benc53•15d ago

My neighbor's rant about HOA rules actually made sense after 2 years

I was at our community pool in Orlando last Saturday and Mike started complaining about how the HOA enforces the fence height rule. I always thought he was just being difficult, but he pulled out the county code showing it's for fire access, not just looks. He said 'they're not trying to control us, they're keeping the fire trucks from getting stuck.' Made me wonder how many other HOA rules I've been mad about that actually have a real reason behind them. Anyone ever look up the actual law behind a rule you hated?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessicac2815d ago

Haven't you ever seen an HOA fine someone for a rule that had nothing to do with safety though?

patricia_green2115d ago

Oh @jessicac28, you mean like the time my cousin got a warning letter because his mailbox was "6 inches too far to the left" of some imaginary line? They fined him $50 for that, but nobody cared when a car door flew open into the street because of a pothole the HOA refused to fix. I swear some of these boards just get a power trip and start writing tickets for bird watching in your own backyard. It's like they have a bingo card of petty rules and need to fill it out every month.

vera_campbell15d ago

I feel you on this. It's like the second someone gets on an HOA board they forget what it's like to live in a house and not a museum. My neighbor got a warning because his grass was like a quarter inch too tall after a week of rain, but when the same board member's tree fell on my fence during a storm, they said it was an "act of God" and he wasn't responsible. Makes you wonder if some rules are just there so the board has something to do on a Tuesday night. The fence height thing makes sense from Mike's story, but a lot of these fines just feel personal.