Women being harassed in condo building and HOA doesn't care

[Anonymous]

Document and call the police. The HOA is not the police.

[Anonymous]

Can the HOA talk to the owner and not renew the lease? Simplest solution.

[Anonymous]

If the renter has a mental problem it will be difficult to get him out because of ADA. We had a similar problem and the owners was afraid to oust him because social services made veiled threats about what the tenant could do. He finally committed suicide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consult with counsel. The HOA is primarily responsible for the maintenance of common areas, and not for policing the behavior of residents except to the extent that it affects the appearance or use of individual properties or common areas. The behavior you speak of may or may not be encompassed by the HOA governing documents. There may be provisions in those documents which address the renting of units and when such renting may not be allowed or allowed to continue.

If the behavior rises to a level of stalking or harassment which is actionable by law enforcement, those are the authorities to which you should turn. You may also have civil remedies, which will require you to proceed through your own attorney.

THIS. The HOA isn't the police. If you are victim of assault and harassment, you should contact the police. This is a criminal matter. The HOA doesn't have the authority to handle criminal cases.

[Anonymous]

This sounds like a man who lives in my neighborhood. He videos and photographs women as they walk around the neighborhood and yells at them to get their attention - he has even shown up at one woman's work. He harasses an elderly woman that lives next door to him and yet the police say they can't do anything because he isn't doing anything illegal. This is a decent neighborhood in Reston and we're all single women who either own or rent - it is frustrating that this man gets to do this as we pay to live here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sounds like a man who lives in my neighborhood. He videos and photographs women as they walk around the neighborhood and yells at them to get their attention - he has even shown up at one woman's work. He harasses an elderly woman that lives next door to him and yet the police say they can't do anything because he isn't doing anything illegal. This is a decent neighborhood in Reston and we're all single women who either own or rent - it is frustrating that this man gets to do this as we pay to live here.

I'm really saddened and sorry to hear that this is happening to you. I know these "thoughts and prayers" comments do nothing to help you and I completely agree that it's ridiculous to pay money to live in an unsafe situation. Even if the police arrest people like that, they'll still be out eventually and go terrorize people again. It's the same in our situation: nearly all single women (and surprisingly a few men), mainly immigrants, even down to living next door to an elderly woman. I hope your idiot gets kicked out; he's gonna PO the wrong person eventually to lead to it. -OP

[Anonymous]

You all need to get peace orders.

[Anonymous]

Condos don’t have HOAs. This has little to do with condo. I am on a board. We had one renter people thought was a drug dealer. We sent letter. At board meeting our condo Lawyer and managing agent said you see a crime call 911 or local police dept or during business hours managing agent.

One old lady called 911 5 times in guy. Cops would hang around and he moved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the people being harassed just waiting on the HOA to do something? Are they contacting the owner of the unit? Call them, email them, send them a letter, show up at their job. This is not ok and they have the power to stop this.

Apparently, the owner has been "contacted," per the HOA. The owner's information is being kept private and is not being released to the complainants; Googling home ownership records hasn't yielded any success. . If someone were able to find it, it wouldn't be weird or creepy to contact the owner, right?

Look at the DC recorder of deeds. The information will be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recently bought a condo in VA and have learned that a number of women in the building are being harassed by a renter in the building -- followed, screamed at, threatened, etc. It escalated to the point of the police being called 2x. Women are complaining to the HOA and the building manager, who initially refused to do anything and eventually agreed to consult with the building lawyer ... 6 months ago. The HOA is still "waiting to hear back" from the lawyer. I feel unsafe, too, and wanted to see what recourse we have. FWIW, the police have told us the HOA absolutely can kick the tenant out.

You need to hire your OWN lawyers. The HOA will not do shit for you. They care about protecting themselves, not you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently bought a condo in VA and have learned that a number of women in the building are being harassed by a renter in the building -- followed, screamed at, threatened, etc. It escalated to the point of the police being called 2x. Women are complaining to the HOA and the building manager, who initially refused to do anything and eventually agreed to consult with the building lawyer ... 6 months ago. The HOA is still "waiting to hear back" from the lawyer. I feel unsafe, too, and wanted to see what recourse we have. FWIW, the police have told us the HOA absolutely can kick the tenant out.

... as long as he doesn't have the special skin color, of course.

Racist a-hole.

[Anonymous]

They would still need to go through the courts to evict him, so it isn't so simple. Eviction can take months. Like others, I would connect the owner of the unit and police each and every time there is an incident. A restraining order may be a way to go.

[Anonymous]

You know the condo board are volunteers/homeowners like yourself right. Call the police and deal with it yourself. People put way too much on a volunteer HOA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know the condo board are volunteers/homeowners like yourself right. Call the police and deal with it yourself. People put way too much on a volunteer HOA.

So they create and selectively enforce community rules, but back away at any sign of taking responsibility for allowing a dangerous situation to continue, got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would have an attorney write a formal letter to the condo board. If anything else bad happens the condo board is going to be on the hook for damages, and personally responsible for not taking action about a known problem.

That's not how real attorney work.