HOA demanded a resident mow a 47-degree hillside near a sinkhole. He had one problem: their own survey said it couldn't be done
'To make things worse, their mowers slide down to the bottom of the hill while mowing.'
South Carolina resident u/AjayVPai faced a common but unique problem with his HOA. When he bought his house four years ago, the builder made sure he understood that he could "only build a retaining wall and do nothing else on that slope except occasionally trimming down the vegetation." The slope was 63 ft x 18 ft, or approximately 1,200 sq ft, and is right next to a drainage hole or sinkhole-like outlet at the bottom of the slope. In September 2026, he received a violation from the HOA for not mowing the slope. He kept telling them it wasn't possible, but they refused to believe him. When they finally sent someone to survey his property, they had to eat their own words. The post was shared on October 22, 2026, and it had 28 upvotes and 44 comments.
No weed-whacking
For four years, the author maintained the slope on his property by hiring contractors to weed-whack the natural vegetation. He paid his last contractor $150 to maintain it weekly. But recently, his HOA said that he was violating their rules by not mowing the slope. He explained there was no turf on the slope, so it could not be mowed. He suggested he continue to maintain it by weed-whacking, but the board refused to listen. He wanted to do what they asked, but no contractors were willing to mow a slope. He was also concerned about erosion since his house was 20 to 25 feet away from the easement.
The author was willing to pay contractors to work, and even offered teenagers to mow the slope for him, but no one wanted to take on the hassle. He explained, "The contractors refuse to weed whack to 4 or 5 inches as it's exhausting... They say it's not worth it. To make things worse, their mowers slide down to the bottom of the hill while mowing. Plus, they say the steep slope can topple the mower, so they can only safely weedwhack to 10-20 inches." But the HOA still wanted him to make it "presentable, perfect as per their standards."
Running to 'feel' the slope
Almost a month later, a member of the board came to the author's house to survey the slope. After checking the property, the board member said they needed "engineering approvals" if they wanted to make any modifications to the slope. Since there was a drainage hole or sinkhole-like outlet at the bottom of the slope at the bottom, it would be the first to be affected if there was erosion. But the funniest part was, "He ran up and down the hill two or three times to feel the slope, which was hilarious, but finally he sent in a report in my favor," the author explained. For now, he is waiting for the HOA to respond and hopefully let him continue maintaining it the way he did all these years.
Comment
by u/AjayVPai from discussion
in HOA
HOA rules
Americans are divided over how much control homeowners associations should have over landscaping. In a 2023 YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults (September 1- 4, 2023), 59% said HOAs should not be allowed to set landscaping rules, while 27% believed they should. In this homeowner’s case, the dispute ultimately came down less to appearance than to whether the hillside could actually be maintained safely.
Grading options
Several netizens tried to come up with a solution for the author, but a few were concerned about him living next to a drainage hole or sinkhole-like outlet at the bottom of the slope. u/EcstaticRevolution51 asked, "Who owns the property the hill is on? Either it is common use for the development, or it is your property, which is why the HOA is asking you to cut it. (Part of the covenant's directives)." u/Bigfamei commented, "Find different contractors to mow the d*mn yard. You might look into grading services to reduce the grade to make it easier to maintain in the future."
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