Q: Can a landlord charge you a fee on a letter he received from an HOA that does not charge him anything?
The trash people weren't collecting trash for several weeks without notifying the residents in the community and therefore everyone left the trash cans at the bottom of the driveway because we figured they would get them the following day. This went on like this for several weeks the trash people not picking up the trash on the day they're suppose to and getting it a day or two later. Evidently the HOA sent everyone notices out about removing our trash cans. My notice went to the property management company not me. The trash cans were already moved each week after the trash was picked up. Therefore no fee was charged by the HOA, but the property management charged me for each letter sent to them and took the money out of my account, when I told them I'm not paying for something that I didn't do.
A:
Look closely at the written contract made between you and your rental management company--not the HOA--to see what your agreement says about any extra service charges.
If it is a standard management agreement it will probably say they can charge you extra for any letters or notices they receive from the HOA about your property, or that they receive from any utility company(ies), the garbage collectors and any other service provider or vendor you are doing business with.
If you are unhappy about having to pay your management company something for nothing, change management companies. But be sure to read their agreement before signing up with the new company.
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