CC&Rs Can Allow An HOA To Approve Potential Tenants

Question: The problem in our community in Tempe is not short-term rentals, but rentals to ASU college students who turn the home into a modern-day “Animal House.” Can we amend our CC&Rs to prohibit rentals to tenants who are less than 21 years old? If not, can our HOA board of directors interview every potential tenant to eliminate the “John Belushi’s,” and only allow rentals to hard-working college students?

Answer: Yes to both questions. First, although families with children, and disabled individuals, e.g., senior citizens with dementia, are both protected Fair Housing classes, age by itself is not a protected Fair Housing class. Therefore, an amendment to the CC&Rs to prohibit rentals to tenants less than 21 years old can be enforced. Second, the CC&Rs can be amended to authorize the HOA board of directors to interview a potential tenant (or even a potential owner of a home) to determine whether the potential tenant should be approved. Most famously, a committee of homeowners in New York refused to approve Richard Nixon, the former President of the United States, to be a homeowner.