As someone who only knows the experience of renting, I dream about a day when I can own my own home. No longer needing to ask for permission before sticking a nail into the wall, not having to worry about losing my deposit over every tiny scratch and finally being able to ditch the ugly kitchen furniture that my landlord so kindly left for us… But unfortunately, even when you own a house, you might still be subjected to arbitrary rules created by someone else!
One homeowner recently shared an infuriating story on Reddit explaining how his neighborhood’s HOA president decided to throw a fit after he painted his home. Below, you’ll find all of the details, as well as a conversation with the author.
This homeowner made sure to get approval before painting his house black
But now, his HOA president has decided that she's not a fan of the color
Image credit: MoPanic
"It was likely just an attempt to bully us"
To learn more about this situation, we reached out to the homeowner who shared his story online, Reddit user MoPanic. He was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and fill us in on whether or not there had been any updates.
"Nothing recent, but I don’t think they’ll really pursue it," the author shared. "It was likely just an attempt to bully us. The HOA's own rules and state law are firmly on our side, and I’m sure their attorney told them as much."
The homeowner also revealed that it's been several months since his house was painted. But unfortunately, this isn't the first time he and his wife have had issues with their HOA. "In fact, we sued them for something unrelated a few years ago and won via a settlement," the OP says.
We were also curious what MoPanic thought of the replies to his post. "I was very surprised at how much attention it got (8M views I think)," he told Bored Panda. "The comments came in 3 types, which were also quite surprising (the post was about an HOA, not house paint or HVAC). The most common comment was something like, 'You are an idiot. You painted a house black in Texas.' Or 'RIP your AC bill.' A minority were about the HOA."
"HOAs are just a way to privatize local government"
"Most also assumed that the photo was the actual house, which I clearly stated it was not. I found it with a 10-second Google image search, and it's a rendering that can be found on many design blogs, but I don’t know the original source," the OP clarified.
Finally, the homeowner noted that he’s not a fan of HOAs in general. "HOAs are just a way to privatize local government, and as a result, they have given quasi law enforcement, building code, and judicial authority to ordinary homeowners with no special training or education," MoPanic says. "Many of whom should not ever be given any power beyond their own property lines."
"Unfortunately, the way development has evolved over the last 30 years have made them all but inevitable. The best we can do is limit their authority to the greatest extent possible and fight them in court as a last resort," he continued. "I hope that someday states will start passing laws limiting them to just maintaining and improving common areas, but I honestly don’t see that happening in my lifetime."
"Laws vary widely from state to state, and Texas is one of the better ones for homeowners. HOAs are also not a partisan issue. People on both sides hate HOAs equally, but politicians and elected judges everywhere take huge contributions from CAI, the HOA and property management lobbying group," the author shared.
The majority of homeowners prefer to live in neighborhoods without HOAs
If you don’t live in the United States, you might not be familiar with HOAs, or homeowners associations. Essentially, these are organizations that create and enforce rules in a certain neighborhood. They often require fees from homeowners, and they will typically fine residents who don’t comply with rules about where trash cans can be, how tall grass can grow, where residents are allowed to park, how residents are allowed to decorate the outside of their homes, etc.
And unsurprisingly, the majority of Americans prefer to live in a neighborhood outside of HOA jurisdiction. A 2023 survey from YouGov found that 61% of adults in the U.S. would choose not to have an HOA if they could, including nearly half of those who do currently live in HOA neighborhoods.
When it comes to what Americans are okay with HOAs regulating, 64% say that they would be okay with set rules about noise levels. Half also believe that it would be acceptable for an HOA to monitor trash and recycling bins, and 46% would be okay with parking rules. But aside from these three issues, the majority of Americans want HOAs staying out of everything else. They believe that yard signs, fences, landscaping, pet ownership, exterior paint colors, home renovations and holiday decorations are none of the HOA’s business.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. How would you respond if you were in this homeowner’s situation? Then, if you’d like to read another Bored Panda piece discussing HOA drama, we recommend checking out this article next!
Later, the homeowner responded to several readers and provided more background info
Readers continued to weigh in on the situation and call out the HOA president for her petty behavior
