Use of HOA Tennis Courts by Renter

[PR660]

Jurisdiction

California

I do a lot of volunteer tennis coaching and gained the use of a keyed-entry pair of tennis courts- I was given the key by a student, They are in an area where tennis is not popular and are seldom used
I'm there about 3 hrs per week.

Long story short, I was approached by the HOA manager and he said only "homeowners" had use privileges.
OK. I get it.

I told my student of this and he said if one "rents of leases" any property in the HOA community, then they would be considered a "homeowner" entitled to the court privileges.

Can someone please clarify?

Thanks in advance!

 

[army judge]

Can someone please clarify?

By your own admission, hereinabove,
"Long story short, I was approached by the HOA manager and he said only "homeowners" had use privileges.
OK. I get it".

Furthermore, you ADMITTED to GETTING IT!
IF YOU get it, you're better off NOT violating it!

You're very welcome, mate.

 

[Foamback]

Your student rents there, not you?

 

[PR660]

Your student rents there, not you?

I rent a room at my student's grandmother's house, where I keep my gear ( ball machines, ball mower, ball carts, cones, etc).

 

[Tax Counsel]

I told my student of this and he said if one "rents of leases" any property in the HOA community, then they would be considered a "homeowner" entitled to the court privileges.

How old is your student and where did he find that rule? If it didn't come from the HOA agreements that all the owners are bound by then you ought not rely on that. It may be that a homeowner may give permission to guests to use the pool. If that's the case, get permission from a homeowner in writing. The best thing to is to take a copy of HOA governing documents and what you want to do for an opinion of what kind of legal risks you have. A lot of the HOAs in my area that have common use facilities like tennis courts have rules that set an age requirement to use those areas and require that the homeowner be there while their guests use those areas. The HOA is likely going to be concerned about the potential legal liability tha the HOA may have should a guest get injured or killed while on HOA property.

 

[Foamback]

I rent a room at my student's grandmother's house, where I keep my gear ( ball machines, ball mower, ball carts, cones, etc).

That barely clarifies anything.

Do you rent a room for the purpose of residential living inside the HOA? Or is this room used only as storage for your gear?

 

[PR660]

That barely clarifies anything.

Do you rent a room for the purpose of residential living inside the HOA? Or is this room used only as storage for your gear?

I'm there about 25% of the time, typically when doing a weekend clinic. It is not my primary residence address.

 

[Red Kayak]

I'm there about 3 hrs per week.

Are you there recreationally or as a volunteer coach?

You've admitted already that you aren't a resident. While there is probably not a problem with residents bringing a guest to play a match, you may be seen as making yourself too at home.

I'm there about 25% of the time, typically when doing a weekend clinic. It is not my primary residence address.

How many nights/week do you stay there?

Are you doing the weekend clinic at the HOA tennis courts?

 

[PR660]

Are you there recreationally or as a volunteer coach?

You've admitted already that you aren't a resident. While there is probably not a problem with residents bringing a guest to play a match, you may be seen as making yourself too at home.




How many nights/week do you stay there?

Are you doing the weekend clinic at the HOA tennis courts?

I do the weekend free clinic there for two hours. These courts are NEVER used. The courts were constructed in the 1970s when tennis was popular and since then, the demographic has changed.

Everything was fine there since 2019, but about a year ago, an elder (and bitter), overweight, masculine-lesbian Caucasian woman was walking her pit bull behind me and the dog kept lunging toward me. I'm an animal person myself, but I was terrified.

I stopped, mentioned my fright and suggested a behaviorist training book, 'Don't Shoot The Dog' by Karen Pryor, and she went ballistic. She was the most defensive person that I've ever encountered. She's had it out for me ever since...

 

[justblue]

I do the weekend free clinic there for two hours. These courts are NEVER used. The courts were constructed in the 1970s when tennis was popular and since then, the demographic has changed.

Everything was fine there since 2019, but about a year ago, an elder (and bitter), overweight, masculine-lesbian Caucasian woman was walking her pit bull behind me and the dog kept lunging toward me. I'm an animal person myself, but I was terrified.

I stopped, mentioned my fright and suggested a behaviorist training book, 'Don't Shoot The Dog' by Karen Pryor, and she went ballistic. She was the most defensive person that I've ever encountered. She's had it out for me ever since...

And why is the age, weight, sexual orientation (and how do you even know what team they play on??) or race a pertinent bit if information?

 

[stealthy1]

I do the weekend free clinic there for two hours. These courts are NEVER used. The courts were constructed in the 1970s when tennis was popular and since then, the demographic has changed.

