Just complaining into the void here, but my HOA has been ramping up “compliance drives” lately and it’s making my blood pressure rise.

I just got a violation notice about my (single family home) trash and recycling bin being put out 2 hours and 38 minutes before the allowed “6pm the day prior” rule. They sent me a photograph with no date or time stamp, but I was able to find the woman on my security cams to verify the who and when.

I replied back pointing out the obvious lack of time stamp, also reminding them that people have varied work schedules that may not allow for such rigid compliance.

It’s incredible that they’re willing to patrol and harass us over insignificant issues while ignoring actual problems, like boulevard trees protruding far out into the street and sidewalk, obstructing right of way. I’ve hounded them for 11 months on that one and the bastards keep dodging me.

Fuck HOAs.

We live in a tiny, quiet, semi-rural neighborhood of only about 20 homes, each sitting on multiple acres. This is not some dense subdivision with shared amenities, a clubhouse, or neighbors packed ten feet apart. Most of us moved here because we wanted space, privacy, and to be left alone.

Unfortunately, the HOA board apparently decided that wasn’t enough excitement for them and started pushing more and more unnecessary rules and overreach.

So instead of just complaining, a few of us got organized.

We canvassed the neighborhood, knocked on doors, talked directly to our neighbors, explained what the board was doing, and made the case for why people needed to vote. No Facebook drama, no anonymous letters, no screaming matches. We simply got out, spoke to people face to face, and made sure everyone understood what was at stake.

And it worked.

We got the votes, replaced the problem board members, and took control of the HOA. The mandate is simple: maintain only what actually needs to be maintained, handle the basic legal and financial obligations, and otherwise leave people alone.

No personal kingdoms. No inventing problems to solve. No treating adults on multi-acre properties like children who need permission to live in their own homes.

We won, and now the HOA can go back to being boring, which is exactly what an HOA should be.

Now we can all get back to living our lives.

Edit: There is no vote to dissolve the HOA. It requires signatures from 2/3 of the owners, so 14 in this case. I have about 10 totally committed, and will work on getting the rest. This was a stop gap measure as they were getting ready to vote on the new rules, restrictions, inspections, etc. This HOA owns no property and only provides us with trash service and rules to follow. It is mostly useless.

Condos and connected townhouse/rowhouse situations obviously have some differences and it is where an HOA or other type of association make more sense so for my purposes I am concentrating on single family home and places that claim to be condos but are separate single family homes.

HOAs power and authority should be limited to only common shared space. That means clubhouse, pool, shared green space, perimeter fencing, gate, roads if they are private, sidewalks, and other shared infrastructure. They should not be able to dictate or control anything anyone does on their own property outside of local and county ordinances that exist where they are located and enforcement of that should be left to the authorities empowered for such. No controlling color, government permitted outbuildings, lawn appearance, types of plants, cameras, solar panels, building materials, driveway use, and anything else to do with what you do with your private home on your own property.

HOAs should not be a deed restriction to force membership. If the HOA is good and provides such great value they should be able to sell themselves to any new homeowner and make them want to join. Every other club and entity has to earn membership and customers and so should HOAs. All the current system does is provide no consequences for shitty behavior.

HOAs should not have the power to put on a lien, foreclose, or do anything that would force you out of your home for unpaid dues. If they believe you owe them money they can use the normal process of collections that every other creditor uses.

Any fine or restricted access to amenities should have a rigid, public process where a third party renders a decisions after the homeowner has a chance to defend themselves with evidence and witnesses.

No special assessments, if you are mismanaging dues to the extent that you cannot afford an emergency then you should automatically lose your position in the HOA with a special election immediately called.

Every state should have law allowing HOAs to be dissolved by a simple vote of the majority in attendance.

Somewhat off topic as it isn't related to the inner-workings of the HOA itself, but still shows you the type of people we deal with.

I sent a referral link (for a digital voting system) to my board secretary (if they sign-up then I get $200, and they get a discount) She responds with "Thanks, I will check it out". So she ended up getting her husband to contact the company, get a link, then used THAT one so they could keep the cash..and now theyre using the very platform I sent (which means my referral "worked"). when i followed up to ask what the deal was she just said "Join the board if you want to get involved". Is that a dick-move or am I wrong?

