ACIA Single Family Residences Can Now Be Apartments??
A member of our association attended the ACIA meeting Monday and asked about the home located next to him which has 6 to 8 cars parked at the home. Seems the cars all belong to different individuals and it is apparent the home is being rented to numerous individuals. At least it is apparent to the people who live by this home. It always is. They are the ones who must deal with the coming and going of numerous vehicles and the parking debacle it creates on the street.
I don't believe anyone moved into this neighborhood for just the protection that the house next door would not be painted bright pink at some point. I would say most want the protection that single family residences allow them. If they wanted an apartment type living area they would live in an unprotected area of Harris County with no Covenanats and deed restrictions in regard to such matters on what the house next door to you can become.
Some may try to turn this argument into an extended family argument. That is not what the homeowner was referring to in this case.
Here are some quotes that were heard at the board meeting on Monday night in regard to this matter.
"Unless they are violating any of the deed restriction we cannot get them for any thing. Single family you cannot take them to court, single family has been redefined"... ACIA manager.
"we as an ACIA board can only do so much" President of ACIA
"But if you have 7 or 8 people living in that house in a single dwelling specified in the deed..." Homeowner "A"
"you also have multi-generational familys all through out this neighborhood so what do you want to do about them?" President of ACIA
"they are not even related these people" Homeowner "A"
"Ok, my point is that multi-generational familys are also a multi family dwelling then we'll take it up but when you pick one house out you are going to have to pick everybody out. You just can't stop with one house" President of ACIA
"Wouldn't that be considered a business as well?" "living in the house and paying rent on it as a business?" Homeowner "A"
"I can't tell you their intentions, I have not talked to them maybe they are brothers, maybe they are cousins, I don't know. It is not my business to ask them but it is my business to further your need to the constables in which I have done" President of ACIA
"You make a good statement. When you say If you start questioning those people living in that house, where does it stop. I can take that a different direction. If we are going to ignore one deed restriction violation, where does it stop?" Homeowner "B"
"That was not a deed restriction violation" ACIA Manager
"Where is that a deed restriction...." President of ACIA
"Who said ignore? Who said ignore" Trustee
"Because the deed restriction states that our homes here are suppose to be familys living there.. So you can have your mother-in-law live there you can have your uncles live there but you can't buy it and go live downtown Houston and rent it out to 5 different people because you've got a 7,000 square foot home." Homeowner "B"
"You are assuming that is the issue" President of ACIA
"People who live by these people don't have to assume, they know because they live by them......." "it's happening all over our neighborhood but you made a statement that kind of says well if are going to ignore that one because you cannot prove it then where do you stop?" Homeowner "B"
"I don't think that was his comment" ACIA Manager
"I didn't hear ignore." Trustee
"I didn't either" ACIA Manager
"I never heard the word ignore" Trustee
"Well, that is what you are doing when you say we can't prove it" Homeowner "B"
"garbled .....you are taking it out of context and you are putting words in his mouth, ok, so get your words straight" Trustee
"Calm, calm" Homeowner "B"
"do you keep minutes of the workshops you have?" Homeowner "B"
"what?" President of ACIA
"No, minutes are a reflection of decisions, there are no minutes taken" ACIA Manager
A comment was made by a committee member that left the meeting and on his way out made the comment that he had been on a board and that the single family residence is one of the squirreliest definitions to deal with and it is almost impossible to take anyone to court. If they got friends living with them, friends brother living with them. That is their right, that is their home. They can have whoever they want, live with them, and it is still a single family residence and it is just something you cannot.....I challenge you to find me a definition of single family residence.
Meeting ended.
If the board has a problem distinguishing the difference between a single family residence and a home being used as an apartment let me make a suggestion.
Develop a policy. Go into detail what a single family residence will be. It could be something like....."A single family is any number of people related by direct lineal descent (grandparent, parent, child, sibling, no cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.".
It would include adoptions, marriage, foster children/parent relationship or domestic partnership living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit. The board could even (if the membership voted to allow) that a single family may not live with more than three additional unrelated people. That would cover a man, living with his girlfriend and her two children. Get the idea? The board could require a homeowner who is renting out his single family residence show the rental agreement to the management so they would know it is a family renting the home and not a multitude of non-related people not living by any means as a family unit but merely unrelated individuals renting rooms in a house. That my fellow homeowners is an apartment and who votes to have that next door.
The board says they are not ignoring this home. Management won't even agree there is a violation. If they are not ignoring it then I doubt the homeowner "A" will ever have to show up to another board meeting addressing this issue or write another letter to the board. The board is going to handle it and not ignore it. Perhaps it should be handled the same way it would be handled if this type of home was next door to each of the board members homes.
