Who is in Charge for the Fee from the Association

[Kathleen Park]

This is regarding a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom townhome in the Chicago west suburb area. The townhome association charges a $100 fee annually under the name of the Tenant Administration Program (TAP), regardless of whether I have a new lease with new tenants or a renewed lease with the same tenants as the previous year.

Who should be responsible for this fee: the landlord or the tenants?

I have been paying the fee for my tenants so far, but I am now curious whether this charge could be the tenants' responsibility. Could you share your experiences if you have encountered a similar situation? If so, what is a good way to ask my tenants to cover the fee?

Thank you for your time in advance.

[Andrew B.]

The relationship is between the HOA and you (the homeowner), so the fee is levied against the owner of the house. In your normal course of business, you may choose to try to pass that fee onto the tenant. I would personally not do that, since I do not like my tenants to have "surprise" bills. Surprise in this scenario means it pops up annually, rather than monthly/quarterly. Bills like this are difficult for tenants to budget and create messy scenarios when someone moves in/out around the timeframe of the bill coming out.

"I just moved in, I shouldn't have to pay this annual bill."

I would rather increase my rent by $10 per month, vs asking tenant to pay.