A man building a metal roof and an HOA meeting.
Currently, around one in five Americans live in a residential area with a Homeowner’s Association (HOA), and it's not a popular choice. A YouGov poll found that 14% of Americans prefer living in a neighborhood with an HOA, while 61% do not.
A big reason Americans don't like HOAs is that they don’t enjoy being regulated over the choices they make for their homes. They want noise and garbage regulations, but most people don’t want the HOA interfering with their landscaping, fences, or home renovations—a great example of HOAs being a burden on homeowners comes from a story out of Florida.
This Florida HOA was way out of bounds
A Redditor whose parents live in an HOA-controlled community hit hard by two hurricanes posted their amazing revenge against an overzealous HOA in a viral Reddit post. The homeowners had roof damage and wanted to repair it by installing a metal roof. “My folks looked through roofing options and determined that a metal roof would be a great option to reduce damage/maintenance on their home. Plus, it would serve as a more energy-efficient option with passive solar collection and fewer thermal losses in the summer/winter,” the poster wrote.
A man installing a metal roof.via Canva/Photos
The couple even tried to do things by the book, but after sending in their plans, they didn't hear back from the HOA. After two months of waiting for a response, they went ahead and installed their metal roof. The HOA then fined them $25,000 for installing a roof in violation of HOA rules and demanded that they tear it down and build a new one. The HOA cited a rule prohibiting metal roofs in the neighborhood from 1989, when metal roofs weren't as advanced as they are today. The father, a former Navy officer and contract negotiator, wasn’t going to back down.
Why did the HOA need that money so badly?
The poster believed that the HOA was trying to squeeze money out of the family because it had run out of cash after an expensive “Welcome to...” sign on the property was damaged in a hurricane.
A few weeks later, there was a meeting at the HOA where the parents could plead their case. “So my mom (because she’s more social/has a better temper than dad) comes up to speak, and lets the HOA know that they can’t do this. HOA smirks and says that they sure can, they have a 40-year-old statute saying that they can,” the poster wrote. “You do. But I have state law on my side, which supersedes your statute,” the mom said, showing the ace she had up her sleeve.
A Chevy driving through the rain.via Canva/Photos
In their research, the couple learned that the state of Florida has a law that supersedes HOAs and prohibits HOAs from preventing eco-friendly improvements on anyone’s property. A metal roof is an eco-friendly improvement. Admitting defeat, the HOA asked, “Is that all?” and the mom had more to say.
“I see in the bylaws that we can vote to impeach board members at any HOA meeting and to elect their replacements. I move to impeach all of you. I nominate my husband, and...” she then rattled off a list of names, and HOA was stunned. The parents had asked their friends in the neighborhood to attend the meeting, and they voted to impeach the board. The parents, along with friends they nominated, took their seats as the new heads of the HOA, and metal roofs are now allowed in the neighborhood.