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HOA rules
aren't made to be broken |
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Article Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel By Beth Kassab Published September 13, 2012
Renee
Parker was tired of the water bill and aggravation that came with maintaining a
lawn of
Last year she let the grass die and began replacing it with hardier plants that can survive off rain, including Argentine Bahia grass. That
seemingly simple act was a lot more than a hard day's yardwork. It was the
opening salvo in the latest homeowner-vs.-homeowners association dispute to make
headlines in Bahia
grass isn't permitted in Summerport, Parker's neighborhood in
She planted it anyway, and now the association is suing her. A local environmental activist said the Parker family is being "bullied by their homeowners association for converting to Florida-friendly landscaping."
That's how these stories typically go. The big, bad HOA is accused of intimidating, tormenting or otherwise oppressing the little homeowner who just wants to build a basketball court behind the garage. Or install a 13-foot flagpole to fly the American flag. Or display five pictures of nude women in the front yard.
These are all real examples. We're supposed to sympathize with the homeowner whose athleticism, patriotism or artistic expression is being quashed by the HOA. We're supposed to wring our hands about the unfairness of it all and demand an exception to the rules.
But when you step back from the emotional appeal of these stories, you're left with a renegade homeowner who is flouting rules that are in place for a very important reason.
HOAs protect our property values. They maintain flowers in the medians and make sure the playground or the tennis court is kept clean. They make sure your neighbor doesn't construct a 10-foot tribute to Elvis on his lawn. "I
characterize them as mini-democracies," said Pete Dunbar, a His sober reasoning makes the whining seem even more shrill. If you buy a house in a place governed by a set of rules, and you don't bother to learn what those rules are, then you really can't blame anybody but yourself.
If you haven't done this, call your HOA and request a copy today. And keep in mind, when your HOA board denies your basketball hoop, it's probably not because board members hate basketball.
It's
because the hoop is against the rules. And unless the rules are changed, the
boards are obligated to enforce them consistently. If they don't, then all of
the rules become meaningless, and suddenly your neighbor is no longer prohibited
from building his giant tribute to Elvis. And who wants that?
So when Parker thumbed her nose at her HOA and planted her Bahia grass, she risks allowing other neighbors to do whatever they like as well. Parker
says she has the law on her side because
Her concern for our resources is admirable. We should all be doing more to conserve water. But
Doug Stafford, a vice president on the Summerport association, says that while
the board prohibits The problem is that stories like this tend to perpetuate the belief that HOAs are dictatorships. You might have a different view when your neighbor decides to park his 40-foot motor home in the driveway. |