Can A Hoa Ask For A Copy Of Your House Key?

[Prudence]

I rent a townhouse. The owner called me today and stated that the Homeowners Association Board is asking everyone for a copy of their front door key. Apparently they cited some obscure by-law that says for "saftey" reasons, in case they need to get in there and no one is at home, they get to have a copy of everyones house keys. This seems fishy to me. I dont like the idea of strangers being able to get into my home. I have seen enough forensic shows about apartment rapes/slayings to be very wary of floating house keys. Is it legal for them to ask for a house key? Can I refuse without being fined? Can I refuse as a renter without the owner being fined? I never signed any HOA consent forms when I leased the townhouse...

Any help would be appreciated. I couldnt find any answers on the internet.

Thanks

Prudence

[Lisa]

Odd. My understanding, not knowing how your homeowner association is set up, is that they would not have any authority on the inside of your residence.

I would request why they want access into your home, in writting with documentation.

[Tim-n-VA]

This is really going to be very specific to your local government regarding home-owner's association convenants and the covenants themselves. My experience with this from the other side, while living in Texas was this: Legal counsel advised that the convenants had to be enforced consistently or they could be over-turned when later attempts to enforce them came up. The specific case was a rule against structures in front of a house. The association was told if it didn't enforce this against basketball goals, they couldn't enforce it later if someone wanted to build a storage building.

Still, my bottom line is that you need to talk to someone who knows your specific local ordances on this issue.

ETA: You probably have a conflict between your rental agreement with the owner and the owner with the HOA. Where I live now, acceptance of the HOA convenants was part of the purchase. Frequently rental agreement give the landlord access under certain conditions so you might have already been told about this in the lease.

[mushroom]

Our condo HOA (Nevada) requires copies of keys. In a multi-unit structure you can see why it could be important--if you are absent and there is a leaking roof, eg., to check for water damage and prevent it. I don't think it is something you should feel all paranoid about.

[debmidge]

Ask for a copy of the HOA's By-Laws/Covenants or at least if the HOA can lend you a copy of the By Laws & Covenants and mark the page to identify the "key clause" . I guess it's possible that they want a key as per their rules, but I've never heard of this before and I know people who own homes in HO associations. Is the entire complex owned by the HOA? Is it more like a co-op?

Ask your landlord if he/she has Crime Coverage in the event you find something missing.

Ask the HOA if they have Crime coverage on their Directors & Officers and the holder of the keys. Especially the holder of the keys, he/she should be (crime) Bonded.

If there is something missing from your home after you give them a copy of the key, call the police for an official report of it.

Also, you need an explanation of how the keys are stored. Are they locked in a safe? Are they locked in a key SAFE (a special metal box with tiny hooks to put the keys on and the safe locks)? If so, who holds the key to the SAFE? Who has access to the SAFE other than the appointed "key holder?"

Under what circumstances would anyone from the HOA enter the house you are renting?

And lastly, is this the landlord's way of getting you to move out by creating an issue with a 'little-used' HOA rule, knowing you would not want to agree to this "rule?" Just a thought...