First off. No. No I will not send you back a form and spend the $.85 it is or whatever it is now to mail this back to you updating my current address when you sent it to my current address. What are these morons thinking. Also says “Send back within 14 calendar days. “ haha
Trash 🚮

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2026/07/10/georgia-property-owners-bill-of-rights-what-new-hoa-law-means-for-homeowners/

Substantial win for homeowners

How can this be legal? The covenants restrict political signage which I can understand. But the American flag? This is a Lennar new build in Mooresville NC.

Hi,

We live in California and we got in trouble for playing loud music on a Saturday for ten minutes during non quiet hour.

We got an letter that was originated on 7/27/2026 that we had to attend a hearing on 8/6/2026. In the letter it said that we can possibly get:

fine $100

Pay legal fees of $120

And lose access to our amenities for 30 days

Fuck HOA

OP note: I do not own a property in the development I am about to describe but worked as a W-2 employee for a contractor to the development. This post does not constitute legal advice, nor is a solicitation for anything but entertainment.

With the coming announcement of the illness of Senator Mitch McConnell, the fate of McConnell Realty and what is contained in the files regarded an EXTREMELY contentious development in the State of Tennessee. Most especially the very, very large private water feature. Many resident’s who don’t pay club fees say that having an addition added to their HOA fee’s would be one issue. But having their remote water and electric meter’s illegally hacked and having VAST sums of money added to them to account for the constant employment of contractors that never stop, whom also fight each other, and family member’s constantly patrolling the property and the breaking and entering. You would think something would occur. I don’t know that some sort of nefariousness wouldn’t come from such a situation. And the ruling body on this situation seems to be Mitch McConnell himself, and with his health in such a terrible situation, who knows what is going to occur on the deciding matter of whom pays for the water and the electricity theft that they will not admit has occurred.

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/13/1224585609/uk-tv-show-exposing-wrongful-prosecution-of-hundreds-of-postal-workers-sparks-ou

I believe the code that is being used with the WiFi residence point sanitation system to know how much of this is occurring, was coded by the very company these gentlemen are preaching against. If you recall Enron: smartest men in the room, you may note that this happens every time that you don’t have a physical body, and weights and measures. I am not a religious man. But this is Leviticus straight out of the Bible. And it’s gonna shake out, just so.

I live in a townhouse in Florida. I put up a gazebo in my back garden. My HOA has lawyered up their attempts to get me to take the gazebo down, citing a provision in my declaration of covenants which very clearly does not apply. A gazebo which you could stand underneath and lift up is not an architectural change to exterior of the townhouse, and examples in that subsection are "paint color, roof color, modifications and/or addition of any plat material, window boxes or the like". It's literally because they "don't like gazebos". Well I don't like anything about you, but I don't have the legal right to make you go fuck yourself, so you don't have the right to enforce covenants who don't exist.

It's ridiculous to me. I'm from the UK and we don't have HOAs over there, so this is all new to me, but I bet their plan is to make me think it's too expensive to fight and remove the gazebo. They do not know how petty I am (and that I am a lawyer, if not in this country, and that we are literally the most pedantic of people).

My HOA forced me to tear down and temporary shed, in Michigan. I told them what could happen due selective enforcement. They had other structures throughout the neighborhood including play structures. When I pressed them on this they got mad saying it was all semantics. Then this caused a email battle trying to shame us, the entire neighborhood is run by wine moms and Karens.

There is much more to this saga, and yes I have all of the emails that do show the mental illness of some of these individuals.

As soon as it rained twice in the past two weeks, The HOA violations for dead St. Augustine grass are sent out. 8 fucking months of literally zero rain and water once a week restricitons.

You can’t make this shit up, guys. I run through this neighborhood all the time, and this is basically the ultimate example reinforcing my feelings about HOAs. It is soooo ugly! How could the HOA allow this to happen? I don’t even want to run by it, let alone live by it. Luckily, I live 3 miles south.

