HOA kept making excuses to ban his beloved backyard windmill — until his answer exposed their bias
The HOAs were acting out in 'selective rule enforcement,' enforcing rules on them while ignoring violations by favorite neighbors
A Homeowners Association (HOA) is designed to maintain aesthetic appeal and property boundaries in a residential community. However, problems arise when their rules turn into enforcement for residents, robbing them of autonomy over their own properties. In a May 5, 2026, Reddit post, a resident (u/Warm-Delivery1418) shared an instance when the HOA used selective rule enforcement to shun their dream of installing a windmill. They responded with the perfect comeback by exposing other rule violations in the neighborhood that were never questioned.
The HOA's pet project
The resident mentioned that their single-family house comes under the governance of an HOA that comprises a 4-person board and a management company. Before moving into this house, they read the CCRs (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions) to ensure that their property abided by the rules. But as it turned out, over the past seven years, the board and the five-member architectural modification committee seemed to be reshaping the neighborhood around their personal preferences. Some residents even tried getting on board but couldn’t.
Unreasonable expenses
A year earlier, the HOA filed what the resident called an “exclusive Spectrum fiber deal,” according to which every homeowner would have to pay $70 per month for a TV/internet package apart from the dues, as compared to the $60 they paid at the time, which covered both trash and monument maintenance. It didn’t cross their mind that the management was covertly planning to charge $350 per house.
8-foot windmill dream shattered
The resident had been chalking out a project to install an 8-foot windmill in their house quarters. Each of the two times they approached the HOA for permission, the request was denied. The first denial came because of height. According to the management, eight feet was too tall, and the tallest they could do was six feet. The resident tried to point out dozens of structures, including play sets, trampolines, and sports courts that exceeded 10 feet in height, but received no meaningful response. The second time, the board banned the windmills altogether, silently updating the rules.
The resident complained that the HOAs were acting out in “selective rule enforcement,” enforcing the rules on them while ignoring violations by preferred or favorite neighbors. They walked around the neighborhood, noting dozens of violations that had been existing for years, and sent the list to the management. “I’m poking the hornet’s nest. If they want strict compliance, they can have it across the board and deal with people who might be angry enough to vote them out,” they confessed.
How HOAs can disempower communities
According to a study published in the Journal of Urban Economics, nearly 60% of the single-family homes in the United States are governed by HOAs, slowly growing to 80% in many areas. While their rules support environmental protection and urban aesthetics, they can sometimes feel harsh, which ends up restricting homeowners’ freedom on property modifications and ornamentation.
Readers offered a crucial advice
In this case, the readers said that despite the HOA’s inconsistent enforcement of rules, there could have been a better way to deal with the situation. u/Euphoric_General_480 suggested collaborating with neighbors and launching a collective rebellion to dissolve the HOA and not the other way around. “You're letting the HOA turn you into the very monster you are trying to fight,” they said. u/BamaTony64 remarked, “According to your state, if the windmill produces energy or runs a pump, they may not be allowed to prohibit it.”
More on Scoop Upworthy
HOA banned a resident's 12-inch cross. He responded with a lawsuit that made them cough up $70000
Share on Facebook
