A homeowner has sparked fury online after posting a screenshot of a message from their HOA saying that individual warnings will no longer be issued for alleged rule violations. 

"This email is directed to the homeowners that don't find it necessary to maintain their property," the email read. "With over 1300 homes in the community, the HOA will not be sending out individual courtesy notices for violations." 

"This email serves as your violation warning," the email continued. 

Sharing the image on Reddit, the homeowner titled their post, "We don't have time to send warnings so we'll just fine you instead." 

Fellow Redditors flooded the comments with their outrage and disbelief at the HOA's actions. The commenters widely agreed that the HOA seemed to be exceeding its authority and violating its duty to homeowners in the community.  

"I would look at the guidelines for violations," recommended one Redditor. "I assume they say the first violation is just that — a notice, then fines happen for repetitions. This email is problematic." 

"That's ridiculous," chimed in another. "What state is this?" 

"Hold on, so they're fining people based off homeowners reports?" asked one commenter incredulously, adding the symbol for sarcasm at the end of their post. "So you can simply report everyone over and over again in the HOA and they will be fined without any investigation whatsoever? Yes there is no way this could go wrong… /s." 

The situation highlighted the ongoing trend of homeowners dealing with seemingly irrational and overbearing homeowners associations.

One homeowner recently shared online how their HOA had sent them a notice of violation for charging their electric vehicle in their own driveway. The HOA alleged that the homeowner had violated a rule barring extension cords of over 25 feet, but the homeowner argued that the charging cord was not an extension cord and was not over 25 feet.

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Another homeowner posted about a fine they had received from their HOA for an allegedly unkempt lawn, even though the homeowner employed the same landscaping company that the HOA used for the community's common areas. Photos posted by the homeowner showed a clean, well-kept lawn. 

Complaints like these are likely to become more common as more and more Americans live in private residential communities governed by HOAs.

In 2024, 369,000 such communities existed across the U.S. These communities contained 28.8 million housing units and were home to 77.1 million residents, according to the Foundation for Community Association Research. This means that roughly one-third (33.6%) of all U.S. housing exists under an HOA or similar association.

These figures suggest that problems like the one OP complained about are unlikely to stop any time soon. However, there are constructive ways to advocate for adjustments to HOA bylaws or other changes. This may even help you take eco-friendly action that will save you money in the long term, like installing solar panels or transitioning to a natural lawn.

Meanwhile, commenters outside the U.S. struggled to understand why Americans would want to live like this.  

"Sitting here in Germany I am astounded by all of these posts," commented one overseas Redditor. "The passive aggressive nature of 'homeowners that don't find it necessary to maintain…' is sickening." 

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