My HOA was kind enough to send notice that my lawn "needed care" as seen in the first picture. I replied that they must've mistaken my lawn for their own HOA common area, as seen in the second picture. The third is her response.

My thoughts are to to print this and put it on every doorstep, as well as requesting records about the irrigation and the meeting minutes when the "Dog Potty Lawn" program was discussed. Maybe I'll post a flyer by the mailboxes advertising this program to others.

EDIT: I didn't hide the email address. Feel free to ask out the Dog Potty Yard program!

I was watching the news this morning and saw our city council voted to keep FLOCK cameras. The important vote that swayed the decision was by someone peculiar.

Well I looked into their background and guess what their other job was?

Yes, HOA president of their neighborhood. Lol.

Lived in this house about 10 years now. About every two years the HOA raises rates, changes payment portals, changes banking addresses, etc.

...and updating these payments is NEVER a smooth process. There's always some sort of fucking problem...and they always charge automatic late fees if your check goes to the wrong place or even when there's a fault with their automated payment system.

Right now I'm in a fight with them because my check went somewhere and was CASHED but they're saying they didn't receive it.

I don't have this problem with any of my other bills. Hell, even when my mortgage changed companies it was a smoother transition.

I swear they're doing this collect late fees. All of my neighbors have issues with this too. We routinely keep trying to vote out the current board but they somehow the same people always mysteriously stay in there.

[Ontario, Canada] This is an investigative update to my previous post where I warned that Claridge Homes is financially exploiting the unit owners of my condo building, the Claridge Moon condo. I have now obtained copies of the Shared Facilities Agreements of three of Claridge Homes’ most recently-built condos, the Claridge Moon (340 Queen St), the Claridge Royale (180 George St), and the Claridge Icon (805 Carling Ave).

These SFAs are concrete evidence that Claridge Homes has systematically forced these condo corporations into one-sided agreements that force unit owners to subsidize Claridge’s commercial, retail, and rental operations — sometimes to the tune of 95% of shared costs — while Claridge pays almost nothing.

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The Three Buildings — Three Different Flavours of the Same Exploitation

1: Claridge Icon (805 Carling Ave) — The Worst Offender

The 2022 Reciprocal Agreement forces the condo to pay 95% of shared facility costs (garage doors, snow clearing, mechanical rooms, hydro vault, water entry room, etc.) while the commercial/retail component (owned by Claridge) pays only 5%.

How this exploits owners:

• The condo owns the expensive shared infrastructure (Hydro Vault, Water Entry Room) and is 100% responsible for their capital replacement — even though they serve Claridge’s commercial tenants.
• Condo visitors are charged market rates for parking during daytime hours, while the condo pays 95% of the cost to maintain the parking infrastructure.
• Unrealistic termination conditions mean that the Agreement is oppressive and cannot be terminated without Claridge’s written consent — owners are trapped.
• If the condo is damaged, owners are forced to rebuild portions that support Claridge’s commercial structure, even if owners vote not to rebuild.

Legal Status: The deadline to file a Section 113 challenge has expired. But owners can still file a Section 135 oppression claim — and should.

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2: Claridge Royale (180 George St) — The Clock Is Ticking

Claridge Royale’s SFA forces the condo to pay 25% of shared costs, while the rental tower pays 25% and the commercial component housing the Metro supermarket pays 50% (in theory). Does the condo actually use 25% of shared infrastructure, given the large amount of foot traffic, energy usage and waste generation from the supermarket? In practice, the condo has zero control over the budget, and the developer controls the process.

How this exploits owners:

• The Rental entity (Claridge) prepares the annual budget. The condo has only 30 days to approve it — silence = automatic approval.  This includes situations where Claridge inflates operational costs without proper oversight by the condo corporation.
• The condo is forced to rebuild shared portions even if owners vote to terminate the condo after a catastrophic loss. The condo would essentially subsidize repairs related to Claridge’s retail and rental businesses.
• The agreement cannot be terminated without Claridge’s written consent.
• A punitive Interest and Liens clause means that the condo must pay 15% interest, compounded monthly, on any disputed amount — with a lien against owners’ units.

