According to the National Association of Realtors, over 30% of Americans live in neighborhoods controlled by homeowners associations, or HOAs. These HOAs are sometimes pretty hands-off, but they often have specific rules that apply to homes and yards in the area.
While the stated purpose of these rules is to keep the neighborhood cohesive and raise property values, some restrictions have gotten in the way of money-saving, eco-friendly projects that homeowners wanted to complete on their properties. If you find yourself in these situations, you can work to change the rules.
Here are five examples of times when HOAs may have gone a little too far.
One condo owner in California wanted to install an EV charger at his own expense inside his own garage. But the condo association refused to allow it unless the association was also added to the owner's insurance.
No insurance company would agree to the stipulation, leaving the condo owner without a path forward. "In my opinion it's ridiculous that they treat something like this different than any other potential risk," he said.
X (formerly Twitter) user Mikenno posted about their experience after their HOA tried to prevent them from installing solar panels. Fortunately for them, they live in Nevada, a state where the right to solar is enshrined in law.
"Guess who is protected by the state of Nevada? It ain't my HOA," Mikenno said. "They don't bother me now."
In one case, the homeowner wasn't even trying to change their home; they just had drought-friendly landscaping their HOA didn't like. The HOA sent them a demand to "remove the dead plants," but the picture the association attached showed flourishing green bushes in a gravel bed.
"They're very green for dead things," said one commenter when the homeowner posted about the problem on Reddit.
In the midst of Arizona's legendary heat and ongoing drought, one homeowner hoped to lower their cooling bill by installing solar window film in their home's windows.
Their HOA argued that the film in front-facing windows would be too reflective and would be noticed from the street. Thankfully, commenters pointed out that there are many non-reflective options.
One homeowner hoped their community could make better use of shared guest parking spaces by turning one into an EV charging station.
"I don't know if they want me to pay for it or not or what, but they're asking me to fill out an architectural form," the homeowner said in a post about the project. Some commenters suggested that the HOA ought to fund the project.
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