Cohousing-L Mailing List: policies for renting units

[Kathy Tymoczko (kathy.tymoczko]

Our bylaws restrict the number of units in our 30-unit cohousing community
that can be rented.  Our "rental request procedure" is the following:

   - The current allowable maximum for non-owner occupied units is 37% (11
   units).  This maximum is specified in our By-Laws.
   - If a unit owner wishes to rent their unit, the unit owner must make a
   written request to the HOA Officers to be allowed to rent their unit.
   Email is permissible.
   - Within 30 days, the HOA Officers will respond with consent or denial
   (depending upon how many currently rented units there are).
   - If a unit owner's request to rent is denied due to the 37% cap, the
   request will be placed on a wait list until another non-owner occupied slot
   opens up.
   - If an owner receives consent to rent out their unit, that owner must
   secure a renter and forward a signed copy of the lease agreement to the HOA
   Officers no later than 60 days after receiving the notice of consent to
   rent.
   - The new tenant must begin occupancy no later than 60 days after the
   lease agreement is received by the HOA Officers (which  would be no later
   than 120 days after unit owner received original consent to rent).
   - If the owner does not meet these deadlines, the owner's consent to
   rent their unit is lost and the owner must begin the process again.

Although it isn't spelled out in the above, if a tenant moves out, we have
assumed the owner can continue to rent to a new tenant without reapplying
to rent.  What also isn't spelled out in the above is what happens if an
owner who had been renting their unit decides to sell, has the unit on the
market for several months, and then decides to take it off the market and
rent again.

We've realized that these could be problematic omissions, especially if, in
the case of an owner deciding to sell and then changing their mind, there
had been a waiting list to rent, and we were at the maximum for rented
units.

How long does an owner with permission to rent have between the expiration
of a lease and the signing of a new lease with a new tenant before the
"permission" expires?  If an owner decides to sell and then reconsiders, do
they have to request permission to rent again?  What amount of elapsed time
would require an owner to request permission to rent again?

We're wondering what kinds of policies other communities have and how you
handle the above situations.

-- 
Kathy Tymoczko
Daybreak Cohousing <http://www.daybreakcohousing.org>
Portland, Oregon
765-307-1083