"Tenant Tracking"? (Phoenix: 2014, rental, homeowners association)

[Voebe]

Has anyone heard of this?

Someone showed me a "Tenant Tracking Form," supposedly pursuant to an Arizona law as of 2014. It seems to charge a fee every time a tenant moves in.

Seems very odd to me. I should mention that this tracking form was typed by a local company, not a government form.

[DetroitN8V]

I assume this is the beginning of the document in question? Is "it" your HOA? I'd advise you to look up the cited laws.

Westglen Villas Homeowners Association c/o Vision Community Management
16625 S. Desert Foothills Pkwy,
Phoenix, AZ 85048
Office: (480) 759-4945, Extension 1120
TenantTracking@WeAreVision.com

TENANT TRACKING FORM

Pursuant to Arizona state law §33-1806.01 / §33-1260.01 which went into effect on July 24, 2014, completion of this form is required if you rent out your home. Each time a new tenant moves into your home, a new form must be completed and a $25.00 fee paid. If the form is not fully completed or not returned within 15 days after the lease start date, a $15.00 late fee will be charged

[AZ Manager]

Looks like the fee is paid directly to the HOA, §33-1806.01(C), or COA, §33-1260.01(C), and has nothing to do with the government. The laws above limit the information the associations can ask for though there appears to be wiggle room. The laws basically give the associations permission to charge the fee with a cap on it and enforce a deadline.

[Voebe]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I assume this is the beginning of the document in question? Is "it" your HOA? I'd advise you to look up the cited laws.

Westglen Villas Homeowners Association c/o Vision Community Management
16625 S. Desert Foothills Pkwy,
Phoenix, AZ 85048
Office: (480) 759-4945, Extension 1120
TenantTracking@WeAreVision.com

TENANT TRACKING FORM

Pursuant to Arizona state law §33-1806.01 / §33-1260.01 which went into effect on July 24, 2014, completion of this form is required if you rent out your home. Each time a new tenant moves into your home, a new form must be completed and a $25.00 fee paid. If the form is not fully completed or not returned within 15 days after the lease start date, a $15.00 late fee will be charged

Thanks! The paper I was shown (not Westglen) didn't cite any number for the law.

Does anyone else think it's extremely peculiar for a state law to award money to a third-party company that does no work and is not involved in the transaction between two other parties? For instance, in a traditional rental via a broker, I think it's the trade association that agrees on standard fees - but those are negotiable, not laws, and the broker is actually perfor,ing a service.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by Voebe

Thanks! The paper I was shown (not Westglen) didn't cite any number for the law.

Does anyone else think it's extremely peculiar for a state law to award money to a third-party company that does no work and is not involved in the transaction between two other parties? For instance, in a traditional rental via a broker, I think it's the trade association that agrees on standard fees - but those are negotiable, not laws, and the broker is actually perfor,ing a service.

The law isn't awarding any money to anyone. As far as I can understand, it's capping the fee that can be charged.

The fee itself should be spelled out in the CC&Rs though.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Voebe

Thanks! The paper I was shown (not Westglen) didn't cite any number for the law.

Does anyone else think it's extremely peculiar for a state law to award money to a third-party company that does no work and is not involved in the transaction between two other parties? For instance, in a traditional rental via a broker, I think it's the trade association that agrees on standard fees - but those are negotiable, not laws, and the broker is actually perfor,ing a service.

They aren't awarding funds to the HOA, just limiting the abusive fees that HOA's were charging. (Before the law was passed, some hoa's were charging much much more, just because they could get away with it. ) In our business climate, it's amazing that the legislature was even able to do that.

[Voebe]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

They aren't awarding funds to the HOA, just limiting the abusive fees that HOA's were charging. (Before the law was passed, some hoa's were charging much much more, just because they could get away with it. ) In our business climate, it's amazing that the legislature was even able to do that.

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. The form I was shown simply collects tenant names and charges a fee, which I think was $15. I assumed the check would be made out to the management company, but maybe it's meant for the HOA. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be in the CCRs.

So I'm confused about the purpose. I thought maybe it was for tracking transients. Now you have me thinking it just led to the creations of a new fee. I'm hoping to get some free time to look up the law - and hope it will be comprehensible to a layman.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Voebe

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. The form I was shown simply collects tenant names and charges a fee, which I think was $15. I assumed the check would be made out to the management company, but maybe it's meant for the HOA. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be in the CCRs.

So I'm confused about the purpose. I thought maybe it was for tracking transients. Now you have me thinking it just led to the creations of a new fee. I'm hoping to get some free time to look up the law - and hope it will be comprehensible to a layman.

the fee was just a way for HOA's to make money - like many "sin taxes", the fees were easy to get those who *don't* rent out their houses to approve. Tax him, not me. HOA paperwork fees were the same way, charging new owners outrageous fees & the current owners didn't care, because they weren't the ones getting nailed. Most fees in an HOA neighborhood do go to the management company if there is one, and of course the management company usually gets approval easily for fees that don't effect the current owners. Thats why we needed a law limiting the abuse. Even so, the legislature left a lot of abuse in the law - a new owner has to buy a copy of the hoa rules, and that .pdf file on a burned disc can still legally cost $400, plus an extra $100 if you want it in less than ten days.

[yukon]

I don't know about AZ, but when I lived in FL, the HOA management would run credit reports and do background checks on prospective tenants. and the tenant had to be approved to move in. That's what the fee there was for.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by yukon

I don't know about AZ, but when I lived in FL, the HOA management would run credit reports and do background checks on prospective tenants. and the tenant had to be approved to move in. That's what the fee there was for.

A credit report & background / public records check costs about $10 if you're set up with a service (and anyone who runs very many should be).