Homeowners associations are great at getting a neighbor to mow his lawn. But they can also be a costly source of frustration.
Clare Trapasso (via Realtor.com)
Photo: Telnyawka/iStock
Homeowners associations can be fantastic at getting deadbeat neighbors to mow their lawn, maintaining the community pool and clubhouse, and dissuading the woman across the street from painting her house a particularly noxious shade of neon pink. But they can also be a costly source of frustration for those who run afoul of their many, many, many rules.
The most common HOA fine is for improper landscaping, according to a recent Porch survey of more than 700 residents of HOA communities. Porch is an online marketplace connecting homeowners to home improvement professionals.
“The most surprising thing about these fines was how silly some of they were,” says Tori Rubloff, a project manager at Porch who put the survey together. “If your trash is out too early or you’re too excited about the holidays or you simply want to have a different hue in your exterior paint color, you can be fined.”
There were more than 300,000 HOAs in 2016, according to Porch. They can be found in suburban neighborhoods filled with single-family houses as well as urban apartment or condo buildings.
The other most common fines were for putting out the trash too early—or too late; improper or untimely holiday decorations; owning a pet; improperly parked vehicles; renting out rooms; and speeding through the neighborhood.
HOA members have also been fined for things like adding a deck, patio, or fence without permission from the association; painting a home an unapproved color; and paying HOA dues late.
