• Home Home

HOA demands removal of homeowner's conventional window dressing: 'It doesn't have to make sense to anyone'

"Blinds are horribly ugly and prevent the HOA tyrants from looking into your home."

"Blinds are horribly ugly and prevent the HOA tyrants from looking into your home."

Photo Credit: iStock

Just when you think HOAs can't outdo themselves with overbearing policies, there's a new story to tell.

A Redditor who said they lived in Phoenix shared the latest frustrating HOA overstep on an anti-HOA subreddit.

In a post titled "Crazy Hoa rules!!" the Redditor claimed their HOA fined them for the apparent violation of having "basic horizontal" window blinds. The user noted the blinds were "not broken or anything," and the sole purpose was to "block the sun when it gets to 120F in the summer."

They were left confused by the HOA's apparent problem with the blinds: "I don't understand why that would be a big deal?" 

The Redditor characterized the punishment as an example of "unreasonable" rules that HOAs seem to enforce with regularity. They're right on, as windows have been an area of conflict between residents and HOAs before. Another resident in Arizona was stymied by their HOA in installing solar film on their front-facing windows in a similar bid to combat the state's searing heat. A frustrating saga on the other end was an HOA installing a cheap single-pane window for a resident that caused their AC bills to balloon.

For eco-conscious homeowners or ones who merely want to save money and live more comfortably, HOAs have been a thorn in the side. That can be through harassing or blocking homeowners who want to put up solar panels, keep native plants in their yards, put in energy-efficient tech, or install electric car chargers.

The OP's saga seemed particularly egregious, given just how hot it has gotten in Phoenix, as well as the act's overt invasion of privacy. This spring and summer saw 70 days of over 110-degree Fahrenheit weather, which more than triples the average of 21 annually, per Axios. Punishing residents who want to stay cool and save on AC feels over the line. 

Redditors were baffled by the HOA's maneuvers and responded with sarcasm and gallows humor.

"Well, you see, blinds are horribly ugly and prevent the HOA tyrants from looking into your home and making sure you have your home arranged in an acceptable way," one wrote

Should HOAs be able to force homeowners to change their yards?

Absolutely not 💯

Yes — it's part of the deal 🤝

Only in extreme circumstances 🏚️

We should ban HOAs 🚫

Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"It doesn't have to make sense to anyone let alone themselves," another commented

"I can't imagine wanting to get your nose so far up your neighbor's business that you are worried about their interior window treatments," a Redditor offered.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.

Cool Divider