To an unsuspecting tenant, a condominium looks a lot like an apartment unit. Yet tenants moving into a condominium face an environment that's quite unlike a typical apartment building.

Unlike an apartment building, a condominium complex has multiple owners, who own separate areas individually and common areas collectively. Decisions about common areas are made by the homeowners' association (HOA) or its board of directors. Larger complexes typically have a management company, which is hired by the HOA to handle bookkeeping, maintenance contracting and other day-to-day matters.

Although tenants are residents of the condominium complex, they are not entitled to vote at HOA or board of directors meetings because they don't have an ownership interest. The only exception occurs when an owner gives the tenant a power of attorney, which appoints the tenant as the owner's representative to the HOA. That type of arrangement is rare because it gives the tenant some of the owner's legal rights. If the tenant is a relative of the owner, misunderstanding may arise about voting rights. However, the confusion is only superficial because a family relationship is largely irrelevant. The owner retains his or her rights, and the relative is treated like any other tenant.

Tenants may or may not be welcome at HOA and board meetings. "Some tenants attend the board of directors meetings every month to observe. Usually, they are tenants who are looking to buy [a condo in the complex] in the future, so they want to become familiar with how the association operates," says Stephen Bupp, owner of Condominium Ventures Inc., a condominium management company in Greenbelt, Maryland, and president-elect of the Community Associations Institute, a nonprofit organization in Alexandria, Virginia.

Some HOAs also allow tenants to speak at these meetings on their own behalf, even though they aren't allowed to vote. "If the tenants do say something, it's usually taken (into consideration). The owners don't ignore their comments," says Bupp.

Another major difference between an apartment building and a condominium complex is that condominium associations have covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs), which govern everything from the elections of HOA officers to the allocation of parking spaces. Unlike the rules of an apartment building, CC&Rs are legally enforceable documents that apply to tenants as well as resident owners. "Tenants must abide by the CC&Rs and all the other rules and regulations, but the owner of the condominium is the ultimate responsible party. If the owners don't protect themselves, the tenant can cause problems and the owner ends up receiving notices from the association about rule violations," says Bupp. HOAs can—and do—impose fines if the CC&Rs or other rules are disobeyed. And those fines can be levied even if a tenant was responsible for the violation.

Condominium landlords should give their tenants a copy of the CC&Rs. Tenants should take the time to read the CC&Rs and ask for clarification of any rules they don't understand. Condo rental agreements should have a paragraph stipulating that the tenant has been given the CC&Rs, agrees to abide by them and will be financially responsible for any fines levied against the owner as a result of the tenant's actions. "The owner of the condominium should put in [the rental agreement] that the tenant must follow the CC&Rs and rules and regulations and that any violation will allow the owner to take action against the tenant," says Bupp.

The Rules of Renting a Condo - Part II

Marcie Geffner has been covering real estate issues for more than eight years, formerly as senior editor of California Real Estate magazine and now on a freelance basis. Her articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union Tribune Sunday real estate sections as well as various real estate association magazines. You can e-mail Marcie at mgeff@worldnet.att.net.

Related RENTNET® Links
Renter's Reading Room	Moving Tips & Tricks
Apartment Hunting Tips	Legal Corner