Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: short term rental policies

[Stuart Pettygrove (gspettygrove]

Diana,
I don't recall the justification for our 1-yr term limit, but I believe
that a one-year renewable lease is very typical for residential
properties.  It gives both the renter and the owner a chance to end the
agreement, and it encourages them to (at least annually) discuss how things
are going.  If both are OK with the situation, the lease is renewed.  In
our policy, the HOA is a third party.  The HOA has to approve renewal of
the lease, and the owner is required to provide a copy of the lease to the
HOA. I don't know if that is common for residential communities that have a
HOA, and we shall see if that presents any problems.  Note that the policy
includes quite a lot of flexibility for the HOA -- see provisions #11 and
12.
BTW, we had one prospective member (who since decided not to join) who
asked if it would be possible to buy in, then rent out their unit until
they were ready to move in themselves a couple of years later. We created
the rental policy so we could answer such questions from prospects, as well
as advise two current member households who intend to spend several months
each year at homes they own elsewhere.
Stu

On Sat, Apr 23, 2022 at 5:16 AM Diana Carroll <dianaecarroll [at] gmail.com>
wrote:

> Stuart, what is the thinking on the default one year term limit? I would
> think everyone benefits the most from long term renters rather than yearly
> rotation.
>
> On Sat, Apr 23, 2022 at 8:11 AM Fred-List manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
> wrote:
>
> > Stuart Pettygrove <gspettygrove [at] ucdavis.edu>
> > is the author of the message below.  It was posted by Fred of
> > the Cohousing-L management team <cohousing-l-owner [at] cohousing.org>
> > after pasting the text in the attachment below. Cohousing-L does not
> > distribute attachments.
> >
> > --------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------
> >
> > Attached is the Washington Commons coho rental policy approved by members
> > in 2020. We are very close to the start of construction - 35 single level
> > condos, 4 stories -- all in one building.  We currently have 27 member
> > households. No renters yet, but likely to have a few, as some of our
> > members intend to live part of each year in another location.
> > Stu Pettygrove
> > Washington Commons Cohousing
> > West Sacramento CA
> >
> > -------------------- Text of the attachment -------------------------
> > Washington CommonsRental Policy
> > [Proposed 3/6/2020, rev. 4/3/2020, Approved 4/5/20]
> >
> > From time to time, owners may find the need to temporarily rent part,
> > or all, of their individual unit. Renting units provides for economic
> > diversity and potentially brings new ideas and energy to our
> > community. A policy governing rentals at Washington Commons follows.
> >
> > 1. At any given time, at least80% of all units (28/35) shall be
> > occupied by owners. The intent of this policy is to limit rental to
> > equal to or less than 20% (7 units or less), at any given time. In the
> > event of special circumstance or hardship,the community Homeowners
> > Association (HOA) may review and approve additional rental unit
> > requests.
> >
> > 2. In the event of a room rental, where the owner remains in
> > residence, the unit shall be considered owner-occupied and shall not
> > be included in the 7‐rental unit cap. The rental policy does not
> > apply to situations where owners do not charge rent in making their
> > homes temporarily available to friends, family or caretakers.
> >
> > 3. A minimum one-month rental length is required to limit turnover and
> > reduce workloadon community with respect to integrating renters into
> > our space.
> >
> > 4. The maximum rental term for each unit is one year. If the HOA and
> > all parties agree, the term can be renewed for the next year or a
> > fraction thereof.
> >
> > 5. Units that have not been rented in the previous 5 years shall have
> > priority over units that have been rented when considering the
> > 7‐rental unit cap. For the purpose of selling out the project,
> > unclaimed units shall have the highest priority when considering the
> > rental cap. If several owners are competing for limited rental slots,
> > the unit with the least recent rental shall be given priority over
> > more recently rented units.
> >
> > 6. The rental unit owners are responsible for educating and informing
> > their tenant of Washington Commons rules and agreementsthatapply to
> > the renter, at the time of renting. Renters are strongly encouraged to
> > participate in the community as appropriate. In addition, renters may
> > be asked to take the self‐directed questionnaire, “Are We A Match
> > –Washington Commons and You”. Rental unit owners shall have a
> > written lease or rental agreement with each tenant, which requires the
> > tenant to acknowledge receipt, reading and acceptance of all community
> > bylaws, guidelines and community principles as a condition for
> > tenancy. The owner shall supply a copy of the lease or rental
> > agreement to the HOA.
> >
> > 7. Rental unit owners will notify the HOA of intent to rent and
> > receive confirmation that rental unit allocations are available. The
> > owners will notify the HOA of new tenants, arrival date, length of
> > stay, and plans for participation.
> >
> > 8. Rental unit owners are responsible for payment of HOA fees and for
> > meeting or adjusting community obligations.
> >
> > 9. Rental unit owners are responsible for tenant management in the
> > event of problems, eviction and other issues. Rental unit owners are
> > responsible for any damage to common areas caused by their tenants.A
> > tenant's violation of the community rules shall be considered a
> > violation of the community rules by the Owner and shall be handled as
> > such.
> >
> > 10. “Home exchange” is considered a rental,and all rental policies
> > in this document apply.
> >
> > 11. Under special circumstances as noted above and as they arise, the
> > HOA may grant exceptions to this policy.
> >
> > 12.This policy will be reviewed periodically and, if needed, amended
> > by the HOA.
> >
> > 13.Any federal, state, city, or county regulations that contradict any
> > of the above rules or HOA decisions will take precedent and supersede
> > any Washington Commons rental rules and/or Washington Commons HOA
> > decisions.
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