HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 6, 2016
Published: Fri, 05/06/16
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Your HOA’s Pet Rules May Be in Jeopardy
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In this week’s tip, we let you know about a new service that may contribute to
the erosion of your pet rules.
Started in New York City in March, Pet Friendly Realty NYC boasts that it’s a
residential real estate agency that specializes in working with buyers and
renters to determine if they’re eligible to live in their new home with their
pet, regardless of building restrictions.
The company estimates that 75 percent of all rental buildings in New York
City don’t allow pets and that 45 percent of condos carry the same
restriction.
The founder, Hal Eisenstein, is a real estate lawyer turned tech
entrepreneur who also runs the Emotional Animal Support Center, which
bills itself as the leading national provider of prescriptive animal
accommodation letters for both housing and flying. According to a press
release, PFRNYC uses its knowledge of federal housing laws to educate
clients on their options when they face no-pet policies.
After an initial screening, the service connects clients with a licensed
therapist who can determine if they or a family member will qualify for an
emotional support animal; the service then helps them find a home.
This is an interesting idea, notes Ben Solomon, an attorney and founder of
the Association Law Group in Miami, who advises more than 500 associations
and represents developers through his second law firm, Solomon & Furshman
LLP.
“The comfort pet issue is a very big issue down here,” he notes. “There’s no
question pets are like family and you need to make sure you have your pet when
you move, so you need to know which buildings you can go to. This sounds like a
service that could be helpful for some. But a good lawyer, if asked, could
easily look at an association’s declaration and tell you what the rules or
restrictions are without having to use a third party like this.”
Gregory S. Cagle, a partner at Savrick Schumann Johnson McGarr Kaminski &
Shirley in Austin, Texas, and author of Texas Homeowners Association Law,
also says the idea is interesting. “I’ve certainly seen something of a trend
of people calling animals service animals,” he says. “The Fair Housing Act
requires housing providers to make reasonable modifications when it comes
to handicaps, and that includes for a service animal.”
The challenge Cagle has had has been identifying what qualifies as a service
animal. Serious question: Do chickens qualify? Find out that answer—and
whether you should dump your pet rules altogether—in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1363.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Eroding HOA Rules: Agency Promises to Help Buyers Beat Pet Bans
A new company has been launched to help owners and renters determine if they
qualify for an exemption from an apartment or condo's pet prohibitions.
Here we explain the service, but more importantly we talk about whether you
should be worried that your pet restrictions are eroding to the point of
meaninglessness.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Eroding-HOA-Rules-Agency-Promises-Help-Buyers-Beat-Pet-Bans.cfm
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Door-to-Door Salespeople and Political Canvassers: Why They're
Different at HOAs
In this age of Clinton, Cruz, Kasich, Sanders, and Trump (we put those in
alpha order so as not to appear to favor any of them; that's sort of the lesson
of this tip), how should your HOA handle door-to-door activities--from
salespeople to political canvassers?
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Door-to-Door-Salespeople-Political-Canvassers-Why-Theyre-Different-at-HOAs.cfm
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Rentals in Your HOA or Condo Getting You Down?What HOA Boards Need to Know
About Regulating Rentals
Rentals are one of the toughest issues to control at HOAs, and they've become
even more difficult to oversee now that websites like Airbnb and VRBO have
caught fire, facilitating short term rentals for home owners. What's a
responsible HOA or condo board to do?
View this "must watch" webinar on how to create a smart--and
enforceable--rental policy at your HOA. You'll hear two community
association lawyers with decades of hands-on experience in advising
associations share their best advice.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/products/rentals-in-your-hoa-b.cfm
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Door-to-Door Sales: Can Your HOA Ban It? What about Political Canvassing?
An HOAleader.com reader asks: "We're an age-restricted private community
with 112 units (singles, twins, and quads). At each of two entrances, we've
posted 'private property' with 'no solicitation.' We've recently
experienced a few door-to-door solicitations by alleged electric
generation suppliers. (We're in Pennsylvania, which has a
shop-for-electricity program). We've cited our no-soliciting signs and
asked them to leave.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/DoortoDoor-Sales-Can-Your-HOA-Ban-It-What-about-Political-Canvassing.cfm
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Online Videos of Your Community: Who Posted Them?
Last month, we discussed the pros and cons of creating a video to promote your
community. While working on the topic, we did some Internet research and got
interesting results--real estate agents and even residents were posting
videos to promote unit sales and rentals.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Online-Videos-Your-Community-Who-Posted-Them.cfm
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