A Reddit post about one man's battle against his homeowners association over solar panels has struck a chord, racking up over 1,200 upvotes on the r/f***HOA community.
The author, a homeowner in his late 20s, wanted to take advantage of solar tax credits before they decreased. But when he submitted a request to install panels on his roof, the HOA denied it, despite having no rules prohibiting solar.
"Of course, they denied the request despite there being no rules against roof solar panels in our bylaws," he wrote.
"When pushed on this, the reason(s) they gave were complete b******* and a simple google search would prove it. Finally they landed on they're not aesthetically pleasing."
The story escalated, involving the local news, lawyers on both sides, and even the co-author of a state bill to prevent HOAs from banning solar panels. At a contentious meeting, the HOA board, mostly "boomers," acted rudely and seemed unwilling to negotiate.
But the homeowner and his lawyer had an ace up their sleeve.
"Yes at this point in time you could force my client to remove his panels," the lawyer calmly explained. "However as you can see here this bill will be going up for a vote very soon and has the needed support to pass. At which point it will be illegal for you to ban his panels."
The slack-jawed HOA quickly changed their tune. The bill passed, the homeowner got to keep his money-saving, planet-helping solar panels, and the HOA has left him alone ever since.
"They've had free rein for years of just pushing people around and people taking it," the homeowner wrote. "I think I'm the first to have taken them on and won."
Unfortunately, HOAs blocking eco-friendly home upgrades is all too common. By stalling the adoption of rooftop solar, native plant lawns, and other green improvements, HOAs cost homeowners money while harming the environment.
But this story shows change is possible when individuals advocate for themselves and the planet. Other Redditors chimed in with similar successes.
"A group of us threatened to sue our HOA and they laughed in our faces. So we did and they immediately folded," one wrote.
"Thank you for sharing this. That was freaking awesome!" another cheered.
"Well played!" a third exclaimed.
With solar installations booming, new state laws supporting sustainable upgrades, and HOA bylaws changing with the times, HOAs may soon lose their power to stand in the way of progress — and stories like this prove it's about time.
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