38 guides
Rentals, tenants & neighbors
Rental caps, short-term rentals, tenant rules, noise, nuisance complaints, and living next to your HOA in peace.
Can an HOA restrict or ban rentals?
An association may have leasing restrictions, but their validity and application depend on the documents, state law, and ownership history. Rental caps and minimum stays are separate questions.
Read the answerCan an HOA stop you from renting your home on Airbnb or VRBO?
Short-stay rentals can be subject to association and government restrictions. Check the exact duration, frequency, location, and ownership rules before advertising or accepting bookings.
Read the answerCan an HOA evict a tenant, or only the owner can?
Whether an HOA has the power to evict a renter, why the association's legal relationship is normally with the owner and not the tenant, how associations actually enforce rules against renters, the narrow situations where some states or governing documents let an HOA act against a tenant directly, and what landlords owe their community.
Read the answerCan an HOA charge you for a violation by your tenant or guest?
Why HOAs hold the homeowner responsible for what tenants, guests, and family members do, when that's enforceable, and how lease addenda shift the risk.
Read the answerCan an HOA restrict noise, set quiet hours, and fine you for being too loud?
When associations can regulate noise, how their nuisance rules and quiet hours work alongside the city ordinance, and the limits on enforcing something as subjective as 'too loud.'
Read the answerCan an HOA ban smoking, even inside your own condo or yard?
What associations can do about smoking in common areas versus private units, how secondhand-smoke drift becomes a nuisance issue, and where banning it requires a covenant amendment, not just a board rule.
Read the answerDo you have to pay HOA fees if you rent?
Whether a renter owes HOA dues or the landlord does, what a lease can shift, when an HOA can collect rent directly from a tenant, and why renters still have to follow the rules either way.
Read the answerCan a renter attend or speak at HOA meetings?
Check the meeting type, membership rules, and guest policy. Attendance, speaking, representation, and voting are separate questions.
Read the answerCan an HOA restrict a shared or boundary fence between neighbors?
How HOA architectural authority interacts with good-neighbor fence laws on a shared boundary, who pays to build and maintain a line fence, and how to sort out a dispute over a fence between two lots.
Read the answerCan an HOA make you pay for a neighbor's water leak?
A leak from another home does not settle who repairs the damage or pays the bill. Review maintenance duties, the cause, insurance terms, and the authority for any charge.
Read the answerCan a non-owner or renter serve on the HOA board?
Whether you have to own a home in the community to sit on the HOA board, how director eligibility rules work, and where spouses, trustees, and tenants fit in.
Read the answerHow does an HOA resolve a dispute between neighbors?
Separate an association enforcement issue from a private disagreement. The board’s authority, the evidence, and the requested remedy determine what it can address.
Read the answerCan an HOA ban pickup trucks from being parked in the neighborhood?
Whether an HOA can prohibit personal pickup trucks, how courts read older 'no truck' covenants today, the commercial-versus-personal line, and how to challenge an outdated ban.
Read the answerCan an HOA charge a fee to rent or lease your home?
When an HOA can charge lease application, tenant-approval, or rental registration fees, the state caps that apply, who pays, and the red flags that make a rental fee improper.
Read the answerCan an HOA charge a fee to rent the clubhouse or amenities?
Whether an HOA can charge to rent the clubhouse or amenities, how a rental fee differs from a refundable deposit, and the limits on what the board can charge.
Read the answerCan an HOA charge a fee to review or approve a tenant?
Whether an HOA can charge a screening or tenant-approval fee before you rent your home, where that approval power comes from, the state caps, and the fair-housing limits that bound it.
Read the answerCan an HOA restrict an ADU rental or granny-flat tenant?
Whether an HOA can stop you from renting out an accessory dwelling unit or granny flat, how state ADU laws interact with rental caps, and the owner-occupancy and short-term-rental wrinkles.
Read the answerHow do I get my HOA to enforce a rule against a neighbor?
Report the specific conduct and ask the board to apply its enforcement process. A complaint does not guarantee a fine, and inconsistent treatment needs careful comparison.
