HOA Allows Only Married Couples To Rent

Article Courtesy of Local 6 News

Published December 16, 2008

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Central Florida homeowners association covenant prohibits owners from leasing their homes to anyone who is not a married couple, raising the ire of gay rights advocates and homeowners who can't locate tenants.

The covenant at Rybolt's Reserve, located near the University of Central Florida, states that "any lessee ... shall be limited to leasing a lot ... to, and occupied by, one family at a time ... one adult natural person together with that person's spouse."

An Orlando real estate agent who is trying to lease a home at Rybolt's Reserve said he is having an extremely difficult time because of the rule.

"Would this house have been rented a long time ago?. It would have been leased as soon as the other tenants moved out," Jay Myers said. "One of the first questions we ask them (is), 'Are you a married couple?' And you can tell the person is taken aback by that. Yes or no, why does that matter? Unfortunately, the community will only allow a married couple. And unfortunately, we won't be able to show them the property. Is that embarrassing? Yeah, they think for some other reason we don't want to show them the property."

A man who owns a home at Rybolt's Reserve but had to move to Texas for employment reasons is trying renting the house for $1,600 a month, including HOA fees.

"It's ridiculous. It's going to be hard. I might have to quit my job here and move down to Florida and try to get something going," said Eric Marberg.

"And at a time like we're in, there are owners who desperately need to lease their properties. And let's lease to someone who is qualified, and let's not relax on the qualifications, but maybe we need to do a little tweaking of some of the rules," Myers said.

Myers said if properties sit empty long enough and upkeep falters, values will drop and comparable homes will also be affected.

"Another reason you want the property occupied is vandalism. The property sits vacant, someone knows about it, (and) that could be a problem here, too," Myers said.

"I do think it's a good idea. What I know about it is fair to property owners," said John Ronnau, who added that homeowners knew the rules when they purchased the house.

The rules were created, in part, to prevent the homes from becoming similar to nearby college apartments.

But abandoned homes are forcing current residents to maintain the properties.

"They've given up at that point. Then it's your problem because you have to look at it, right? But it's the banks, I would think, whoever has legal ownership of the property, it's their responsibility. But we've seen many cases where the banks don't take care of it. I think pressure should be put on the banks," Ronnau said.

"Whether intended or not, this HOA law discriminates against many many type of people," said Tom Dyer, publisher of The Watermark, an Orlando gay and lesbian magazine. "And what's most offensive is they're saying the only kinds of people who can form a cohesive responsible household unit are married heterosexuals. And that discriminates against lots and lots of people."

Dyer said a lawsuit could be filed against the HOA.

"They could have accomplished this with better laws that don't make this sweeping discriminatory generalization that the only kinds of people who will maintain a nice neighborhood and nice home are married people of the opposite sex. You can't do that in this society, and it's a violation of law," Dyer said.

Orlando real estate attorney Sarah Rumpf said the rules are discriminatory.

"If the HOA is not willing to budge, what recourse do these homeowners have? They do have a right to sue in court for relief. The court can declare the restrictive covenant is illegal or discriminatory or unreasonable, and that would get them the relief they wanted," Rumpf said.

The president of the HOA referred Local 6 News to its attorney, who did not return phone calls.

A manager with the Orange County Housing and Community Development Division said an investigation would ensue if someone filed a complaint.