People are sharing the most bizarre HOA rules they've encountered and a few will make your jaw drop
One HOA prohibited dogs in the elevator, but a lawsuit quickly made them backtrack.
Homeowners' Associations (HOAs) are notorious for creating trouble rather than improving the community. From dictating paint colors to policing lawns, their obsession with fault-finding often sweeps their supposed mission of homeowner welfare under the rug. u/salsafresca_1297 took to Reddit on November 5 to ask fellow homeowners about the outrageous HOA rules they have come across. Before asking, they shared that their HOA prohibits any kind of furniture from being displayed in front of homes, as it "dwindles property values." The responses that followed only grew more bizarre.
1) No 'camouflage clothing' outdoors
u/PowerSkunk92 shared that residents were not permitted to wear camouflage clothing outdoors as it was considered "redneck" to go out in public. They wrote, "This guy racked up fines because he wore camo daily. No matter how many times he appealed, with a good reason, the fines would stand, even though he refused to pay them. The fines were dropped after his unit commander attended an HOA meeting and tore into the board about their idiocy in fining a man for wearing a military uniform."
2) Elevators aren't for dogs
u/bearcub42's HOA prohibited dogs in the elevator, but their legal suit made the HOA regret the decision instantly. "They launched a 'no dogs in the elevator' rule about two years ago, not because people had issues with aggressive animals, but apparently because too many people weren’t cleaning up if their pets couldn’t make it out on time and never went back to clean up the mess." They added, "I'm physically disabled, live on the 5th floor, and have a legit service animal and have been here for 12 years. Each infraction was a $200 fine. I racked up close to $45,000 in fines until my lawyer’s threats became reality in an ADA suit. They still were dumb enough to want to go to court, confident they would triumph because they tried to play the aggressive animal angle, but it's a legit service dog, not an emotional support dog, so you could set off an air horn behind her and she is trained not to react. The court didn’t just dismiss it but ordered them to pay my legal fees and $20,000 in compensation for the mental and emotional stress that came with that BS."
3) Organic vegetables? A big no
u/hover-lovecraft shared their HOA's rule that does not allow residents to grow edible plants. "Friends of mine are not allowed to grow anything edible in their garden. Ornamental plants only. Growing food is for the poor, apparently," they shared.
4) Renters bring down the 'look' of the neighborhood
u/BaldyTheScot shared how their HOA tried to impose a rule against renting. They wrote, "They tried to enact a change to no more than 3 houses being used as long-term rentals at any one time. In a neighborhood of 130+ homes. The reasoning was, verbatim, 'People who rent are typically lower income, lower education, and don't care about the look of our neighborhood. So they will drag down property values.' I've never seen anything shouted down so quickly in my life."
5) Having a job isn't a great thing
u/OnlyOnHBO shared how their HOA banned business vehicles for an inexplicably odd reason. "No vehicles with commercial signs on them. Like, if you had a normal pickup and on the door has "Bob's Lawncare " or something on it. Because having a job is low-class or something. Not allowing vehicles of any kind to be parked in the driveway for more than 24 hours. Sneaky way to allow the HOA to control whether you renovate your garage, IMO. And of course, typical of HOAs... classist as f*ck."
6) Drying clothes outside is old-school
u/ZugzwangNC shared how their HOA refuses to allow a basic household necessity. "No clothes lines... [it] has always been outlawed by HOAs as far as I know, and that has always seemed ridiculous to me. It's way more eco-friendly, and some actually prefer the smell and crispness of naturally air-dried clothes. The complete opposite of the rest of the world. I grew up with clotheslines, and it is actually quite nostalgic to me now."
7) Fines for children waving at each other
u/RileyMasters went down memory lane to bring out a classic. "This rule only lasted like six months, twenty-something years ago, but there was a time in the neighborhood that I was living in when the HOA banned children from gathering in groups of four or more, unless at one of the designated park areas and with a party permit. Didn’t matter if it was four friends taking a bike ride or five siblings laying about the grass out front. Instant fine. My friend’s mom ended up fined when I walked past her house with my dog, and she was outside with her three kids, and I waved."
8) Guests don't belong here
u/Informal_Bother6037 shared how their HOA went so far as to dictate who could be inside their house. "My HOA tried to say that we needed to submit a request for any overnight guests. On top of that, the request needed to include the reason for the visit, and they could only stay for 3 nights. The f*ck? That was shot down real quick. I live in a neighborhood of single-family homes with 2 and 3-car garages and good-sized driveways. A group of Karens didn’t like that some houses are closer to the common area parking and often use it for their guests to prevent street parking."
The undercurrent of these comments has been noted in the 2014 study by Cheung, Cunningham, and Meltzer, which found that when homeowners within an HOA faced distress, the neighboring properties were not necessarily protected from the resulting decline in property values. By imposing a bizarre set of rules, HOAs often end up creating frustration and backlash among homeowners instead of fostering community harmony.
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