According to one Redditor, their new HOA board has started its reign with an expensive demand: every resident must repaint their house to comply with a new list of approved colors, or the HOA will charge the homeowners to do it for them.
Overbearing HOAs have been an ongoing problem for many homeowners. They often become involved when residents make money-saving home changes like installing solar panels, planting a garden, or beginning to compost.
Sometimes, fighting these decisions means changing state laws. Some of the time, however, homeowners may find themselves in hot water with their HOA — even if they believed they were following the rules from the beginning.
According to one Redditor, a change in HOA leadership has come with an abrupt change in the rules.
"I bought a garage door with a color in compliance with the first board's requirements a few years ago and there are no issues in regard to cleanliness or state of the door," they wrote on the platform.
But now, the user continued, "They've decided on a new color scheme requirement for all houses. They've even threatened that those who do not comply and paint with the new colors would have contractors sent to their homes by the board, and the houses would be painted and owners charged for it. Are they able to legally do this?"
The answer, unfortunately, seems to be yes.
"If the new board followed the HOA bylaws when they established the new color requirements then yes, they are likely able to do this," said one commenter, who recommended following the HOA's established process to fight the change.
"It is very unlikely that a majority of your neighborhood wants this change — and wants to pay for it," the commenter added. "Your HOA bylaws likely also have clauses for how to overturn previous decisions."
Another Redditor suggested the original poster check their HOA documents, as they "should be grandfathered in."
One baffled user commented, "I've never heard of an HOA forcing an entire neighborhood to repaint at the same time just to switch colors."
Another agreed, writing, "Typically when a board does something like this they simply expect you to pick a color from the new list the next time that you paint your house. Expecting everyone in the community to paint their house, whether it needs it or not, to match their new color scheme is ridiculous and totally unreasonable."
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