A group of townhomes in Colorado Springs just received $20,752.12 in fines per unit, caused by damage they couldn't control.

Residents of the Soaring Eagles Townhomes in southeast Colorado were hit with devastating news in late August — their HOA was charging them an egregious amount of money to fix housing damages caused by a recent hailstorm. 

According to KOAA News5, "The residents were told their payments were due by Oct. 1, and some of them believe their insurance will only cover half, based on the coverage they have."

The HOA used its insurance policy's deductible of $3,112,817.26 as a backing for its claim that requiring each renter to pay over $20,000 was not only reasonable, but warranted.

Those same renters were far from thrilled at the news, setting up a protest against the pricey assessment. One woman, Heather McBroom, made it clear that the HOA's claim violates its own previous declaration — that the loss assessment cap was $10,000, less than half of what the HOA claimed it could deduct from residents.

"It's a humane issue, right? We have people who literally cannot afford this and will lose their homes, and that's not fair," said McBroom in an interview with KOAA News5. 

Soaring Eagles residents aren't opposed to fixing up the hail damage; they just want communication and consideration from their HOA.

Unfortunately, this issue is not unique to this one instance. Many HOAs stand in the way of what renters consider to be important.

Per the Daily Climate, "Americans are increasingly clashing with homeowners associations over environmentally friendly home updates like solar panels and native gardens."

As more and more people realize the benefits of environmentally friendly housing solutions, both for their wallets and the environments they live in, they've come up against HOA policies that block such upgrades.

Should the government continue to give tax incentives for energy-efficient home upgrades? Absolutely 💯 No 🙅 Depends on the upgrade 🤔 I don't know 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Additionally, adding solar panels to save energy gives homeowners the chance to harness the sun to power up their lives and mitigate their expenses.

Installing solar panels can bring the cost of energy down to or near $0, in comparison to traditional, more pricey options. EnergySage can connect prospective buyers with vetted local installers who can save up to $10,000 on solar installations.

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Going solar even makes using other money-saving electric appliances like heat pumps cheaper to run. For those looking to find the right, affordable heat pump, Mitsubishi can help attain that perfect fit.

People were quick to come to the defense of the residents of Soaring Eagles Townhomes, with some internet users saying that they couldn't possibly be reading the article right.

Others explained that the issue is a widespread one, where HOAs and the residents under them need better communication to reach a middle ground where both parties are satisfied.

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