A homeowner association (HOA) is an organization that governs a housing community, collects dues, and sets rules for its residents.
Depending on the neighborhood, it might: maintain common areas such as lobbies or street corners, remove snow from common roads and parking lots, look after local parks, and staff pools and gyms.
But some also test the very limits of your patience and sometimes even sanity, like issuing a warning because your garden gnome is two inches too tall or a fine because your mailbox is the wrong shade of beige.
So, Reddit user ScallionWarm7975 asked others on the platform to share their absolute worst HOA experiences and the fallout that followed. Turns out, there's no shortage of those!
#1
I had a larger corner lot with a gravel front yard (SW desert).
I would spend time every weekend pulling any new weeds that I saw.
I'd still get a letter every couple of weeks saying I had weeds in my yard. One of the HOA board members lived across the street from me. I'd go outside after receiving the letter and search and search for my alleged weeds.
He'd come outside with his wife and stare at me. Both were in their late 70's.
I just got to the point where I'd just go outside and pretend to pull weeds while they watched me.
I regularly went hiking in the desert and went to parks a lot. I started collecting seeds from wild weeds and would drop them in his yard every time I'd walk my dog past his yard. It quickly became covered in weeds.
I made a few complaints about the weeds in his yard to the HOA.
My letters about weeds stopped.
Image credits: psycho7d8
#2
My coworker lives in a condo complex. She lives in an end unit, that is a 2 story townhome. She decided to remodel her condo with professional contractors. She changed the layout of the kitchen and moved the outside sliding glass door to her side yard about 6 feet to accommodate her upgrades. The outside of the building where the door was, was re-stuccoed and painted and you could not tell this had been changed. They did a great job.
Her HOA found out she moved the door and told her she had to move it back.
She started a lawsuit against the HOA and it was taking months. Then she had an idea. The election for HOA president was coming up ... She got herself on the ballot.
She introduced herself to all her neighbors, and brought up several instances where condo owners were punished for dumb reasons. It seems her neighbors were fed up with the nonsense too.
She is now the HOA president, and no longer has to undo her construction.
Image credits: bodhiseppuku
#3
My adopted mom died suddenly & tragically. 4 days after she died I was at the house in the garage searching for her will. 2 HOA ladies, dressed in their Sunday finest come up to grief stricken me and say “I am so sorry for your loss, we all loved her. Please let us know how we can help. By the way- the fence is stained with the wrong color & you need to take care of that ASAP- the fine is $200 per day for non-compliance”.
I signed each of them up for every wacko email and phone solicitation list I could find.
Image credits: BeachMomILM
#4
Live next to HOA constantly get letters about how my property is deplorable and bla bla bla. I have a farm. I run a sawmill also. So, I finally get fed up with them. As they start coming on property, they are trying to take pictures. Had them trespassed after confronting them and asking them to leave they did not. I had drawn my firearm as they continued towards me screaming. BIOSECURITY is a real thing. Needless to say around 70+ Tons of manure now sits within feet of that property line. Keeps the high dollar snobs that hate me away. Oh and I have implemented maintenance Monday. At 10pm I start all equipment to check and service it as needed. I am zoned Ag. Have a Farm number. They have kinda started backing down. I also installed air cannons for pest deterrent. It's amazing to hear them go off in the middle of the night. Yes I am very petty. No I will never live in an hoa.
Image credits: maintman28
#5
My HOA sent me a letter telling me that I needed to have a background check on the person living in my condo with me.
I was single and living by myself. My current boyfriend brought me a mattress that he had in his guest room. He was turning into a workout area and didn't need the mattress anymore. He drove it over to my place and helped get it into my condo. I'm sure it didn't help that he drove a bright red Hummer. There were no boxes of stuff, just a mattress.
A week later the letter arrived. I called the condo association and asked why I had received this letter. I was told that someone had called and said I had someone move in. No one called me to ask. My next-door neighbor is on the condo board.
I went to the next condo association meeting and chewed them out. Asked them why we were paying for the association if they weren't going to do their due diligence. I know it's not much, but it made me feel better.
Image credits: 2013casper
#6
I left my car in my driveway overnight. I had Covid and it came on very suddenly. I had to stop and take a break going from my bed into the bathroom, so I certainly didn’t feel up to moving the car into the garage. I got written up.
ETA: I sold the house but the neighbor came over to let the new owners know that they weren’t allowed to park in the driveway while they were unpacking a car as they were moving in.
The lady across the street also came storming over and got angry with my real estate agent because she felt that my listing price was too high. You could give me a free mansion in an HOA and I’d still turn it down.
Image credits: jhumph88
#7
My condo's defacto HOA had banned pets in apartments since day one. My nosey neighbour reported me for having a dog because she could hear barking the previous evening.
I don't have a dog, my nephew and I were watching Marley and Me.
Image credits: fckvapiano
#8
I got fined $300 for my motorcycle being too loud. I’ve never owned a motorcycle.
Image credits: Status-Visit-918
#9
My fake HOA believe themselves to be legitimate and once sent me a handwritten fee invoice for flying a drone, having off leash dogs, and not mowing the right of way. In reaponse I sent them a mock copy with a bunch of made up fees they owed me.
Image credits: voltato
#10
I received a letter that I had to remove a sign from my yard - not political - when other residents had posted political signs and left the up long after the election. So I put the sign in my truck window in the driveway instead, where it could be seen from the street.
Image credits: amosc33
#11
My neighbors, who have a son w special needs, had a small inflatable kids pool. Like a 30 Dollar wal mart pool. The hoa sent them a letter about how no above ground pools are allowed. I got into it the president who is on a power trip and let him know all of his violations. Which he then told me his were pre-approved? Anyway they ended up having a special meeting and allowed them to keep the pool.
Image credits: Designer-Clerk-499
#12
We replaced a cracked hardiplank board (note the singular BOARD) and painted it the same cream as the old board. Got a note from our HOA that we should have filed for a permit.
Image credits: KeyGovernment4188
#13
During Covid lockdown, the local high school wanted to celebrate the seniors so they put congrats signs in the yards of the seniors Everyone who got one in ourneighborhood got a notice to take down it against hoa or face a fine!
Image credits: Mama_clg
#14
I got a notice saying the stain on my fence was too dark. Made me redo my fence. Then the HOA decided to redo the park fences and used the same color stain and brand. I mailed a notice to them with a bill and stated they owed me and are in violation.
Image credits: Ski787
#15
Someone left their pit bull outside all day. They had one of those short 1 foot fences around their patio so of course eventually the dog jumped over and bit someone.
Because of this, HOA mandated that nobody in the complex is allowed to have ANYTHING on their patio. Only thing allowed is the cement patio itself.
People got together and wrote a petition and went to the board meetings etc so the mandate was eventually scrapped. Success story for once.
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Image credits: itseemyaccountee
