Condo owners are becoming second-class citizens vs condo renters nation-wide. Renters are seldom evicted for disturbing their neighbors, can’t be fined, and can generally do whatever they want without consequence.
The absent owner can be fined, but it’s often too much trouble for condo boards and managers to go after out-of-state owners for the bad deeds of their renters. Further, fearing the owner might dump the unit if they don’t receive their monthly rent, condo boards resist rocking the renter out of his/her comfee boat.
The net result: noisy, inconsiderate tenants. In one local condo, half of the penthouse floor is populated by renters, not owners. The next floor down is even worse. Owners below complain of ear-shattering music, moving of heavy objects at all hours of the night, boisterous balcony parties and secondhand smoke snaking through the corridors and central air-conditioning systems.
But complaints to management and/or condo boards fall on deaf ears. “The tenant said he wasn’t doing a thing” is a common retort. So the tenant said? Owners are treated as if they’re living in an imaginary world. The tenant is rarely wrong. The unit owner is seldom right.
Yes, renters are screened before being allowed to move in. But there is no way to determine in advance who will behave like an insensitive clod or bully. Prospective renters cannot be legally denied the right to lease based on personality. Tenants are also infrequently advised of good neighbor policies and practices.
Condo documents typically limit the number of renters to 10 percent of all units, but Board members often turn a blind eye. One board treasurer provided the bank with falsified rental numbers and then bragged about her misdeed to fellow unit owners.
If actions aren’t taken to curtail renter abuse, condo owners may literally become a dying breed. What’s the incentive for buyers if the building is effectively ruled by renters? Click here to learn what condo owners can do!
To your peaceful enjoyment of property,