Article Courtesy of Yahoo
News
By Laurelle Stelle
Published August 2, 2023
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Florida homeowner Denise Wuetcher recently entered a legal battle with her HOA
over her right to use a clothesline in her own backyard, reports Fox 13 News.
Wuetcher initially applied to install the line behind her Venice, Florida, home
in 2018. The Verona Reserve Homeowners Association initially granted the
request.
But after Wuetcher started using the line, the HOA sent her a notice saying that
she was in violation because the clothesline was visible from the street. To
keep it out of sight, Wuetcher would need to move it closer to her home — where
the building would block the sunlight and where wind-blown clothes would touch
the siding and get dirty.
For every day Wuetcher refused to move the clothesline, the HOA fined her $100,
quickly reaching the maximum allowed fine of $2,500.
A screenshot of the Fox 13 News article was shared on Reddit in 2021, where
users express disbelief that an HOA could be that powerful.
“That sounds utterly nuts, and based on a highly subjective take on what’s
‘desirable’ in a neighborhood,” says one commenter. Another asks, “Wait, the HOA
is a real thing? I thought that was TV.”
“I never realized this was a possibility,” another says.
HOAs in the U.S. often have the capability to ban home modifications that don’t
fit the desired appearance of the neighborhood. However, as Wuetcher’s lawyer,
James Potts Sr. points out, the Verona Reserve HOA doesn’t have a specific rule
against visible clotheslines.
“[The HOA] have not properly referenced, or put us on notice, precisely which
covenant or which bylaw we have broken,” he says. He also states that Wuetcher
has a legal right to put her clothesline “in the place where it’s most
efficient, where you can make the most use of the sun.”
Wuetcher isn’t the first to have trouble with an HOA about eco-friendly home
upgrades. One homeowner says they forced an HOA to back down after showing them
the exact state law they were breaking by restricting the use of solar panels.
Another isn’t sure how to proceed after a similar refusal.
Challenging these decisions often requires legal action — but many states have
laws in place to protect homeowners’ efforts to be environmentally friendly.
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