Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Question about hot tubs!

[Diana Carroll (dianaecarroll]

State laws vary hugely on this. Definitely check with a lawyer familiar
with your state's HOA laws. Mosaic Commons (in central MA) has a
community-owned hot tub, and it is not constrained by pool-like
regulations. (Our sister neighborhood, Camelot, has a pool and the rules
are, as Sharon says, extremely onerous.) I think it depends on the size of
the hot tub. Ours is a 5-person. I believe it also depends if it's
in-ground or above-ground.

As with Takoma, if an individual household wanted their own hot tub here at
Mosaic, it would technically be on HOA property, even if it was built for
exclusive use, and thus the HOA would incur the liability. Our community
hot tub is sufficient, so no one has ever asked to do this, but we do have
policies in place for exterior installations by owners; by policy, if the
installation would result in higher insurance rates for the HOA, we might
say no or we might pass that expense along to the individual owner.

Diana

On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 12:34 PM Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <
cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:

> > On Apr 10, 2023, at 11:45 PM, Marina King <marinakingcarpenter [at] 
> > gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Does your cohousing community allow hot tubs?  We are a new community
> > trying to figure out how common it is for a member to have their own hot
> > tub, and if so, under what community-prescribed conditions, i.e.
> insurance.
> > Please let us know what your community’s experience is with this issue.
>
> Check your local laws. Hot tubs are usually regulated like pools and thus
> require regular reports on chemical treatments, lifeguards, etc., etc.,
> etc. They were far too onerous in DC for us to be able to meet them.
>
> Private hot tubs are not usually regulated but it would depend on the
> setup of your community. We are a condominium so the only thing owned
> privately is the inside of the unit. Everything outside is community-owned
> even if the unit has exclusive use so it would fall under the DC
> regulations.
>
> I would guess that only on a lot development model would it be possible to
> call a hot tub private property.
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
>
>
>
>
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