You’ve seen it more times than you can count: rebellious homeowners living on the edge (or over the edge) of the HOA rules. While “rebellious” is probably a strong word in most cases, you are faced with a dilemma either way. You have to enforce HOA rules, but you don’t want to seem like the neighborhood rent-a-cop.
Perhaps doing your job would be a little easier if you understood why people skirt the rules. Are they daring you to stop them, or are they simply not well informed? Let’s take a look at some of the reasons homeowners might be breaking — or at least bending — the rules.
- Poor Communication — It’s possible that not all HOA members are clear on what the rules are; especially if they’re new. This is one of the reasons why good communication is so important.
- Poor Enforcement — If your organization has a history of not enforcing the rules, it will be difficult to change course and get people to buy in. It takes time, but the more lenient you are, the more problems you are likely to have — and they’re contagious among homeowners. (“If Joe can leave his holiday lights up for ‘Christmas in July’ then so can I.”)
- Inconsistent Enforcement — Enforcement must apply to all homeowners, all the time. If people see inconsistency, they’ll probably think they can get away with a lot of stuff.
- “Irrational” Rules — As an HOA, you do your best to ensure rules are rational and enforceable. If a certain rule is consistently broken by many, it could be time to examine it closer. Or, perhaps you have an irrational homeowner on your hands (in which case, may the force be with you).
- Complex Rules — If your rules state that quiet hours begin at 10pm on Wednesdays, but 11pm on Saturdays and every third Monday and bank holiday, people will have a hard time keeping track of all the nuances. The more clear-cut your rules are, the easier they’ll be to understand and enforce.
- Too Many Changes — If rules have changed or are frequently tweaked, it’s hard to expect everyone to keep up. Try to keep rules as constant as possible, and communicate any changes clearly and repeatedly.
It’s super frustrating when homeowners defy the rules. But more often than not, it’s some kind of misunderstanding or personal circumstance that puts people outside the law. The best thing you can do as a manager is ensure rules are simple, consistently enforce HOA rules, and clearly communicated.
Meredith Pond
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I took over as president of our HOA after the past president did nothing to enforce the rules. He was part of the problem, one of the biggest violators, and had the mindset that he was the president and could do whatever he wanted. Meanwhile, the neighborhood looked like crap, our housing values were going down, and the management company did nothing as far as inspections or enforcement of the rules. As a homeowner living in the development, I had had enough and stepped up, we forced him out, and I became president. The first thing I did was get rid of the management company that was basically collecting a check. I updated and distributed the rules and regulations books, which had not been done since I served on the board 8 years ago as secretary, started a quarterly newsletter, and began using Nextdoor as our social media site to keep people informed. One year later the neighborhood looks so much better, houses are selling, and after getting the finances in order and delinquent accounts paid up, we’re now trying to focus on enforcing bigger issues such as maintaining fences, which we have a lot in this community. The Board has gotten threats through email, phone, and our property manager has received threats as well. All of the Board members live in the development so we have an investment in making sure that the HOA is running correctly. It’s been difficult, but those who are pushing back are in the minority and we’ve had some good feedback from most of the other homeowners. If you have a good management company, a good HOA lawyer, and you read your rules and regulations and declarations, violators have no leg to stand on. If you let them know you will not be moved by threats, those who push back will eventually comply or either move. When we have hearings, we show them in the R&R and/or the DCCRS where the violation is and we make it very clear that we didn’t create them, they were created by the Builder and when they move into an HOA, they signed a legally binding contract that they would abide by the rules. They have no leg to stand on because they know they signed the contract as owners and it is enforceable. I can’t stress how important it is to enforce the rules and utilize the power of the HOA to keep your neighborhood looking good. Once you have things going downhill everybody will follow suit (as in this case) and it’s so much harder to try to get people back in line and keep the neighborhood looking great vs. managing the community the way it should be when the HOA is first started.
Excellent example, Chloe. Thank you for sharing!
Unbelievable Chloe. You are one of the main reasons HOA homeowners are fighting back. This Nazi-like attitude with people’s homes and property is disturbing. You write, “If you have a good management company, a good HOA lawyer, and you read your rules and regulations and declarations, violators have no leg to stand on.” Unfortunately, you don’t seem to understand what an adhesion contract is. A real contract is where people negotiate and the lack of negotiation and the hard-nosed attitude of people who have nothing better to do than to police their neighbors is the reason values are falling in HOAs. You know don’t you that one of the biggest selling points in buying a home now is NO HOA. I feel sorry for your neighbors. do commend you on the newsletter and posting the rules–openness and transparency are always good, yet your intractable stance makes me glad you are not my neighbor.
I just wanted to say I love this blog, and so do my neighbors. I appreciate the thoughtful content here. Really. I’m impressed by the cartoons. They’re so spot on.
Sirinya, that’s very nice of you to say. I really appreciate you letting us know. Have a great day!