If there are two areas that cause the most trouble for community association boards, it’s arguably parking and pets.
When speaking about the latter there are great passions on both sides, as the issue of pets is a serious, if not downright contentious, matter for many community associations. Just because there are guidelines spelled out in the community’s CC&Rs doesn’t mean that is the end of the discussion or the legal hassles.
Sometimes the community association laws are bent, or not enforced at all.
The Seeing Eye Dog vs. the HOA
At the Oak Meadows community in Pennsylvania, two residents got into a dust up with their HOA over a Seeing Eye dog. At Oak Meadows, there is a one-dog-per-unit policy in effect.
Steve and Annette Yeager were already the proud parents of a pooch when they extended the welcome mat to a four month old black lab named Ives, an in-training Seeing Eye dog. As such, these dogs need to become accustomed to actual living environments. The Yeagers’ daughter Elizabeth is officially in charge of Ives and his training. As a result, she’ll be eligible for a scholarship and sponsored by the training program. Ives is not supposed to be a permanent resident; he’s just stopping by for a little learning.
What could be the harm in that?
Well, if you are the Oak Meadows HOA, the harm is running afoul of the CC&Rs. They cited the Yeagers for housing more than one dog, the Yeagers appealed, and after a closed door hearing a ruling is set to be announced.
But according to a local news article, the “right” decision gets a little bit more complicated to determine when looking at previous rulings from the association.
Recently a neighbor owning two dogs moved in to Oak Meadows. The article goes on to say that the previous unit owner was desperately looking to sell, and the new owner wasn’t going give up their dogs, so an exception was made.
Welcome to the slippery slope argument, and a clear infraction of the rules that were moved aside to accommodate both parties.
Coming to a mutual agreement
At The Management Trust, it’s a situation that can be difficult to formulate a unified stance. Boards should understand that a homeowner can file a complaint against the association for free, and doesn’t need to hire an attorney; they simply have to go to the government and file a fair housing complaint.
That being said, can’t we all agree that each association should make an effort to make reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities.
Almost any service dog or animal is for the purpose of overcoming a disability. The breadth is incredible and includes things such as “comfort and support”.
What about your HOA pet rules? Are they too strict? Have they made exceptions in the past? Not all associations have the same bylaws, so we’d love to know what is enforced in your community, whether it be an HOA or a condo association.
This article is provided by The Management Trust.