One Florida homeowner facing hurricane damage placed some of the blame on an unusual culprit: their HOA.
Most HOAs have the stated mission of maintaining the appearance and property values of their neighborhoods. While their rules can be restrictive and often misguided, some homeowners still appreciate living in an HOA because they believe they'll perform important maintenance. But according to this homeowner, their HOA failed to fulfill that purpose.
They shared their accusation in a Reddit post on r/HOA.
"I have damage to my home from the hurricane," they said. "Some is due to the water that came from the HOA not maintaining the retention pond behind my house."
They explained further, "There's a dry retention pond behind my house. The HOA has allowed it to be overgrown and hasn't maintained it. … Water filled up halfway up my back yard, creating my own lake."
A retention pond could normally be expected to help in a flood situation, as it gives the water somewhere to go besides into yards and homes. But if the retention pond was full, it wouldn't be very effective. And since hurricanes are getting stronger due to the Earth's rising temperature, that risk is bigger than ever.
"Can I hold them liable for the damages?" asked the homeowner. "If so, how do I go about doing so? … Do I need to prove it?"
Unfortunately, commenters believed it would be difficult to hold the HOA accountable.
"Very hard to prove that the pond maintenance is the core issue," said one user. "Your insurance will subrogate to theirs if they really think there is a case here. But understand that even if that is true, it means the HOA insurance and dues will rise to cover the now higher costs."
However, one thing the homeowner — or any HOA resident — can do is try to change their HOA's rules to prevent something like this from happening in the future.
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