Can a HOA charge a fee to homeowners that lease their units?

Unedited Question Posted To Me: 
"Can a HOA charge a fee to homeowners that rent/ lease their units without any financial bases or research?"

"The HOA charges a graduated fee for how many bedrooms you have charging $100/mth for 3bdrm. They did not do any research and could not show me any instances were renters have ever cause the HOA to incur additional cost. They said it was a means of income for the HOA. I thought HOA were non-profit... Is this legal? In addition they just made a rule that if you have the same guest for more than two weeks/month they have to pay $25/month fee to park in the condo's overflow parking and require them to register their cars, even though the property has excess overflow parking at any time of day around 35 empty spots. I think our HOA is hard up for cash with all of the foreclosures, but can they just start making up arbitrary fees?"

My Answer:
In short, the answer to all your questions is yes, assuming the HOA documents directly allow it or delegate that authority to the Board of Directors.  If the documents and/or procedure is not followed correctly then you will have a defense.  HOAs often make mistakes in this area.  So, retain an attorney to check your HOA documents and the actions that the HOA has taken.  The rest of this article addresses your questions, assuming that the documents allow it and the correct procedure was followed.  

Although the comparison is not perfect, many legal scholars have equated Home Owner's Associations (HOAs) to mini governments. They are democratically run and have the power to make rules ("laws") and assess dues ("tax").

With this backdrop and because homeowners have notice of the HOA when buying their property, HOAs are given wide latitude to implement rules (via democratic process) that are related to governing the association and collecting revenue for those purposes. Almost all rules limiting, restricting, or charging additional dues for rentals have been found legal.

Charging money for additional parking beyond what you are entitled to as a unit owner would also be legal. The common property is owned by the HOA. If you are using it disproportionately more (by having a guest stay for more than two weeks per month) than other members, then the HOA is within its legal rights to charge you for this usage. This also seems objectively reasonable.

As I recently said in another post, fighting a HOA on a legal basis will not likely be financially beneficial. Think politics instead. If you don't like the management of your HOA, make your vote count. Organize your neighbors, run for the board, and change the rules.

Disclosure:
The information contained in this answer is for informational purposes only and is offered as a service to the public. It does not establish an attorney-client relationship and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. It does not constitute advertising or solicitation. The information in this article may or may not reflect the most current legal developments; accordingly, this article is not guaranteed to be accurate or complete, and should not be considered an indication of future results.