HOAs have the tendency to overstep their boundaries with residents. But when residents strike back, it’s always satisfying to see an HOA get knocked down a few notches. Here, people share the moment they spoon-fed their HOA justice.
All stories have been edited for clarity.
No Pizza For You!
“I used to be a pizza delivery driver. One Saturday I was scheduled to work.
A local HOA was throwing a pizza party for the residents. I think they were celebrating the last house being sold. They ordered a TON of pizza. They ordered so much that my manager had scheduled extra kitchen staff and had them show up an hour early just for this one order. He even gave them a discount on the pizza, since they ordered so much. There were so many pies that it took me and another driver two trips apiece to deliver it all. When we got the last boxes of pizza delivered, the manager wrote a check for the total. Couple hundred dollars and change…
…rounded up to the next dollar for our ‘tip’
So, I left and went back to the store. The manager asked me how much of a tip I got, to which I replied, ‘Eighty-seven cents.’
He didn’t believe me, so I showed him the check. My manager then asked me if I was messing with him, and if they had given me a cash tip. When I said no: He. Went. OFF! He then stormed over to the phone, called the leader of the HOA, and cussed her out for not tipping his drivers.
AFTER he had discounted the order and scheduled extra staff just for her order, and told her that he was entering that entire subdivision into the computer as: ‘Do Not Deliver.’ He then hung up, opened the cash register, and gave each of us a twenty-dollar bill for a tip.
To this day, I have no idea if any of the residents were ever able to order from that store.”
I Don’t Know You
“This happened a few years back.
Our HOA has always been known to be sneaky and to flat-out make false accusations about homeowners.
One morning my father and I decided to go get groceries. When we came outside, we found that his pickup truck had been smashed into. Nothing was taken but it had been severely damaged. In fact, I still have pictures from that day, just before the cops arrived.
When the cops arrived they found that a rock inside the truck was from a house down the street. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get my neighbors to admit to the crime, nor could they prove it was even them. Understandably, criminals will grab things they find, but the situation was suspicious. The rock I should say was a special kind of rock that no one else in the neighborhood had. After this incident, I installed security cameras around the house.
Not even two days later we got an HOA violation for a vehicle eye sore that needed to be removed. I was confused about how such a letter could have been written up so fast, but I started to suspect foul play.
One day we were home and had a knock at the door. The HOA actually called a code inspection officer! The week hadn’t even been over yet, so the parts to fix the truck weren’t delivered. Code inspection then told my father that vehicles that do not run need to be removed. Then the officer took another look at my dad and said, ‘Don’t I know you?’
It turned out the code inspection officer went to the same church as my father.
The officer then explained to my father that if he can show the truck starts, he can write it up as being in code. My father started the truck just fine. The officer then told him to go on with his day.
We were furious because we suspected the HOA had sent the code inspection officer because there was no way they could have possibly known about our car so fast. Unfortunately, our turn on the street had no neighbors with security cameras until I installed one on our house, so it caught nothing specific to our incident. Down the street, these people supposedly broke into a car as well but the camera on their house was unable to see anything.
A few days later we got another violation notice for our mailbox being crooked. It wasn’t crooked by much, but that’s when I noticed something. My car was aimed straight at it.
I took out the memory card from my dashcam and watched as the HOA inspector walked up to the mailbox. He then intentionally pushed it so that it was crooked. The video ended with him writing down his findings and taking a picture for record. I was appalled at what I saw, but I had the proof I needed.
At the next HOA meeting, they made it clear that they wanted us to be present. We had yet to tell them we had evidence of one of their board members tampering with our property.
A little later in the meeting, I presented the timelines and tell them about the truck being smashed, and just two days later we get a letter. We asked what dates the inspector was out for that time. Of course, the HOA board leader refused to answer.
Then came the mailbox incident. We shared with the HOA leader how we had reasons to believe that the inspector was the one that is causing damage to our property and has been harassing us. Once again, the HOA leader denied our claims and said that because she knew him personally, our claims didn’t make sense.
‘Oh? Is that so?’ I asked.
‘Yes, why?’ The HOA leader scowled.
I then pulled out my laptop, open up the video, and showed it to the entire board.
The HOA leader’s face is bright red. She then claimed she didn’t know the guy in the video.
That’s when other neighbors stepped forward with claims about how they saw other board members snooping around their yards. One of our neighbors, who was actually a lawyer stood up and said, ‘I have witnessed one of your inspectors digging in my trash bin and have it on camera as well!’
I didn’t even realize she had this information. I couldn’t have asked for better timing. The leader started arguing with our neighbors about no proof. The board then proceeded to apologize for the incident and said they were going to discuss what was going to happen in the future about this. At that point, the meeting was over.
A month passed before we got a letter that a new person will be in charge of the HOA.”
Mama Plays No Games
“My mom is part of a senior condo community and tried to join the HOA committee. She tried to get on their good side, she had asked too many questions about where the money from dues was going. The committee raised the HOA fee by ten percent last year for ‘maintenance costs’, but then they drained the pool and shut it down along with most of the other amenities. The HOA collected over twenty thousand a month in fees from the sixty condos, and most residents lived off of Social Security. One of the board members commented that my mother should either be with the committee or with the community. Confused by that statement, my mother stepped down.
Then, she started emailing them with her concerns about their practices. In response, the HOA told her she was harassing them and will be blocked.
Being the persistent woman that she is, my mother turned those emails into flyers and stuck it on everyone’s front door. She then went door to door to petition for the President of the HOA to step down. She got over half of the community’s signatures, but the president refused to resign.
At the next meeting, their opening statement was that the vote was going to be canceled because they ‘didn’t have enough people to vote’. Keep in mind this was a senior citizen living quarters and it’s hard for them to attend.
