This HOA ‘Rule’ is Completely Unenforceable

For some people, dealing with a homeowners association (HOA) is like being a medieval peasant who wandered into a small kingdom. The kingdom welcomes you in and offers protection, provided you strictly adhere to its laundry list of rules. In that sense, HOAs are like little suburban kingdoms, creating enclaves of houses for the sake of aesthetic cohesion and raising property values. The only downside is you probably have housing habits that transgress their rules.

It could be that you like keeping your big boat on the front lawn, or something smaller, like having too many friends over at the same time. Whatever the case, many HOA rules function as legislative middlemen between a person and the government. These rules can keep neighborhoods looking lovely but also make residents miserable. Luckily, many common HOA rules are unenforceable since they contradict local, state, and federal laws. In this article, we will explore the usual HOA rules and why some can’t be enforced. First, however, let’s learn more about what an HOA is and what it can do. (For fines typically incurred, explore HOA offenses and what you can expect to pay for each .)

To put together a list of HOA rules that are unenforceable, 24/7 Tempo consulted a range of real estate, lifestyle, and legal publications including Orchard.com , Bobvila.com , and Diamond Star Painting. From there, we discovered what kind of rules HOAs enforce that may be illegal or a violation of constitutional rights. After that, we confirmed aspects of our research using sites like NOLO.com and Realtor.com .

What Is a Homeowners Association?

By definition, a homeowners association, or HOA, is a community organization that enforces guidelines for a specific community, subdivision, or housing complex. When someone buys property within an HOA dominion, they immediately become a member of that HOA. As such, HOAs are comprised of residents within the community. If they wish, these residents can become a part of the HOA board, which lays out specific guidelines for the community through a voting process and imposes fees for violating them.

Usually, HOAs collect fees from members which they use to pay for the upkeep of common areas or other community maintenance. For some, HOAs are a dream because they enforce a community standard that keeps areas safe and clean, and steadily increases property values. For others, however, HOAs symbolize excessive governance due to their heavy-handed imposition of hair-splitting restrictions. While HOAs can maintain certain standards for their communities, many of their guidelines play upon people’s ignorance. Furthermore, some HOA rules contradict local, state, and even federal laws. Let’s learn about some of the common HOA rules that are actually unenforceable.

Rules Without Authority

HOAs may have a lot of power over their neighborhoods, but one thing they can’t do is impose fines without good reason. Considering that HOAs have limited power, they cannot fine you arbitrarily or without evidence of a policy violation. They must provide clear evidence of a policy violation before they can impose fees. When you feel like you’ve been unfairly targeted by your HOA, study the community policies. If this confirms your suspicion, appeal to your HOA board. Unfortunately, they are insistent in response. That’s when it’s time to hire an outside attorney, preferably one with HOA experience. This will give you the best chance of winning your appeal over unjustly imposed fees or fines.

Discrimination

HOAs attempt to maintain a high standard for communities, ensuring exclusive, safe, and clean living spaces. The problem is that some HOAs become too aggressive or even discriminatory in their vetting process for new residents. Thanks to the Fair Housing Act , however, it is prohibited by law for anyone, including HOAs, to discriminate based on someone’s race, religion, ethnicity, sex, disability, or familial status. Depending on where you live, your state might also have laws on the books preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Discrimination is a serious charge, so if you feel like you are being treated unfairly by your HOA, take your complaint to the top. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is well-equipped to handle such allegations.

Common Area Repairs

While HOA residents are often given the privilege of using a community common area, that doesn’t mean you’re required to pay for that area’s upkeep. Many HOAs feature common areas that may come in the form of sitting rooms, pools, gyms, and even stairwells. They may try to play on ignorance and get residents to shell out money to repair common area problems or maintain upkeep. Fortunately, HOAs are typically required to pay for common area repairs and upkeep themselves. Otherwise, where are your costly HOA fees going? Unless specifically mentioned in HOA agreement contracts, the burden of upkeep falls squarely on the homeowners association.

