Homeowners association rules and regulations are supposed to improve community living, but often these regulations are open to interpretation, causing conflict between HOAs and homeowners.
This type of disagreement was the reason for a recent post on the subreddit r/HOA, where a homeowner reached out for advice in relation to a dying tree in their front yard.
The original poster reported that they had been repeatedly issued a violation notice about the tree in question but that they didn't understand why it was their responsibility. According to the HOA rules that they shared, the HOA is responsible for maintenance in the front yard; however, any trees that needed replacing were the responsibility of the homeowner. The OP was worried that the HOA was just letting the tree die so that they would have to pay to replace it.
This sparked a debate amongst the commenters who needed more information about the tree to understand who was responsible for replacing it, especially after the OP noted that they had not been watering the tree.
The homeowner wrote that they felt this was part of the maintenance the HOA should be providing. "You do realize that as part of the 'health' of the tree, it needs to be watered! Or are of the thought that 'maintenance' includes watering and if so, where would that 'water' come from," one commenter wrote.
Protecting trees is important because they provide many benefits to our communities, including cleaning the air we breathe, providing shade, and providing habitat for local wildlife, as Woodland Trust detailed. Letting the tree just die would remove all these benefits and negatively impact the local ecosystem.
Conflicts between homeowners and HOAs are unfortunately common, especially around rules and regulations that are often vague and open to interpretation. HOAs across the country have been blocking homeowners from making eco-friendly and money-saving changes to their homes because they don't conform to the rules. This has included planting native plant gardens and installing solar panels.
Residents in some areas have gone to great lengths to change the association rules to enable them to make changes to their homes that benefit them and the planet.
Commenters suggested that the OP seek clarification on the rules and regulations from their HOA.
🗣️ 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
"When you communicate with them be sure to cite their rules and ask questions about why they think this is your responsibility," one person wrote.
Another said: "If a tree actually does die because it wasn't maintained, I would request an exception to this rule."
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