Do you charge for the clinic? Do you have insurance? Something that indemnifies the HOA in the event of an incident?

The level of use or lack thereof doesn't give you the right to set up shop - no matter how limited your use may be.

 

[Foamback]

Are the people getting lessons from residents or are they non-residents using your tenant/guest/grandson's permission?

Are you getting paid for some of these lessons?

The fact that the courts are unused is immaterial. If I had a bank account just sitting since 1978, it wouldn't be yours to use even with permission of my grandson

 

[Red Kayak]

These courts are NEVER used. The courts were constructed in the 1970s when tennis was popular and since then, the demographic has changed.

So what? Whether or not the courts are actively used. What is relevant is that they are in a neighborhood governed by an HOA.

Everything was fine there since 2019, but about a year ago, an elder (and bitter), overweight, masculine-lesbian Caucasian woman was walking her pit bull behind me and the dog kept lunging toward me. I'm an animal person myself, but I was terrified.

Not a good look for you.

I stopped, mentioned my fright and suggested a behaviorist training book, 'Don't Shoot The Dog' by Karen Pryor, and she went ballistic. She was the most defensive person that I've ever encountered. She's had it out for me ever since...

You are... not pleasant to be around.

You are not a resident, and you offended a resident. By your language here, I am sure that you have unwittingly offended others. (You've already offended several here.) It was just a matter of time until someone became annoyed enough to start using the HOA rules against you.

Your recourse, legally, is to work with the members of the HOA to see if they can amend the rules to allow your clinics.

Beware: if you offend enough people, the HOA will convert the tennis courts to pickleball just to spite you.

 

[Foamback]

Beware: if you offend enough people, the HOA will convert the tennis courts to pickleball just to spite you.

Probably not even to spite them but just doing what is common and suits the needs and wants of the members

 

[Tax Counsel]

I do the weekend free clinic there for two hours. These courts are NEVER used. The courts were constructed in the 1970s when tennis was popular and since then, the demographic has changed.

That they are not much used doesn't matter much here. What matters is whether on HOA property doing what you were doing. The tennis court is, after all, private property and the owner (HOA) has the right to deny the use of the pool to persons who aren't members of the HOA unless the HOA governing documents say otherwise.

Everything was fine there since 2019, but about a year ago, an elder (and bitter), overweight, masculine-lesbian Caucasian woman was walking her pit bull behind me and the dog kept lunging toward me. I'm an animal person myself, but I was terrified.

Why did you feel that the facts that person is a senior citizen, overweight, a masculine lesbian White woman was relevant to the issue of whether you are allowed to use the courts? When a person mentions those kinds of personal characteristics when they have no bearing on the issue, others will tend to see that as an indication that you have bias against people with those characteristics. If this matter ever ends up in court, you'd be wise to not mention any of those characteristics that aren't relevant. That can hurt the judge or jury's perception of how reliable you version of events were.

I stopped, mentioned my fright and suggested a behaviorist training book, 'Don't Shoot The Dog' by Karen Pryor, and she went ballistic. She was the most defensive person that I've ever encountered. She's had it out for me ever since...

The encounter was unpleasant but not illegal. So long as whatever she's done since then doesn't violate the law there's nothing to be done about that. This incident isn't all that relevant to whether you are allowed to use the tennis courts. If the rules of the HOA don't expressly say it's ok for someone other than the homeowners to use the HOA common areas you may well have been trespassing.

You'll do better winning the HOA board's approval if you stick to the facts, refrain from mentioning any personal characteristics like race, sex, gender, weight or appearance, keep calm, and act in a pleasant manner. You need to win them over to your side, not antagonize them.

 

[zddoodah]

I told my student of this and he said if one "rents of leases" any property in the HOA community, then they would be considered a "homeowner" entitled to the court privileges.

Can someone please clarify?

Sure. A lawyer who has read the HOA rules and the lease can clarify. Rather obviously, no one here has read these documents.

That said, it's obvious that you're not a homeowner or a tenant.

Your student rents there, not you?

I rent a room at my student's grandmother's house, where I keep my gear

That doesn't answer the question. Is your student's grandmother's house within the community governed by the HOA?

Do you rent a room for the purpose of residential living inside the HOA?

I'm there about 25% of the time, typically when doing a weekend clinic. It is not my primary residence address.

You keep not answering the question. It's a yes or no question: do you rent a room in a home in the community governed by the HOA?

If the answer is yes, then you need to review the HOA rules. If no, then you have no legal right to be there.