Selectively Enforced Rules

While it can be hard to prove, there are countless stories online about people feeling like they’ve been targeted by their HOA. Maybe they left their holiday decorations out too long, or worse, consistently showed up to HOA meetings and called out the board for unscrupulous behavior. Whatever the reason, HOAs must enforce their policies across the board. As per the Fair Housing Act, any restrictions or policy measures must affect every resident equally.

If you feel like you or a selective group you are part of has been unfairly targeted by an HOA, take up the issue at the next board meeting. When this fails to give any measurable insight and you feel like you have a case, either hire a lawyer or contact HUD. Evidence of selective enforcement by your HOA could be grounds for discrimination charges.

Rules Without a Majority Vote

Some HOAs came about relatively informally. Others follow a specific charter. Whatever the case, to exist HOAs must have a set of procedures, guidelines, and bylaws dictating their behavior, protocol, and power. Normally, HOAs have rules dictating how they can change, amend, or enact new rules for residents. These are called Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). Most HOAs have laws on the books that require them to get a community vote on all proposed rules.

So, if residents are suddenly hit with new restrictions that don’t appear in the HOA meeting minutes, they might have a case. It might take a few hours of research, but reviewing the comprehensive list of your HOA’s bylaws, meeting minutes, and other records could help you bolster your dispute claim over improperly passed restrictions.

Freedom of Speech

No matter what your HOA may tell you, the United States Constitution protects freedom of speech. Even if the CC&Rs suggest otherwise, no HOA can contradict rights given to you by the Constitution. This type of unenforceable rule typically rears its head when it comes to displaying signs supporting one political candidate over another.

Lawn signs for your favorite candidate or preferred political party can draw contentious lines, but you still have a right to do so if you wish. If your HOA attempts to enforce any laws in this area, they will often fall under aesthetics and curb appeal. While HOAs can make rules regarding the placement of political signs on your property, they can’t outright curb your freedom of speech. If you feel like your HOA is unfairly targeting your freedom of expression, take the matter up with the board. If that fails to make any measurable progress, take your complaint to your local or state government.

The Right to Bear Arms

Much like freedom of speech, barring certain felony convictions, all Americans have the right to bear arms. As such, HOAs cannot prevent you from owning firearms inside your private home. While they can restrict the appearance or use of guns in communal areas, and for good reason, they can’t go against the letter of federal law. Like freedom of speech restrictions, if you feel that your HOA is illegally imposing on your rights, take it up with the HOA board. If that doesn’t work, take it up another level to the government.

Freedom of Religion

The Constitution gives American citizens certain unalienable rights and one of them is freedom of religion. An HOA can dictate a lot of things, including community behavior, but they can’t touch your right to the worship of your choice. It would only ask for trouble, but some snobby HOAs may attempt to exclude certain religious groups from residing in their community. Furthermore, they may allow different religious groups but exclude them from the communal areas.

Either way, such practices are illegal and violate the Fair Housing Act. Even if your HOA’s rules don’t explicitly bar people on the grounds of religion if you feel like you have a freedom of religion restriction case, pursue it. If such an exclusion feels religiously motivated, take it up with management before expediting it to HUD. Violating the Constitution is a serious offense, and HOAs are not above the law even if they seem like it.

Emotional Support Animals

As evidenced by the countless stories online from people dealing with their HOAs, these organizations often impose heavy restrictions on pets. Even though over half of Americans own pets, HOAs sometimes see them as a nuisance and an obstacle to a clean, exclusive neighborhood. If you have an emotional support animal, however, HOAs have little power to restrict your furry guides. As long as they are authorized emotional support animals, HOAs cannot discriminate against, much less impose extra fees, on residents with paperwork-authenticating emotional support animals. Thanks to the Fair Housing Act, all emotional support animals with paperwork can be necessary accommodations.

