Housing communities frequently have what is called a ‘homeowner association', backed up by strict, often stupid bylaws. This man lived in a neighborhood where the HOA literally planted little flags in front of lawns to make sure everyone understood perfectly just how tall their grass was ‘allowed to get’. In other words, this HOA was the epitome of a densely rigid association. Now, this man hated to mow his lawn… and when I say hated, I mean to say he despised it.

Home Owner's Associations often delight in trying to get people to change their homes, but this HOA extended their reach even further. For this person, their HOA didn't just try to control their property, but even made a lake their jurisdiction! As the OP wrote to r/AmItheA******, they live in a lakefront cottage. The OP is also a pilot who owns a seaplane , which they can keep conveniently parked in the water in front of their home. In an effort to keep everyone safe around the plane, the OP c…

What happens when an HOA Karen tries to enforce a rule without any real evidentiary support?

If you live in a neighborhood that has an HOA, then you know it comes with a big ‘ole governing book of laws and bylaws, etc. If you have a healthy HOA that actually helps your community and the neighbored is happy with them, then maybe you’ve never even had to glance at this book. Or maybe, like many people, you have a toxic HOA that's abusive of their leadership role and drunk on power . The kind of HOA that will ticket you for personal reason and hide it under the guise of an HOA infraction.…

Nosy neighbors always have too much time on their hands to start pointless feuds. In this case, Karen not only ignited a neighborhood fight , she also wasted valuable resources. This person shared their wild tale from a few years ago, when they first moved into a duplex. The trouble stared the day they moved in, when Karen began interrogating her new neighbor . Acting like she was the HOA, she told the OP that all fire pits and bonfires are banned from the street, then asked lots more invasive…

Parking permits: the bane of many people's existence, especially this unfortunate nurse.

Where have all the good neighbors gone?

What are you to do when you purchase something only to have the terms of sale retroactively changed by a governing association? Oh, and that governing association is controlled by the organization that sold you the thing in the first place. Well, lawyer up and hit them with a strongly worded email letting them know just angry you are. After a three-year hiatus, this landowner returned to share the grippingly realistic tale of how they managed to defeat a land developer and HOA who had changed t…

One former HOA president had had enough of the group's threats and random rules — so they tore the organization to the ground. In a dramatic story spanning decades, one person did the legal heavy lifting to demolish this HOA. I have never seen someone bring an organization to their knees quite like this guy did… I actually don't know how they could ever come back from it. After being an HOA president and being involved in the organization over quite a while, the OP shared that they switched to…

Your daily reminder that HOAs are the worst!

Some housing communities have something called a homeowner association, and oftentimes, its purpose is to act as a little parasite, bugging people to no end with ridiculous notions such as 'Making sure your lawn is green enough' — in February , no less. This man was fined for exactly that, as well as for the fact that his trash cans were 1 foot away from where they were 'supposed to be', and he found it utterly ludicrous. He refused to accept this reality, so he came up with a plan. What ensued…

This HOA Karen going on a social media rant sounds like a literal nightmare!

This guy must hate his wife!

Neighborhood HOAs do not have a good track record these days. They used to be more like an HR department for neighbors to work through conflicts and disagreements in their community. Now, they just yell at you for your property not looking a certain way they want it to look . For example, god forbid you have a few weeds growing on your lawn. Recently, a girl named Mae online posted about an HOA violation she received about the weeds on her lawn. The email was caddy and entitled and nit picky. T…

It's often said that you should never make a deal with the devil — and the same goes for HOAs. If an HOA ever comes knocking, asking if you want to participate in a duel for a golden fiddle, you would do well to politely decline… before closing — and locking — your front door.

When this couple built their home on the edge of a growing metropolis, they established their own HOA to avoid being a part of a larger HOA entity. They established themselves as president and set the hilariously bizarre rule in the bylaws that the President of the HOA was to name their successor. I feel like this HOA story has more in common with GRRM's telling of the history of the Targaryen dynasty in Fire and Blood than it reasonably should. The idea of an HOA monarchy being handed down to…