New Question: Issues with the Tenants of Condo Investors
I live in a 26-unit condo building that currently is only 9 owners & 15 renters (so 34% owner-occupied, 66% rentals).
A large number of the units are owned by foreign-owners (the original developer did some marketing in China) & as a result rented to international students -which has led to a revolving door of students who do things like dump everything & their kitchen sink outside the garbage when they leave (local students may do that too, but foreign students are the ones dumping EVERYTHING so the infractions are just more extreme).
Other ideas of issues:
There is supposed to be a minimum of 1-year for rental leases but we notice people moving in & out more often (scratching paint on their way out). Or if we approach renters for inappropriately using the visitor-parking (which isn't for tenants) then they will just deny they actually live here.
Just this week met a recent investor-buyer who claimed he didn't know there were realtor fees! Another investor recently reported she did not know you should have supplemental insurance.
One owner waits months & months to pay strata fees & then pays them all at once (we were planning on instating a $150/month late fee to stop this.)
The strata council has been the same 4 or so people since the building was built 8 years ago & they are growing very tired of policing issues. They are also the only ones who show up at meetings.
I just joined strata & am happy to-fine-the-heck out of everyone via our property management company (but then I also see how it is difficult to enforce.. ie. tenants deny they actually live here or saying they were never told the rules & then the fines aren't paid)
Any thoughts on how to help us out? We are just planning to propose some new bylaws & considering our options.
Ideas/ Options?
-Impose a 50% owner / 50% Renter Bylaw (assumedly this would never pass, but might get some investors attention? Or at least get some more people out to a meeting?)
-Impose some sort of deposit on owners-who-don't-live-in-the-building (which we could then deduct their fines from?)
-Translate more of our rules into different languages (many of the foreign students have limited English & it perhaps is they don't understand the rules?)
-Make handouts with a checklist that new owners have to sign to prove they understand the rules & will pass onto their tenants
Does anyone have any resources to point me to?
Edited by kirk, 15 May 2016 - 08:43 PM.