Well after hearing their decision, my mom filibustered the meeting and took it over. She and the community that did come decided my mom was the president and they declared that the property management is fired as well.
None of the HOA board members protested. Lastly, my mother contacted the elderly abuse line and they opened an investigation against the committee.”
Mother Goose
“We live on a small man-made lake.
We have geese that essentially live on our lake. They occasionally fly into people’s backyards, which I honestly kind of like and most people do not mind.
I woke up one Saturday morning to find three of my neighbors standing under a tree in my yard. These were the same neighbors notoriously known for bothering the geese. I knew the geese sometimes liked to sit under trees especially with the weather getting warmer. One particular goose had been sitting under a tree in my backyard for as long as a few weeks, but I had not thought much of it.
On that morning, I noted the goose was moving away from the tree and squawking while my neighbors stood there. So, I walked out on my back deck asked them what they were doing. They explained to me they were removing and destroying the eggs as the geese are a nuisance to the neighborhood.
When I asked them what authority they had to do this, they told me they were with the HOA in my neighborhood. When I again asked them what authority they had, they told me they had a meeting and agreed the geese eggs would be culled this year. I asked when the meeting was and did not receive an answer. I then asked them a third time why they were doing that. They then informed me, again that the geese were a nuisance and they would be removed.
At that point, I lost my temper. I snapped at them and stated that they were on my property not public property. They then attempted to tell me it was neighborhood lake property, and I responded that it clearly was not as the neighborhood lake property was clearly marked by the pebbles that were strewn the last 5 feet in front of the lake, not by a tree and grass in my backyard.
To my horror, they started smashing the eggs right in front of me. I was livid. My heart ached for the poor mother goose.
I ended up calling the non-emergency line for the sheriff and reported them. Long story short, my HOA was heavily fined for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. I never found out how much the fine was, but it was enough to keep them away from me.
Suffice it to say, my HOA and I remain on bad terms. I have told them if they are having HOA meetings to decide what to do with geese on my or communal property I would like to be informed in the future. They have not done so. Also, that particular goose hung around my property for a few hours, left and has not returned. The rest of the geese left a day or so later and we have not seen them since.”
See You In Court
“A few years back I was in a car accident in my company vehicle. The car was declared totaled by my insurance. Still, I chose to keep it because it was still driveable and I just had a lot of work done to it.
That forced me to file for a salvaged title and return to my registration. So I parked the car in my private garage that doesn’t have a garage door. It sat without any notice or complaint for 5 months.
One day, I removed the trunk lid to get some custom wiring done on the inside of it. The very next day, the car had disappeared from my garage. Devastated, I called the cops. They checked to see if the car was towed. Unfortunately, they did not have it on the list of towed cars.
I started filling out a report. Halfway through it, I got a call from the HOA telling me they towed the car. Frustrated and confused, I canceled the report and ask dispatch to send police to the tow yard. When I got there, the manager was standing front and center.
I wasted no time to express my frustration. ‘You stole my car and I want it returned cops are on the way.’
His response was, ‘I didn’t steal from you! The manager had me tow it.’
I then asked, ‘Was it my landlord or the HOA management who authorized this?’
He ignored me and went in his office. A few minutes later, the manager returned with a body cam, taser, and gun. I walked into the open tow yard to try to see if I could see my car but couldn’t find it locate it.
When I turned around and saw the manager, I froze.
‘Get out of the yard or I’ll taze you.’
I snapped out of it and started walking away, but the manager took a swing at me as I passed. he starts to push me. I was about to turn to grab him, but I saw the cops pulling up. Holding my composure, I calmly walked towards cops, ignoring the guy as I walk out the gate.
The cops informed me it was a civil matter and that I had to take them to court. So, I left and head to court to file the paperwork. It took a month to get the papers filed because Ihad to send a demand letter and other steps before I could file.
After doing some research, I also contacted the HOA management company and informed them that the Tow company’s business license was revoked a long time ago. I also included the many violations they committed by having my car towed. In turn, the idiot that was in charge of my property told me if I file a lawsuit him and his ‘buddies’ will make me regret it. As a precaution, I requested a Temporary Protection Orders and proceeded with the lawsuit.
A few days later, the HOA’s Vice President reached out to me on social media and asked me to attend their next meeting. I informed him that the HOA manager has TPO and he cannot be there.
The next day, I showed up to the meeting genuinely hoping an agreement could be made. As soon as I walked in, I immediately saw the TPO guy. I informed him that he needed to leave and that he was in violation. That’s when the vice president told me he had cops on way to trespass me from the clubhouse because I wasn’t an owner. That day, I left without incident or yelling.
The day the case was brought to court, the HOA tried to defend their actions by citing a vague code from their list of rules and provided pictures of my car showing how it ‘violated’ their regulations.
However, the judge immediately stopped the case and said she heard enough. ‘HOAs are not allowed to tow cars in the neighborhood anymore period.’
The judge then ordered the HOA to pay the hefty tow bill and told me to file a small claims action to get paid for loss of use.
When we walked out of the courtroom the tow company diver said, ‘We will leave your car out on the street in front of the tow yard.’
I told them, ‘Tow it back to my house.’
The tow truck driver shrugged and said he didn’t have to. So, I turned back to the judge and asked, ‘Could you please have them return the car to where they towed it from?’
The judge stood up from her chair and said, ‘If he wants you to tow it to New York you will do it and charge the HOA whatever the cost; you are lucky you’re not going to jail for auto theft.’
The HOA manager started to speak but was immediately interrupted by the bailiff warning him to settle down.
Oh, the sweet taste of justice.”
