15 HOA Rules Residents Don't Like

HOAs and rules.  Some residents believe that's what an HOA is -- rules they don't like.  This is a business issue for you and a branding nightmare.

While you're planning everything from your association rules to rules enforcement to your association communications strategy, you may want to understand the issues more deeply and discover how to communicate the value of rules for residents.

You might get smiles instead of angry frowns.

For some residents, the word HOA translates to unpleasant rules that make living happily a challenge, while for others they're a source of confidence in the community. If only 25% of residents give you a hard time about the rules, it can slow your management down.

In our discussions of launching an homeowners association in various states from Florida to Illinois, we spoke of creating rules that are moderate at first, to get an initial gauge of which should crystalize for the long term. 

For sure, all HOA rules must be enforced or the association will break down. Any enforcement agency that picks and chooses how and who it will apply the rules to will not have the confidence of constituents. In some HOAs this results in low community engagement, resistance, media contact, lawsuits, and refusal to pay.

Governing with Flexibility?

Rule enforcements could come with warnings for first time offenders, or with grace periods to comply with or take steps thereof. Flexibility can be offered as long as the homeowner/violator shows progress to compliance. 

This training for compliance might be the key to good management. Flexibility often involves guidance, patience and time.

That orientation should be mentioned in the association documentation so it's firm and clearly stated. Of course, residents should be given time to pay fines and to get a hearing about the offense. In some states, hearings are mandatory, which highlights why flexibility can save a lot of future work for you.

Offense notices should use kind language and ask residents to contact the board if they don't understand the broken rule incident. 

You might say it's flexibility in the time it takes the non-complier to understand and comply to the notice.  You might follow that by thanking them for helping to create a great community for all.

Interviewing and Polling and Reviewing Complaints

Yes, collecting and reviewing data can help you discover the real pain points to let you focus your communications strategy to lessen the hostility.

You can use ManageCasa's polling feature to allow residents to vent and offer their insight into why they don't like the rules. Afterward, your community portal or newsletter can respond to complaints and restrictions broadly and show how enforcement is improving the HOA. Improvement is hard to argue against.

Rules are a Big Matter so they Need to Be Well Designed

Let's talk about the association rules now and which are likely to be disliked or hated by residents.  Because these are the rules that will cause your team the most time, energy and friction.

You can streamline violation notices and payments via your HOA software platform, and keep your board completely transparent and informative, but it might not be enough. Even with that, residents may not pay their fines, and may hold back on dues and assessments. 

How  Do Residents Feel?

YouGov published their survey of resident's attitudes regarding HOA rules, indicating where stingent rules are needed and where not. Respondents were most concerned about noise, trash bins, and parking. These appear to be the issues that cause the most discomfort and friction in neighborhoods. 

Holiday decorations, home paint colors, and home renovations were the issues respondents felt are too strict. It appears they want you to crack down on the former and ease up on the latter.

Above Graphic courtesy of Yougov.com

In other HOA surveys (something you can do in ManageCasa's Platform), parking, pets and noise topped the list of issues on resident's issues. Once you get some insight on the type and why of their resentment, you might be able to develop a strategy to communicate the specific value of adhering to the rules.

Specifying a specific, understood limit helps them comprehend the borderline between good behavior and bad behavior. 

What are the Most Hated HOA Rules?

This list below covers the most cited:

1. landscaping, planting and lawn cutting - a beautiful lawn or garden is a point of quality living and enjoyment, while for other residents, letting the land go wild is okay. Each type may resent the constant effort or costs of maintenance, and the constraints against doing what they please on their land. Going beyond aesthetics to bug and vermin control is an example of providing solid, persuasive reasoning for the rules.
2. trash collection - how residents dispose of various types of waste, keeping trash bins closed, and putting them out to the street and removing them, and using recycling and composting bins.
3. home appearance and paint colors - the use of approved colors on houses and garages and even accents. It might come down to shades of acceptable colors.
4. holiday decorations -- home and yard decorations for Halloween, Xmas and other common celebrations and the placement, time limits and sizes of displays. A "Clark Griswold" Xmas light show might not be a bad thing for community spirit given it's only for a few weeks.
5. architectural design changes -- changes to internal and external structures need to be approved for safety or neighborhood aesthetics. Sometimes residents need to see video or photos of unchecked renovations and the actual harm it does to home values in the community.
6. parking & vehicles -- parking in driveways, streets or designated extra spaces for visitors might point out that people drive more than expected, and that vehicles are essential to their lifestyles.
7. fees and fines -- monthly dues and violation fine amounts themselves are rarely seen as positives for residents. The higher they are, the more reasoning and reassurance are needed.
8. pet behavior -- keeping pets from barking, wandering off leash, defecating on others lawns and in parks is important.  The issue of too many pets and large dogs is conflict with the current culture.
9. noise and parties -- parties, party sizes, noise levels, vehicle and machine noise, and numbers of visitors at the home.  The value of peace and quiet for health and happiness should be promoted.
10. renting home and ADUs - renting out homes for vacationers on VRBO or Airbnb or having an ADU in backyard for rentals creates extra costs and often brings safety and security issues, which residents may want to overlook. 
11. occupant limits -- the allowable number of inhabitants in a home. The housing crisis is creating overcrowding so countering the need for density is a challenge.
12. personal behavior -- harassment, loudness, profanity, nudity and other unflattering behavior toward others or neighbors pets. Encouraging respect for our neighbors is easier if residents are more visible to each other, thus to be more accountable after the fact.
13. yard signs and flags -- putting signs on lawns for notices or business use, and the raising of flags. Raising a USA flag is patriotic if reasonable in size and encouraging that is better than other flags or signs they might erect.
14. recreational vehicles -- the storage of large recreational vehicles, boats, ATV's and motorcycles. Homeowners are affluent and can afford extra vehicles which might be placed out of sight from roadways.
15. snow removal -- frequency of snowfall and parking requirements related to street snowplows as well snow removal on resident's own sidewalks.  These can be presented as a safety issue appealing to the safety of children and pedestrians. 

As you can see, the issues are broadly consistent.  The matter of conflict prevention involves persuasive communications with some careful thought as to how you paraphrase your requests and the tone of voice you use.  This is where being a master communicator is essential, and will help boost compliance and reduce a lot of grief and extra work for your team.

And if that doesn't work you can always develop a plan to resolve complaints and conflicts effectively and handle your HOA violations proactively.

Each US state has unique rules on properties and behaviors, and typically, their own unique complaint profiles.  See more on the rules and regulations in Texas POAs, North Carolina HOAs, and homeowners associations in Arizona, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, and Georgia.

Contact our HOA specialists to learn more about ManageCasa's All in One HOA management platform.