The do's and don'ts of satellite dishes; learn the location limitations and installation regulations for satellite dishes in your community. (Taking Back Control).

News of a resident's rights to install satellite dishes and other antenna devices within the confines of their leasehold is certainly not new. However, from the time the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) first made such a ruling in 1998, many property owners, their attorneys and local apartment associations are misinterpreting the rights of both the property owner and the resident. This results in unnecessary complaints or legal action by residents and unnecessary damage to buildings.

While the FCC's rules are somewhat unclear oil a number of issues, there is a great deal of clarity as it relates to the specific guidelines a property owner may enforce without jeopardizing legal action by misinformed, disgruntled residents. Although the rules appear to be written in favor of residents, they actually provide far more opportunity for property owners to limit the presence of satellite dishes on the community.

Back To School

The FCC ruling regarding resident's rights to install satellite dishes and other antenna devices within the confines of their leasehold is titled the "Over-The-Air Reception Device" ruling, or OTARD. A complete copy of this ruling, as well as a user-friendly question and answer sheet can be found at the FCC's Web site (www.fcc.gov). Owners and their attorneys should familiarize themselves with both of these documents.

Technically Speaking

Since OTARD became law-of-the-land, both misinformation and disinformation has been disseminated throughout the apartment industry. In many cases, satellite dish installers themselves are the cause for blame as they prey on innocent residents and their lack of knowledge regarding illegal installations. For example, installers frequently recommend that residents pay a "small" additional fee to have their satellite dish connected to the inside cable wiring, permitting the video signal to be distributed to any television set in the residential unit. However, not only is such an installation in violation of most every cable contract between a community and its current cable service provider, it also potentially violates FCC rules regarding accessing inside cable wiring and signal leakage.

As a practical matter, the cable from the satellite dish must somehow come from outside the residential unit and connect with a television set top box within the unit. Installers will frequently suggest to residents that a small hole be drilled, later filling the hole with putty or insulation foam. However, such drilling is specifically forbidden by the OTARD rules. Furthermore, such drilling now places the effected unit in violation of building fire and safety rules as the firewall is typically penetrated.

The following is additional information to assist property owners and mangers in better controlling the installation of satellite dishes on communities. OTARD does not provide an owner with the right to any of the following:

1. Require residents to use a professional installer to mount and install the satellite dish, including property maintenance staff.

* 2. Require residents to pay more than a reasonable, refundable deposit for the installation of a satellite dish. A reasonable deposit could range from $100-$400 as the repair of firewall material is a greater cost than standard, indoor sheetrock.

* 3. Require residents to purchase liability insurance prior to installing a satellite dish. Naturally, apartment owners have the right to protect themselves against liability. In the case of satellite dishes it may be desirable to require the resident to obtain specific liability insurance for the satellite dish. However, the FCC is likely to challenge this requirement if the community already permits the placement of other items on the balcony, terrace or patio--such as flower pots, bicycles and grills, or if the community is already covered for events, such as a falling satellite dish. Prudence should dictate an owner's action in this subject matter as it has not yet been tested before the FCC.

4. Prevent the resident from using any device that permits the outside cable to connect to the inside that does not penetrate a window, door or wall (i.e., through the glass, conductive connectors).

5. Prevent the resident from using any sort of device to ballast (hold) the satellite dish (i.e., bricks, buckets filled with sand or concrete, weights), so long as such a device does not penetrate the balcony railing, wall, roof or flooring.

6. Limit the number of satellite dishes installed by the resident, so long as each is installed in accordance with the OTARD rules.

7. Prevent the resident from attaching the satellite dish to a pole that originates from the resident's porch or balcony, so long as such a pole does not extend beyond the resident's porch, or balcony railing, or roofline.

8. Limit the resident's installation of a satellite dish for the reception of video signals only (OTARD now permits satellite dishes and other antenna devices to be installed for the purpose of either video [cable television], voice [telephone] or data [Internet] services).

9. Charge a higher level of rent for those apartment units that are located in areas of the community that are capable of having the proper angle of exposure necessary for receiving satellite signals, if there is not already a rent differential program in place for that area because of the views, etc.

However, the OTARD ruling does not leave property owners without any power of enforcement to protect their community and other residents. OTARD does provide an owner with the right to:

* Prevent or remove satellite dishes that cause a window, wall, balcony floor, balcony railing or door to be drilled or otherwise penetrated by a satellite dish or any other antenna mounting device.

* Prevent or remove satellite dishes whereby a satellite dish is attached to a pole that extends beyond the individual resident's roof line.

* Prevent or remove satellite dishes whereby a satellite dish is attached to any device that causes the dish to extend at any angle beyond the balcony railing.

