Membership in an HOA brings with it certain rights and responsibilities.

Members – owners of property within the HOA – are responsible to pay dues and to adhere to the HOA guidelines which are established for the greater benefit of all homeowners within the Association.

With these responsibilities come certain rights, including the right to vote in HOA elections, the right to vote for changes to the rules that govern the HOA, and the right to run for office as a director of the Association.

But what happens when people are granted rights without be accountable for the responsibilities? What happens when someone is given the ability to make decisions about how our HOA is run and is unilaterally appointed as a director on our HOA board, but does not pay dues and is not accountable for adherence to HOA guidelines? Is it good for the HOA to have renters and other non-members of the HOA running our Board?

These are the questions we have to consider now that is has come to light, despite the Board’s efforts to withhold this news, that a non-homeowner has been appointed to our Board.

Renters and other non-member residents are certainly part of our Pine Hollow community, and we welcome them. There are many ways they can participate in and contribute to our life as a community, by serving on community committees that welcome new residents, plan social events, publish newsletters, etc. We welcome their ideas and their involvement.

However, it is simply not appropriate for renters and other non-members to take on policy-making roles within the Association. They do not pay dues. They are not the ones with a stake in the property values within the community. They are not the ones receiving the letters from the management company for non-compliance with Association guidelines. And they simply should not be deciding who does receive these letters or how much our dues are or how we are going to govern ourselves.