Who Pays the HOA Dues on a Rental Property?

This thread covers monthly HOA dues.  What about if an existing tenant wants his girlfriend to move in and the landlord agrees and there is a one time HOA registration fee?  Is it appropriate to ask the new tenant to pay this fee?

Wonderful post and a great reminder. Take control over the tenancy or tenancy will control you.

 

Here is the other side.  I am a responsible tenant and signed a lease with homeowner who put in lease agreement they would pay HOA dues and included in my rent was pool access.   HOwever i find out i cannot gain access to pool because the homeowner/landlord is deliquent on dues and i cannot get into the pool  what right do i have as a tenant?  it's part of rent yet no benefit. 

Hi Meloney,

Great article! I just rented my house and the rental agreement says that the tenant is to pay for all utilities and services and that I the landlord pay for all taxes. I understand what you are saying of making sure that it get paid. My Sewage is that way billed to me  but I collect it from the tenant. I'm just not sure if HOA fees are Utilites and services or taxes. Do you know?

Thanks,

Bruce

Hi Chris,

My HOA does not include any of the typical utilities. It includes lawn care, street maintenace and access to the pools, parks and fitness center. So in the Lease agreement it says tenant pays for all "Utilities and Services" and Landlord pays for "Taxes". My feeling is that the HOA comes under the definition of "Utilities and Services" and should be paid by the Tenant. Am I correct in my thinking?

Thanks,

Bruce

In our situation, the dues are included in our rent but the property management company isn't paying the dues.  The owner of our townhome is in the Military and are stationed over seas and the property management company is supposed to be taking care of things here.  The dues haven't been paid since the beginning of our lease, which was a year ago, and are now over $1000 behind.  What would our next step be? 

I am a tenant of a property where there are HOA dues of around $250 for the owner which includes Utilities plus the usual condominium blanket insurance, maintenance, etc. In a desperate need to obtain get a rental lease one month out prior to returning to my home on the other side of the US, I was told before I looked it that the rent included water, sewer, and garbage collection which made me feel better about the rent price of $1200. Then after I looked at it and really liked it, I was told that I would be paying for $100 of the HOA Dues due to the utilities paid for by the HOA being included in the rent so my monthly rent paid to the owner would be $1300 instead of $1200. I just accepted it as I did like the place but was grumbling underneath thinking that I was deceived a bit. I found it through Zillow which does not include as many notes about fees as the public view of the MLS so I also assumed I had missed something. Turns out that now that we are leaving, she posted it as $1100 with rent including Water, sewer, garbage, cable T.V. I assumed she had lowered the rent and was not including any addition for the HOA fees since the utilities were included. Wrong! I have been very cooperative in showing the unit and one of the agents said I didn't have to answer it but asked how much did I pay in rent. He asked how much the HOA dues were as the listing agent had passed by and mentioned that it was $1100 plus HOA dues. I said I thought they were around $250 but they would have to ask the listing agent as I paid $100 added on to the posted rent. I then sent a note to the listing agent as I had been telling people the rent was the $1100 which included the above utilities. The listing agent replied saying that the rent was $1100 plus $200 HOA fees. She then said the HOA fees included the utilities plus the use of the amenities (small pool, spa, and small exercise room). She also said that I should refer people to her as I couldn't see all the terms on the MLS listing. Well by the showing agent's questions, he didn't either. The prospective renter was very positive about the property but haven't heard that he took it. The market is such that $1100 is fairly competitive rent but $1300 competes with only 2 of 215 rental properties and those 2 have more space, a double garage instead of a single, and are newer. One of them includes the same utilities as this unit. My point here is that it seems deceptive for a listing agent to post a rent and then add on "HOA Fees' which already includes part of what is said to be within the rent. In my opinion, the rent should be set by the owner so that they take into account the HOA fee expense. And, if the showing agent didn't see that within the MLS listing realtor notes, then it has to be some violation of the listing rules. Part of my interest in the future rent is that we have two months off left on our lease but can get released if they can rerent it. We decided to help generate interest with our own posting knowing we would immediately have to refer them to her. However, that was based on our understanding the rent was $1100 including the above utilities. Now, I'd rather eat the last couple months of rent than deceive people with misinformation and a price that is not competitive. Am I looking at this correctly that it may be a violation of realtor ethics?