not like my fmaily.

He has done many things to get me to move.

He suddenly insists that I obtain renters "liability" insurance against my will.

He also is demanding that we pay a security $1000 deposit to the HOA in addition to the $5000 depositour landlord already has.

This was not in the bylaws and was not part of my agreement with the association when we moved in over a year ago.

My wife is 8 months pregnant and we are on an extremely tight budget, on the verge of falling behind on our bills and CANNOT afford any additional bills.

Can someone "a HOA insider" like you, please tell me if this is legal?

Or tell me what I can do to stop this from happening?

Or give me "non-legal" advice on what my options are"

Or refer me to additional resources that I can find my answer?

Any help, advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

as a renter, you should have nothing to do with the HOA. The HOA has a contract with the OWNER of the property, period. You are not the owner. The HOA can only speak to, work with, fine, etc. the owner. They should have no contact with you.

Next time the president says anything to you, tell him to talk to the owner, and to get the heck off your lawn.

As for the rest of those "charges", in my opinion, it is very similar to the leavings of male cattle in a field after grazing...

WilliamT (Arizona)
Posts: 489

Posted:

Brian is correct. Your lease agreement is with the home owner. However, the owner should have informed you of the CC&R's and the Rules and Regulations, because you must abide by those rules. If you don't, then the owner can be fined and that could be considered a breach of your lease agreement.

So ask your owner to provide you with a copy of the CC&R's and Rules and Regulations that you must abide by. The HOA can not demand anything of you.

CoreyG (California)
Posts: 3

Posted:

HAhaha! Thanks!!!!

One more quicky.......

The owner is having major problems with the HOA as well and I am quite fond of the owner becuase he has been very nice to me and my family. He is Russian and his english is not the best so the HOA calls me to pass on messages....

So i believe that is why they are speaking to me about it.

Do you know if the HOA can force the owner to get rental insurance or pay a security deposit on behalf of me the renter?

Thank you very much for the information!!!!!

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Corey, request the President provide you copies of the written documents which were in effect at the time you signed your rental agreement in order to justify his requests. If such documents exist, and I seriously doubt it, then you can review your agreement with the owner of the property that you rent. Perhaps this would be their responsibility or if you do have some responsibility you can try to negotiate with the owner.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

roger is right, get the rules in hand, then learn them better than the board president.

in general, i would say NO, the HOA cannot require insurance (the city might, but not the HOA). They HOA should not require any additional deposits of a renter than they do an owner either, so I would say that this president has fewer than two legs to stand on.

Get the rules. read them. learn them.

the only way to win is to play the game better than the other guy.

CoreyG (California)
Posts: 3

Posted:

You guys are great! Really wasn't expecting a response and I've gotten so many!!!! I'd love to refer people to this site; but I dont think you want any of my HOA near you! Really, they micromanage and have this wierd powergrip over all the residents here. I really do appreciate the input!

One more thing to throw out there for you to know and consider....

The HOA president stated that the reason for requiring renters insurance was because another resident had a small fire in her unit, when the sprinklers came on; they caused about $30k damage to the unit under her which the owner of the unit had to pay. I thought the owners pay home owners insurance covered that, when I asked they said that was only for disasters and they had a $60k deductible.

I know that I dont have to deal with this, but I am trying to help my landlord.

Any other suggestions comments?

KathyS (California)
Posts: 145

Posted:

For those who rent, renters insurance covers damage to or loss of your personal property. Whether you rent from a house or condo owner or a property manager, you should have renters insurance.

But, you should know,landlords insure the physical building against damage from occurrences such as fire, hail, and vandalism. But their insurance policy does not cover your belongings, so don't expect the landlord to owe you payment should anything happen. Another reason to get renters insurance is to protect yourself against any accidents caused by other tenants.

Renters insurance can also protect against liability lawsuits or medical bills of guests injured in your apartment.

Some landlords require you to purchase renters insurance.

I don't understand why the President of the HOA thinks renters insurance would cover any water damage to another condo. That would be covered in the condo insurance probably provided for by your landlord and paid for with your rent.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

kathy nailed it. renter's insurance is for YOU (your stuff, your assetts, your neck).

The homeowner should have their own insurance (whether renting or not!). what I have found is that owners simply have "homeowner's" insurance at standard rates, then rent the home out... which, if they were honest with their insurance company, would cause their rates to rise... because the house isn't a "home" being insured anymore, it is a rental property/business, and insurance companies know the risks are higher for damage/payment under those conditions.

So sometimes, owners keep the same insurance as if they lived in the home, thinking it is cheaper... when they file a claim, and the insurance company finds out that they didn't live there, and were in fact renting it, they can invalidate the policy... leaving the owner with zero insurance.

ClaudeV (Florida)
Posts: 86

Posted:

Good answers all here.

The bottomline is:

HOA agreements are between the owner and the HOA. The HOA holds the owner responsible for the property and anyone who resides in it, renters or not.

As a renter, your contract is between you and the property owner. You have no voting rights nor anything else to do with the HOA except to obey the CC&R's to keep your landlord in good graces with the HOA. Aside from that, the HOA has no authority over you what so ever.
It is the owner's responsibility to ENSURE that you, as a renter, are aware of and obey the CC&R's.

The HOA can fine the owner for any transgressions on their renter's part. Of course, the owner can pass those along to you with the next month's rent bill too! (Provided the owner made you AWARE, in writing, of the CC&R's and the consequences of violating them.)

It's pretty much commonsense and what is "reasonable".
Many HOA's HATE renters and they do anything they can to make life miserable for renters so they will move out. This sounds like what they are trying to do to you.
Ignore them. Send any and all notices etc from the HOA to your landlord/owner.

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