Investor · Lucas, TX · Member since 2010 · 620 posts · 352 votes
A friend of mine has a rental in a Texas HOA. They've just adopted a bunch of restrictive declarations aimed squarely at landlords.
I don't have a lot of the details but apparently there is a rental fee charged by the HOA and higher fines for rentals if they violate the CC&Rs.
The one that really gets me riled up is they are requiring landlords to pay for "professional landscaping". This is only required by rentals. Not owner occupiers. Are you kidding me?
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes
7y
I don't know Texas law in particular and they may have some wacky laws or the CCRs may be crazy for this complex, but rental fees are generally legal for an HOA to charge. It's going to need to be an amount that is reasonable to the added costs associated with dealing with renters instead of owners. I've known HOAs to charge as much as one month rent annually.
Higher fines for violations is probably not legal unless they can show there is some sort of higher administrative burden.
The professional landscaping cost only to landlords is likely not legal. Costs for common areas should be borne equally among all units.
Even if the HOA is forced to change these rules, it sounds like they don't want renters in their complex. There are lots of ways for the HOA to stop rentals and/or make them so complex and cost prohibitive to the owners that it is not worth it.
Attorney · Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 888 posts · 759 votes
7y
Without reading the CCRs or knowing anything more than what you posted, they are likely unenforceable. Problem is, your friend will have to violate them, file suit, and probably have to appeal, to get them changed. Probably looking at $50-75K to be that test case.