Renter baffled after receiving violation notice about HOA lawn requirements: 'Your landlord should be the one to receive the notices and is responsible'

Dealing with an HOA can be challenging, especially when it comes to how you design your lawn. HOAs typically have strict guidelines on lawn maintenance, often preventing homeowners from growing eco-friendly plants.

An exasperated tenant reached out to Reddit for advice after receiving a second notice about their lawn. According to the tenant, the HOA never sent a first notice.

"I did have to tell my landlord that I didn't get a first notice, and they confirmed they only got a second notice as well," wrote the renter.

Redditors were frustrated to hear how the HOA was handling the situation and discussed the tenant's options.

"You really should not be dealing with the HOA. You are not the owner of record. Your landlord is the owner of record," wrote one user. "Any communications from the HOA should come from him."

"The HOA has no legal relationship with the leasing tenant," responded another Redditor.

Since the landlord is the owner of the property, the HOA should contact the landlord directly. 

Across the U.S., HOAs have been caught preventing homeowners from making money-saving, eco-friendly changes to their homes. 

Luckily, there are ways homeowners can work with their HOAs to revise their bylaws and allow for environmentally friendly updates, such as installing solar panels or native-plant lawns. 

Switching to a native plant lawn is a great way to save time and money on lawn maintenance. Since native plants have adapted to the local environment, they can withstand harsh weather conditions without the constant help of fertilizers and pesticides. 

In fact, you can save $275 on water, $50 on fertilizers, and $50 on pesticides and weed control each year. 

Redditors continued to discuss how HOAs should not be contacting tenants directly. 

"Your landlord should be the one to receive the notices and is responsible for relaying that to you in a timely fashion," wrote one user.

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