Top Reason for House Rules

If you live in a coop, condo, or HOA, you likely have wondered about the House Rules, why they exist (seemingly to randomly torture residents), and whether they are necessary. Well, rest assured, they do indeed serve a practical purpose. We believe it is of the utmost importance that all residents are treated equally and fairly; House Rules are one of the ways to codify this uniformly.

While we believe in the Golden Rule, ideally, there should be just one House Rule: “Don’t be a Jerk.” But, people being who they are, someone will always find more and more creative ways of being a jerk, and therefore definitive rules of behavior come into play.

Despite what many people think, most buildings have remarkably similar House Rules, generally numbering between 30-35. These typically cover general quality of life and building safety issues and are not intrusive to day-to-day living (we recently came across a condo with a 165-page House Rules document. Should you find yourself in that situation- run!).

You should review your own building’s house rules to make sure they are relevant- we have even noticed that some of the out-of-date rules are similar (when is the last time someone rode a velocipede through your lobby?). Can’t find your house rules? Ask your property management rep for a copy.

If you look at them objectively, they are pretty commonsensical; even those that seem not to be. For example, all buildings require that hallways be kept clear. That means no shoes, children’s toys, umbrellas, etc., are left strewn about. Who is it hurting? Well, besides the fact that it is unsightly and that your neighbors probably don’t enjoy tripping over them, there is a more practical reason: It is in direct violation of the fire code. Not only does this leave the building open to a fine, but in an emergency, with smoke blocking out the vision, the results could be deadly.

If the fire department were called to the building for any reason, no matter how mundane, the building would incur a fine. Not only that, but they would then search the entire building for violations and very likely find any number of them, no matter how compliant you may think you are. Trust us; this is not a chance you want to take. Multiple violations could impede any construction process, complicate and increase insurance, and negatively affect property values.

At The Folson Group, our goal is to inspire you to run your building like a business. We enable and inspire coop or condo board engagements to be filled with a feeling of accomplishment, excitement, meaning, happiness, and increased probability of success.

Get one of our FREE TOOLS, the board policies and procedures checklist, and email us at info@thefolsongroup.com or call (917) 648-8154.