Satellite Dishes and Antennas

There is nothing homeowners associations hate more than messy exteriors ruining the elegant cohesion of a neighborhood. Let’s say you want to get satellite TV and explore channels from around the world. If so, you may be in luck. Unfortunately for these organizations, they really can’t stop you from putting up satellite dishes or antennas on your roof. Even if they insist, the FCC’s Over-the-Air-Reception Devices Rules clearly state that HOAs cannot prevent residents from affixing this type of gear to their rooflines. The simple fact is that HOAs cannot stop satellite dishes or antennas. Nevertheless, HOAs can restrict the size, dimensions, and shape of your satellites and antennas. Furthermore, they can impose rules regarding the placement of your satellite dish. (For other strange rules, discover weird and wacky laws still on the books .)

Solar Panels

It seems like HOAs are a perennial battleground between personal preference and aesthetic cohesion, and the placement of solar panels is no exception. In recent years, many states have enacted laws that allow residents to place solar panels on their homes and save a fortune in energy bills. These laws extend to HOAs. Such organizations cannot prevent you from living more sustainably thanks to solar panels. They can, however, enforce (reasonable) requirements regarding the placement, size, and visual cohesion of your solar panels. That said, some HOAs do ban solar panels. Your rights in this department come down to how your HOA guidelines interface with state and local laws. Chances are, if your state allows solar panels, your HOA should too.

Clotheslines

Nothing angers the hearts of HOA board members quite like clotheslines. They are messy, visually obtrusive, and ruin the otherwise seamless aesthetics of an HOA neighborhood. As such, they are often the target of particularly zealous HOAs. Luckily for residents, many states have laws that allow clotheslines regardless of a given HOA’s preferences. Be sure to check with your local laws and statutes to see if your HOA is imposing unfair fees on you, simply for letting your clothes dry with the sun.

Xeriscaping

Given their reputation, HOAs love imposing extreme restrictions on the quality and look of residents’ lawns. This typically takes the form of fining residents for having overgrown yards, messy and unkempt grass, or excessive lawn decorations that ruin the look of the neighborhood. Xeriscaping, however, which refers to a type of drought-resistant landscaping, might fly under the radar. In several states, including California, Florida, and Colorado, laws on the books prevent HOAs from banning drought-resistant landscaping. It’s good for the environment and low maintenance. Too bad if clashes with the otherwise perfectly manicured lawns up and down the block. If you live in one of these states and your HOA harasses you for a drought-resistant garden, you may have a case.

Rainwater Harvesting

It seems like some HOAs impose so many rules that residents almost cease to become humans, instead rendered into perfectly compliant community members. While HOAs can flex their powers to a considerable degree, certain areas prone to drought provide extra rights for residents living under even the most draconian HOA. If you live in one of these areas, your HOA will likely allow the implementation of rainwater-catching systems. Besides being helpful in drought-prone regions, these systems can store water for later use on your lawn or garden.

For-Sale Signs

The dominion of HOAs extends so far, they can restrict anything regarding resident’s homes and preferences. This even extends to for-sale signs. Many HOAs attempt to stop residents from putting up for-sale signs because it ruins the otherwise perfect lineup of yards along the street. They may try to enforce this ban, however, most states consider such restrictions an infringement on homeowner rights as per the Fair Housing Act. While HOAs probably can’t outright ban for-sale signs, they can enforce guidelines regarding the size, design, or location of these signs. Even though sold houses typically raise property values, HOAs sometimes try to fight against their best interests.

Visitors

Despite an HOA’s constant protests against visitors to their neighborhoods, including the lack of parking, they really can’t restrict visitors completely. Nevertheless, many HOAs attempt to impose restrictions on how many visitors you can have at a time, where they can park, such as community roads or parking spaces, and for how long. Despite their best efforts to legislate their residents out of having friends, they can’t restrict visitors unless they have a good reason in terms of safety or other community standards. (For personal anecdotes about overreach, explore 11 HOA horror stories that will make you want to move to the country .)

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