Headline needs punctuation. I thought the condo association was threatening to evict the tenant, using the squirrel as a means of menacing. “Yes,” I thought, “I would watch that movie.”
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Attorneys also state Boylan is residing in the unit as a tenant without having applied for and/or obtained approval from the association.
I wasn’t aware that HOAs had the legal right to approve or deny individual tenants.
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I am on the board of a Condo that has a 1 pet by-law. Recently we had a woman move in with 2 dogs, and other owners complained. When asked to talk to the board about this, her story went through several iterations - the dogs were litter mates and would die if separated, one dog is an emotional support dog for her daughter and the other is her 1 pet, both dogs are emotional support dogs, one for her daughter and one for her, etc. She did provide doctor’s notes, both dated after the complaint. There are a few things you should know about situations like this:
- As previously stated, emotional support dogs are not service dogs, and do not get special consideration as far as the ADA is concerned.
- There seems to be a real cottage industry around getting paperwork for emotional support animals to subvert by-laws or lease conditions.
- A condo board has a responsibility to uphold the community by-laws. If they don’t, they can be sued by unit owners who want the by-law enforced. If there is general consensus that the rule needs to be changed, all they need to do is ask for the board to hold a community vote on an amendment to the by-laws.
- Even with the 1 pet policy, we constantly get complaints about dog owners letting dogs run loose, letting them relieve themselves wherever and not cleaning up (usually on the landscaping the community pays for), and noise issues. Believe me, I’ve spent more time talking about dog poop than I ever wanted to. And I don’t think that is unique to us.
When buying into a condo, you’re supposed to get a copy of the governing documents as part of the sale. When renting, the owner is supposed to inform the tenant. You should know what you’re getting into. And when you live pretty much on top of your neighbors, you need to make some adjustments.
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The term “exotic” probably is defined in the contract with the condo association.
If undefined, it would be up to a judge or jury to figure out what the parties emanate when the entered into an agreement that included an agreement to no leep exotic pets.
Also note that an exotic pet is likely defined differently than an exotic animal. A squirrel is not an exotic animal in many parts of the world, but it is an exotic pet.
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No doubt that inside of a year, I’ll be sharing an armrest with a passenger and their support squirrel.
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Who said it was an HOA? The headline itself says this is a condominium association. And yes, if its in the bylaws, condo associations do have the right to limit the ability of its owners to rent out their units to tenants. There are good reasons for such restrictions that benefit the condo owners as a whole.
I feel that he will win this in the end. Most definitions for an exotic pet are those not often kept as pets or considered wild species as well as animals not common to the region you located.
Squirrels are in fact more common than people think and ultimately are no more exotic of domesticated than a any common rodent (mouse, rat, gerbil, guinea pig, hamster).
My first thought too. He can’t have a squirrel in his house, but he can have several of them outside his house running free.
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Perhaps you can enlighten me on the differences between an HOA and a condo association.
Sure, it took me all of 10 seconds to search Google for this link:
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How is a squirrel exotic? They are a dime a dozen.
You know what’s exotic? Fish… if you have a piranha.
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I’m the President of my Board, but thanks for boiling down for me.
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Property ownership ain’t what it used to be.
I kind of wish i could claim my cat as an emotional support animal. To me they really are, i grapple with anxiety and depression and having my cat around has done a lot for my well being. However i feel uncomfortable with the idea of getting the paperwork for it because i see rampant abuse of what’s considered an emotional support animal. Would love to see stricter rules around that.
I don’t know what “thenest.com” is, but I don’t agree that their distinctions are all the meaningful.
I live in an HOA, and my fees go to maintain common areas that I – as a homeowner – do actually have a vested interest in. I my HOA, property owners with larger parcels pay a higher fee and I share in the legal and financial liability of the common areas.
We have always allowed homeowners to rent their homes (we’re still not clear on whether it’s legal to restrict renting outright–we don’t think it is) but we do not allow multifamily, or rented apartment units like a garage loft which are also restricted under village zoning. We can evict tenants if they don’t abide by the rules, but that requires due process. We can not approve or deny individual tenants.
But if it makes you feel better, I wasn’t aware that condo associations had the legal right to approve or deny individual tenants.
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There was a time when squirrels were very popular pets in North America. Maybe they just don’t like this guy for some other reason and the squirrel was the final straw?
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They don’t. But they can have a requirement that a unit owner provide a copy of the lease whenever a new tenant moves in or an existing one renews. That way they know the renter has legitimate access to to the facilities. It also can allow for the association to garnish the rent if the owner falls too behind on their fees - trash still needs to be picked up and streets need to be plowed in winter, after all.
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That “personal use” bit really bothers me…
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Yeah, I’m thinking squirrels tend to fail on both of those points…
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