Our Clients Ask Us: Leasing Units To Family Members

Q: Our association has a “no leasing” policy, however, our documents state that family members of the owner may live in the dwelling. Can we verify that the owner is truly related to the person living in the unit?

Answer: Maybe.

Most association documents provide that the “family member” is a parent or child of the owner. In this case, verification of familial status is simple, basically a matter of requesting a birth certificate, adoption papers, etc., from the owner that proves the relationship between the owner and occupant.

However, in other cases, your documents may just generally state “family member” without specifying the relationship between the owner and the occupant. Without specifying the exact relationship, many owners will try to stretch the policy as far as possible to justify compliance with the rules. For example, a child of a domestic partner is typically not considered a family member, but a stepchild may be. To avoid confusion, update any documents with a list of acceptable relationships, then require that the owner give the association a signed, notarized affidavit stating the relationship between the owner and the occupant. If problems with the occupants spur any questions of the familial relationship in the future, the association then has evidence to present in court that the relationship was fabricated and the occupants should be evicted.

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