A.R. from California writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I want to add a window in the garage because I homeschool my kids and is too hot inside for them.
Mister Condo replies:
A.R., I appreciate your desire to provide a window for your children as you feel it would help cool your garage, which I gather you are using as a classroom for homeschooling purposes. However, adding items like windows falls squarely under the governance authority of the Board who has to consider the architectural compliance issues that allowing you to do so may create. If you are allowed to add a window to a garage, theoretically all unit owners who asked for the same modification would have to be allowed. That creates a potential nightmare for the Board, who has a duty to keep the community looking in a uniform fashion. You can certainly ask but please respect the decision of the Board in this matter. It isn’t as simple granting your request to assist with your homeschooling efforts; the decision has far-reaching consequences. All the best!
Suggestion use a room air condition (portable) that can be vented out side under the garage door without altering the door or the structure.
Check you bylaws first. I suspect this will not be covered by the by-laws.
Another problem with this question is that the garage space is not being used for a car, but as a room to home school the children. This may be a violation of the governing documents.
Using your garage for a school instead of parking your cars creates parking problems for everyone else. This happened in my HOA and now that the genie is out of the bottle it cannot be put back in. Thank you