Outraged homeowner shares message they received from HOA during a drought: 'May make it hard to get refinanced'

Homeowners associations aren't known for being reasonable, and one HOA showed the world why with its outrageous lawn care demands.

The complaint appeared in a post on an anti-lawn subreddit. "The HOA charged my neighbor for not watering during a drought!" the original poster said.

Much of the western U.S. is experiencing drought conditions or recovering from recent dry spells. In such circumstances, the smart thing to do is conserve water by cutting back on low-priority items like watering your lawn. It helps keep water costs low when supply is limited and ensures there will be enough water to meet essential needs.

To encourage water conservation, California even offered financial incentives to residents who replaced their lawns with something that uses less water, like xeriscaping and native plants.

Unfortunately, many HOAs are more concerned with appearances than homeowners' costs or the environment — and HOAs of that kind will often insist on a traditional, green lawn, no matter the circumstances.

Commenters were appalled that the original poster's HOA would levy "ridiculous" fines for a dry lawn in a drought.

"Is there not a government ruling to curb water use that can be used to nullify those old rules?" one user asked.

Others found the idea so outlandish that they were skeptical.

"What power do HOAs have if you don't pay their fines?" one commenter asked.

Should HOAs be able to force homeowners to change their yards? Absolutely not 💯 Yes — it's part of the deal 🤝 Only in extreme circumstances 🏚️ We should ban HOAs 🚫 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Generally a lien on your house that has to be paid in full prior to transferring ownership to someone else, and may make it hard to get refinanced," another Redditor explained.

"That's some s***," the first commenter replied. "I'll keep steering clear of them."

Another option, if you're in an HOA, is to work with the association to change the rules to something more reasonable. Most have internal processes for making these kinds of revisions. To learn more, check out our guide!

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