An HOA is battling a homeowner's new irrigation system, saying the homeowner should take it down and reinstall the old system. After receiving backlash, the homeowner turned to Reddit's r/HOA forum for advice.
In the post, the Redditor explained how they upgraded their irrigation system to a Wi-Fi network to conserve water. With the new system, the irrigation setup turns off when it's raining or windy outside.
To appease the HOA, the homeowner even offered to give the neighborhood's landscapers full control of the system, but the HOA won't back down.
"I was reading through the CC&R and found stuff regarding keeping the front looking pretty and such, but nothing about them controlling our irrigation system," explained the homeowner.
Redditors were frustrated to discover the homeowner's situation and offered tips on resolving the issue.
"Why should anyone but you have control as long as the grass is green?" asked one user.
"HOAs cannot require anything without authority," responded another Redditor. "If there is nothing in writing restricting the type of irrigation system you use or giving the board authority to make rules about it, then you should be able to use any type you want."
"It doesn't sound like the HOA has power to control your decision. I'm sure if you work with the landscape company and have them install the controller's app, they can have access to the controller," wrote one user.
Across the U.S., homeowners with HOAs have struggled to implement money-saving, eco-friendly changes. However, despite these challenges, there are still ways for homeowners to revise their established bylaws and work with their HOAs to allow environmental updates.
Converting to water-efficient landscaping systems is a great way to reduce costs and water waste in the long run. According to the EPA, Americans use nearly 9 billion gallons of water per day for landscape irrigation.
Switching to an irrigation system that only waters your lawn when necessary is a simple way to reduce your water waste and environmental footprint.
While Redditors tried to help the homeowner, users were skeptical of the HOA's actions.
"Good luck, some HOAs just like to pick on people. We've lived in 2 HOA communities and I will NEVER move to another one!" commented one user.
"The HOA should not have any access to the system, just another example of HOA overreach," wrote another Redditor.
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