The other day when I received my water bill, the town where I live included in the mailing their most frequent code violations that occur. After I was done reading the list it just clarified in my mind, and reminded me that homeowner associations are just small governments that are trying to keep their communities safe, while trying to maintain/increase the value of the resident’s homes.
Whether it is a municipality’s deed restrictions or codes or an HOA’s Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions, they are there and in place for the benefit of the majority and should be respected as such. After all of these years I am still amazed that people buy in a community and have no idea what they have agreed to!
Here is my town’s Top 10 Code Violations List. Except for a few items, the violations are pretty much what an association experiences as well;
1. Setting out garbage cans too early and not bringing them in and storing the cans or recycle bins in a timely manner. We all know the neighbor who comes home from work and walks past the empty garbage cans and there they sit for the next 2 days! Didn’t they notice them?
2. Boat and recreational vehicle parking in the front of the home or in the driveway. What do they not understand about this rule? Yet, and so it goes on.
3. Proper and accepted landscape maintenance. My standard is “you just know it, when you see it.” You know it when something is messy. I don’t need a detailed definition for this one.
4. Improper vehicles being parked or stored at a home, such as, abandoned and unregistered vehicles. Also, a commercial vehicle being parked in residential area is not allowed as well. See #2 above.
5. Designated nuisances that would threaten public health, safety and welfare.
6. Housing violations, such as too many people living in a residence. Many documents address this issue as well. The municipality and the association documents may be in conflict and it is my contention that the stricter code/rule would prevail. In addition, this situation also creates parking problems as well in a neighborhood or an HOA.
7. Illegal accumulation of abandoned property and debris. We all have seen the neighbor that never puts anything away or stores it on the side of the house for a year and it just kind of grows and accumulates in size over time!
8. Building permits not being pulled for improvements. This would be the same as an association requiring ARC approvals from an owner prior to improvement being installed.
9. Tax Registration for businesses.
10. Prohibited signs. This happens in every neighborhood, whether it is in the window, not in the window, too large, too many…the list goes on.
As you can tell from this list, whether you call them code violations or document violations, municipalities and homeowner associations are up against the same problems. The next time that neighbor who complains about the HOA and that they wish they had bought in a neighborhood without an HOA, show them this article and maybe it will sink in that it is not he HOA that is the problem!
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