* Prevent or remove satellite dishes that cause the cable connected to the satellite dish to be connected to the unit's inside cable wiring distribution.

* Prevent or remove satellite dishes whereby such installations violate any local building fire and safety codes, including the improper grounding or placement of a satellite dish near telephone or electrical cables.

* Prevent or remove satellite dishes that are greater than one meter or 39.37 inches in diameter.

* Prevent or remove satellite dishes that allow the cable to extend to any location outside the residents leasehold (i.e., across a wall to a bedroom or into another living unit).

* Prevent or remove satellite dishes that are not secured in a fashion that will prevent the dish from becoming an injury hazard during periods of sustained, high winds.

* Prevent or remove satellite dishes that are installed on a building's rooftop, in a common area, common area balcony, common grounds, common area entrance ways, outside walls or outside windowsills.

Basically stated, a resident is only permitted to install a satellite dish that is 100 percent contained within the confines of his or her leasehold. To better illustrate the meaning of leasehold, if a resident's building was tightly wrapped with Saran Wrap from the ground to the rooftop and any portion of the resident's satellite dish pushed against or penetrated the Saran Wrap, the satellite dish would not be installed in accordance with the OTARD rules. At this point, an owner would have the right to request that the resident correct the installation and if such a correction was not made, the owner could remove the satellite dish and return it to the resident. Based on the Saran Wrap rule then (a lay persons rule with which the FCC agrees), it is virtually impossible for a resident to install a satellite dish in accordance with the OTARD rules if he or she does not have a distinct balcony, terrace or porch extending from their individually, leased unit.

Practical Matters

Owners can assist both themselves and residents in avoiding conflict by making the rules of the road well understood before a resident elects to install a satellite dish. By example, in most areas of North America satellite signals cannot be received if 1) the satellite dish cannot face the southwestern sky, and 2) that nothing is impeding the path between the satellite dish and the satellites (i.e., buildings, hills, trees). As such, many property owners contact a local satellite dish installation contractor and request that a survey of the community be made for those units that are capable of having an unimpeded view of the Southwestern sky. This allows owners to inform residents (existing or potential) seeking to install a satellite dish as to whether or not they will be able to receive the necessary satellite signals.

Owners can protect both themselves and their residents by attaching some form of Satellite Dish Lease Addendum to be signed by new residents. Some owners are successful in also acquiring such signatures from existing residents. Such. a lease addendum will assist the property owner in educating the resident as to how a dish may or may not be installed. It will also serve as some level of protection for the owner should an improper installation cause damage to the community or to another resident. Of course, a lease addendum cannot relieve a property owner of ensuring that property management and maintenance staff are well schooled on what constitutes an incorrect or dangerous satellite dish installation. Each community should have a routine schedule of taking pictures, physically evaluating and annotating the presence of each satellite dish on the community. This will assist owners in reducing the potential for personal injury to residents and damage to the community. Ultimately, while property owners are forced to allow the installation of satellite dishes, at the same time they are as liable for the proper maintenance and installation of these dishes as they are of any other structure on the community.

As mentioned earlier, OTARD does not allow property owners to require that residents use a professional satellite dish installer when making their installation, although FCC reports show that more than 50 percent of the population attempting to install their own satellite dish will eventually request service from a professional installer. However, property owners would be prudent if they made an attempt to contact a number of local professional installers, checking their references and identifying those that are most likely to make an installation in accordance with the OTARD rules, marinating a list with their contact information for later reference by both staff and residents. And while an owner cannot require that such an installer be used, OTARD does not prevent an owner from strongly recommending that residents consider using an installer that has been evaluated by the property.

Beat `em and Join `em

The FCC requires that apartment property owners allow their residents to install satellite dishes, as well as other antenna devices. The National Apartment Association (NAA) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) have challenged this on all fronts. Such challenges have changed the circumstances under which residents may exercise this right, but residents still have the right to purchase and install a satellite dish to receive voice, video or data services. However, owners do possess the necessary tools required to reduce community damage and personal injury resulting from incorrect satellite dish installations.

In the end, education of both residents and property staff, research into qualified local resources (i.e., professional installers) and the development of a lease addendum are the best weapons for prevention, the prevention of needless community damage, personal injury and legal battles.

* This matter has not yet been tested between residents, property owners and the FCC.

Larry Kessler, CEO of InteliCable Goup, is one of the nations leading experts and advisors on the subjects of digital video, broadband Internet, structured wiring and contract negotiations for the multifamily housing industry. He is a nationally recognized speaker, award winning writer and leading authority on the subjects of multifamily broadband technology.