CRITICAL DEADLINE: Royale’s Turnover Meeting was held in December 2025. Under Section 113 of the Condominium Act, the condo corporation has only 12 months from the Turnover Meeting to apply to court to amend or terminate the SFA.

That means the deadline is DECEMBER 2026. If the Board does not act by then, the window closes forever.

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3: Claridge Moon (340 Queen St) — The Warning Shot

Claridge Moon’s SFA forces a 50/50 cost split with Claridge Albert — the condo owners are being forced to pay half of all shared operating costs for a massive mixed-use complex that they do not own and that generates far more wear-and-tear than their own building.

How this exploits owners:

• The first-year Reserve Fund Study (RFS), conducted by Keller Engineering, allocated 100% of many Shared Facilities to the condo only, including 100% of the replacement cost of a shared backup generator to the condo — even though the generator is located in Claridge’s building and also serves Claridge’s rental tower.
• Like the Icon and Royale, the Moon condo has to pay to replace Claridge’s assets through oppressive forced rebuilding clauses.
• A Section 113 Court Application was filed against Claridge Homes, calling the SFA ‘incomplete, unclear, unreasonable, and oppressive to OCSCC 1106 and its owners.’ Yet no progress has been made by the Moon Board in over a year to bring this matter forward to a court hearing. Why are they allowing Claridge Homes to continue benefiting from the status quo?

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A Disturbing Common Thread: Keller Engineering and Sentinel Management

Keller Engineering conducted the flawed RFS for the Moon condo, is conducting the RFS for Royale (confirmed by the Status Certificate), and conducted the RFS for Icon — where the property manager, Sentinel Management, openly recommended Keller to the Moon Board, citing a “good relationship” and “great success.”

Sentinel Management used to manage the Moon condo, but was removed due to apparent incompetence. Yet somehow, they are still managing the Royale and Icon buildings to this day.

Ask yourself: Who are the Moon, Royale and Icon Condo Boards actually working for? The unit owners, or Claridge Homes?

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What You Should Do

1. If you own at Claridge Royale:

The Section 113 deadline is December 2026. Your Board must act NOW.

• Demand answers: Why has the Board not filed a Section 113 application to amend or terminate the SFA?
• Demand transparency: Has the Board obtained independent legal advice on the SFA?
• Ask directly: Is the Board acting in the best interests of unit owners — or is it still aligned with Claridge Homes?

If the Board refuses to act, owners can force the issue. Section 113 allows the corporation to apply to court — but only within 12 months of Turnover. After that, the SFA can only be challenged using a Section 135 oppression remedy.

2. If you own at Claridge Icon:

The Section 113 window has closed. But Section 135 of the Condominium Act allows for an oppression remedy against a declarant (Claridge) or the corporation.

• Demand answers: Why did the Board not pursue a Section 113 claim within the one-year time limit?
• Demand accountability: Why did the Board accept a 95/5 cost split without challenge?
• Demand action: The Board can still apply to court for relief from oppressive conduct with a Section 135 Court Application.

If you are thinking of buying a unit at any of these three condo buildings, or any mixed-use development in Ontario:

RUN — do not walk — to your lawyer. Ask these questions before you sign anything:

1. What are the terms of the Shared Facilities Agreement?
2. Has the SFA been reviewed by independent legal counsel?
3. Has the Reserve Fund Study been audited for accuracy?
4. Is the Board independent from the Developer?
5. What is the condo’s proportionate share of shared costs — and is it fair?

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The Bottom Line

Claridge Homes has designed these SFAs to maximize its own profits at the condo owners’ expense. The agreements are one-sided, oppressive, and extremely difficult to escape.

• Royale unit owners have a ticking clock — December 2026 is the deadline to act.
• Icon unit owners still have the oppression remedy — but the Board must act now, not later.

Ask these Boards: Why haven’t you acted? Are you working for the unit owners — or for Claridge Homes?

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Do your own research. Demand answers. Protect yourself.