Rental Approval Procedure

Rental Approval and Management Procedure

Preamble

In 2016 the homeowners of the Pleasant Meadows at the Barn PRUD voted and passed an amendment to the CC&Rs that limits to ten the number of housing units that can be rented at any time. The amendment allowed the thirteen units being occupied by non-owners at the time of the vote to continue as rentals and forbade additional units being rented until the number of such units dropped to nine.

This procedure explains how the HOA shall manage the list of permitted rentals, how a homeowner applies for HOA permission to rent the unit, how that permission is granted, the duration of that permission, how and when the permission is rescinded, and consequences for deviating from this procedure.

This procedure implements the provisions of and is subordinate to the CC&Rs Article I - Rental Restrictions of the Amendment to the Amended Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions of Pleasant Meadows PRUD (hereafter, Article 1) registered with Weber County, Utah on October 5, 2016. In the case of a conflict with this procedure, the CC&Rs take precedence.

Definitions and General Requirements

1. Unit owner— The person, people or legal entity listed as the legal property owner on the records at the Weber County, Utah Recorder's Office.
2. Ten unit cap — No more than ten units may be occupied solely by a non owner at any one time. No permission shall be granted to rent a unit until fewer than ten units are solely occupied by non-owners. Rental exceptions permitted under Paragraph 1.6 of Article 1 shall be allowed even though the ten unit cap may be exceeded. However, these excepted rentals shall count against the ten unit rental cap.  No other rentals other than the excepted rentals shall be allowed until the total rentals are less than ten.
3. Minimum rental period —A rental shall be for at least twelve consecutive months. After the rental period ends, the occupant may continue to live there on a month to month basis. No short-term, weekend, weekly, or overnight rentals are permitted.
4. Rented unit —An occupied unit in which its legal owner does not occupy the unit as a primary residence. Whether or not payment is being made by or on behalf of an occupant is irrelevant to this definition.
5. Application for permission to rent —A unit owner desiring to have a unit solely occupied by a non-unit owner shall notify the Board in writing at least sixty days in advance of the intent to rent the unit. Regardless of the waiting period, an owner shall not permit the unit to be occupied solely by non-owners until the owner has received written permission from the Board.
6. Rental Authorization Record —A spreadsheet shall be maintained by the HOA Manager on behalf of the Board to manage requests and priorities for renting units. This document is the official record which shows at any time the prioritized list of units rented and waiting to be rented and pertinent dates.
7. Violations — Any unit owner who violates Article 1 or this implementing procedure in any manner shall be subject to fines, a complaint for damages and/or an injunction to terminate the rental in violation of Article 1 or this procedure.  If the HOA retains legal counsel to enforce this Article 1 or this procedure, with or without filing legal action, the violating unit owner shall be liable for all costs and expenses incurred by the HOA, including but not limited to attorney fees and court costs incurred by the Board in enforcing Article 1 or this procedure.  

1. Any legal owner desiring to rent a unit shall, at least sixty days in advance, submit to the Board in writing a request stating the intent to rent the unit. The request shall be dated, give the address of the unit to be rented, state the legal owner's name as recorded at the Weber County, Utah Recorder's Office, and provide an address to which to send related correspondence.
2. The Board shall confirm unit ownership with the Weber County, Utah Recorder's Office, then notify the requester in writing that the request has been placed on the Rental Authorization Record in the chronological order of its being received by the Board. NOTE: This letter does not constitute approval to rent the unit.
3. When there are fewer than ten units ahead of it on the Rental Authorization Record, the Board shall send the owner an approval letter granting conditional permission to rent the unit provided the rental agreement is presented to the Board and receives Board approval prior to occupancy of the unit.
4. At least one week before permitting occupancy of the unit by any non-owner the owner shall present the Board a copy of the rental agreement signed by all parties. The rental agreement must state the name of the owner and renter and show the rental start and end dates confirming that the rental is for at least twelve months.
5. The Board shall review the rental agreement within a week of the rental agreement being presented for approval and provide an approval notification if all the requirements of this procedure have been met. The Board has no authority to approve/disapprove a rental based on any characteristics of the stated renter. The renter’s name is required strictly so the HOA knows who is occupying the unit for communication purposes and to know when a rental agreement has run its course.
6. If the rental agreement fails to show the requisite information or to meet the requisite conditions, the Board shall send a letter denying permission to enact the rental, and the owner shall have two weeks from the date of the Board's denial letter to correct the deficiency. Failure to present a revised rental agreement to the Board within that deadline shall result in the owner's position on the Rental Authorization Record being forfeited and the owner having to begin the process over from step 1 above.
7. If for any reason the owner permits the unit to be solely occupied by a non owner before receiving the Board's approval letter, the conditions described in the paragraph entitled "Violations" above shall apply.
8. When an approved rental period runs its course, the owner may continue to rent the unit to the renter on a month to month basis without further action. If, however, the renter changes, the owner shall start the process over from step 4 above. The owner does not need to reapply for permission to rent the unit (i.e., steps 1-3 do not need to be performed anew), but the owner shall present for Board approval a new rental agreement showing the new renter and the rental start and end dates.
9. When legal ownership of the rented unit changes (as defined in Paragraph 1.9 of Article 1), a rental in effect may continue to the end date recorded on the Rental Authorization Record, but upon that date the unit shall be dropped from the Rental Authorization Record with the reason for being dropped and the date recorded on it. If the new owner desires to rent the unit, he or she shall initiate an application starting at step 1 above.
10. If a rented unit is occupied in violation of Article 1 or of this procedure, the unit shall be immediately dropped from the Rental Authorization Record and the owner shall be notified via a letter from the Board that the arrangement must immediately be terminated, that fines for violating the policy may be assessed, and/or that the Board will initiate legal action for which the owner shall be liable.
11. If a rented unit is reoccupied by its owner, the unit shall be immediately dropped from the Rental Authorization Record and the reason and date recorded.