A new homeowner may already be regretting their choice of neighborhood after an overzealous homeowners association cut down the young tree in their front yard.
The person took to the r/f***HOA subreddit to explain their grievance, sharing sad photos of where the tree had been planted and an up-close shot of the severed arboreal.
"All summer we were asking our HOA for our pool key and in response they had our tree cut down because it 'looked dead,'" they wrote. "The person sent to cut it confirmed that it did not look dead but did their job anyway."
Many commenters recommended the r/treelaw subreddit, while one suggested: "Even better is tree insurance. Double check (sic) your home insurance policy.
"Little trees aren't typically too crazy, but rare or expensive varietals can be very expensive to replace, and if they didn't have the legal authority to destroy your property, they may have to pay to replace what they destroyed."
Aside from the issue of replacing the tree, the HOA should be held responsible for seemingly retaliating to a normal request that need not be made in other situations. But that's for those who don't live under the thumb of arbitrary and punitive rules.
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HOAs are notorious for showing no mercy with eco-friendly and money-saving yards, including those with mature trees and rewilded lawns, as well as installations such as solar panels and heat pumps.
Since helping the planet and padding your pocketbook walk hand in hand down the yellow brick road, HOAs have no business interfering. That's especially true if they're wrong about what they're claiming, which seemed to be the case in this instance with the tree that was not dead.
If you're having trouble with a similar situation, check out The Cool Down's guide to work around pesky stipulations or change them. Some areas have laws that limit what HOAs can do.
You can also educate yourself, form a coalition of like-minded residents, and take the issue to the board. If that doesn't work, maybe you can run for a seat and make an impact on the committee from within.
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"Ah yes," one user said, "another day where I'm reminded that I made the right choice by refusing to buy a house with an HOA."
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