Read the answerCan an HOA charge you for a neighbor's property damage claim?
First identify the demand: a private liability claim, an association reimbursement charge, or a shared expense. Each requires its own authority and supporting facts.
Read the answerCan an HOA fine a tenant directly, or only the owner?
In almost every community the HOA fines the owner, not the renter, because the covenants run with the deed - but lease addenda and a few state laws can put a tenant on the hook too.
Read the answerCan an HOA restrict or ban golf carts in the neighborhood?
When an association can regulate golf carts, why private vs. public streets matter, and the rules on storage, insurance, and who's allowed to drive.
Read the answerCan an HOA restrict drones in the neighborhood?
Why an HOA can't control the airspace over your community but can still write rules about launching, landing, and nuisance drone behavior on its own property.
Read the answerCan an HOA enforce a rule against me but not my neighbor?
Selective enforcement, waiver, and abandonment - the defenses that apply when an HOA fines you for something it lets everyone else slide on, and how to actually prove it.
Read the answerCan an HOA ban fireworks in the neighborhood?
Whether an HOA can restrict fireworks, how state and local law interact with your covenants, and the difference between an HOA fine and a police citation.
Read the answerCan an HOA ban owners from renting to Section 8 or housing voucher tenants?
Whether an HOA can bar renters who pay with a housing voucher, why it depends heavily on your state, and what changed in Texas.
Read the answerCan an HOA sell or lease common area property?
A cell tower lease or a strip of land sold to a neighbor runs into supermajority votes, lender consent, and a 30 percent tax bill. What it actually takes.
Read the answerCan an HOA run a background check on a buyer or renter?
Check the association’s authority before screening, and understand the obligations that come with using a consumer report.
Read the answerDoes an HOA have to accept payment from a tenant or a third party?
Who can pay an HOA account besides the owner, whether a tenant payment creates any rights, when Florida lets an association demand rent, and the traps.
Read the answerCan an HOA stop you from renting out your pool or backyard by the hour?
Renting your pool or backyard by the hour on an app runs into commercial-use and nuisance covenants rather than rental caps, and your homeowner policy may not cover it.
Read the answerCan an HOA require renters insurance?
Usually yes, but the rule binds the owner, not the tenant. What an HO-4 really covers and how to write a requirement that holds up.
Read the answerHow do we apply for a city or county neighborhood grant for an HOA project?
How an HOA board finds city and county neighborhood grants, checks eligibility, raises the match, votes, builds the application and gets reimbursed.
Read the answerHow do we write a clubhouse rental policy for our HOA?
How an HOA board writes a clubhouse rental policy: who can book, cost-based fees, deposits, alcohol and event insurance, capacity, check-out and damage claims.
Read the answerHow should our HOA board respond to a rezoning or development proposal next to the neighborhood?
How an HOA board reads a rezoning notice, votes on a position, files a protest petition and speaks at the hearing, with Texas, Colorado and Florida rules.
Read the answerHow do we make our HOA condo building smoke-free?
How a condo board adopts a smoke-free policy: owner survey, board rule vs declaration amendment, TX, FL and CO vote rules, grandfathering and enforcement.
Read the answerHow should an HOA board communicate with renters and tenants?
How an HOA board can communicate with renters: what tenant contact info to collect, what to send tenants versus owners, privacy limits, and fair housing basics.
Read the answerHow should an HOA board handle a neighbor noise or nuisance complaint?
How an HOA board handles a noise or nuisance complaint: intake, when to send it to police, evidence, the letter sequence, and TX, FL and CO notice rules.
Read the answerHow should an HOA board handle a drainage complaint between neighbors?
How an HOA board handles a drainage complaint between neighbors: whose water it is, easements and grading, violation letters, private disputes and a timeline.
Read the answerHow do we start a neighborhood watch in our HOA?
How an HOA board starts a neighborhood watch: the police liaison, block captains, a contact list, observe-and-report rules, volunteer liability and a kickoff plan.
Read the answerManage your community with OurHOA
Keep community records, resident requests, and board tasks together with OurHOA.