To ban or not to ban
A client of mine asked:
During our condo meeting, there was talk about changing our HOA bylaws regarding pets and smoking. There wasn't a clear consensus on what we should do. As it stands now, we have no limits on smoking and a limit of 2 pets that weigh less than 75 lbs. One of my main concerns was how a non-smoking or an even more-limited pet policy could hurt or help our property value (one tenant wants to ban all pets and at a minimum ban dogs.) I've done some searching on the web, but I'm not narrowing in on an answer…
I replied:
Pet and smoking bans are both an ongoing condo association dilemmas. My sense is that enforcement is where the problem comes in. You either need to enforce the no pet policy or the pet behavior policy. It creates a cop-neighbor tension between the pet owning condo owner and the non pet owning condo owner. Same goes for smoking bans. Either can harm condo owner’s relationships.
In my practice, there are condo buyers who will refuse to buy in a pet-free building because they have pets or plan on having pets. I have not run into a single buyer who would refuse to live somewhere because pets were allowed. I did a quick search of condos in Somerville, Cambridge and Brookline. At this moment 474 are for sale, only 18 have a no pet policy posted on the MLS.
I couldn’t find any good statistics on the economic impact of a no-pet policy. Anecdotally, I have noticed some drag on resale when a building has a no-pet policy. It is more about it taking longer to sell, not a noticeable drop in price. I haven’t seen a similar drag on resale based on buyers rejecting properties that allow pets.
My search on line shows that there are some legal issues that can arise by banning pets because some people have pets as a health-related need. Not only seeing eye, hearing-ear, and physical assistance dogs, but some people need companion animals for mental health reasons. The line between a comfort/companion animal who is medically necessary and a pet who makes a lonely person who will be happier is not clear.
Were I giving your association advice, I would say that you should allow pets, but have requirements for care and noise control that has teeth. There are associations that have fines and regulations that can include evicting troublesome pets.
Regarding smoking policy, I have clients who strongly prefer a non-smoking building. However, there are not that many associations like that. If you create a smoking ban, you should get specific and also discuss it with a lawyer. There are legal issues regarding enforcement that were covered by Attorney Vetstein. Considering current societal trends and where your condo is located, a smoking ban may be a plus for resale in your building.
Readers, do you think bans on pets or smoking help or hurt a condo’s resale? What are your preferences and experiences?
