Scores of Raleigh residents to lose homes as HOA enforces no-rentals rule

The covenants for Renaissance Park, off Tryon Road and South Wilmington Street, have always stated that homeowners couldn't rent out their properties, except in a few specific situations. But residents say the rule was never enforced until an HOA board took over this year from Wakefield Development, which built the community in 2006.

"[T]he intent of the [covenants] for Renaissance from its inception has been for dwellings to be owner-occupied," the board wrote in a June 3 letter to residents.

Fifteen to 20 percent of the roughly 1,000 homes in the HOA are currently leased. The board has given homeowners until next July to end those existing leases and either move back in or sell the property. Violators could face fines of $100 a day.

"I honestly can’t tell what the motivations are," resident Ankur Gupta said Thursday.

With a growing family, including a baby due in January, Gupta said he wanted to buy a second home in Renaissance Park and possibly rent out his current one.

"We wanted to keep our options open." he said. "I wanted it to be my choice, rather than a choice taken away from me.

"I paid for the house. I’m living in it – I’ve lived in it for a while – [so] it should be mine," he added.

Gupta said residents have reached out to board members dozens of times to discuss the matter with no luck, so they are working with a lawyer to get members removed.

The HOA board responded to WRAL News' requests for comments by issuing a statement through the neighborhood's property management company.

"The goal of this board is to enforce the covenants of the community in a fair and equitable manner for all members and to create reasonable expectation with a focus on long-term property value," the statement said. "We are not at liberty to choose which parts of the covenant we care to enforce and which we don’t. It is our obligation to enforce all of them."

But the covenants state that the HOA "shall not be obligated to take action to enforce any covenant, restriction or rule."

The board's statement said residents could choose to change the restriction against rental properties, according to the HOA's bylaws.

"As written, the covenant addressing rental properties was not created to completely prohibit all rental situations. It was written with the intent of limiting rental situations within the criteria as stated in the covenant," the statement said, noting the board has already approved one "urgent request" for a continued lease.

Still, some 180 renters and their families say they now have less than nine months to move from Renaissance Park, and some say they don't know where to go.

"I personally could not afford to buy a home at the inflated rates that are going on right now," Kayla Schoentube said.

Schoentube moved to the neighborhood after adopting her younger brother, saying she hoped it would be a stable home for him.

"It's great for kids, so when taking on my brother, I was, like, he can ride his bike here," she said. "This might be a little devastating."