The Racist History of your Homeowners’ Association

Photo by Breno Assis on Unsplash

If I’m ever lucky enough to be able to afford a house (work reasons have me stuck in a very high cost of living area), I have one rule:

No homeowners’ association. (Condos are a different matter; condos need some arrangement to pay for common areas). And yes, this does mean that it might be a challenge; there are 351,000 HOAs in the United States.

Most people have, or have heard, a plethora of HOA horror stories. This includes pet bans, sign size limits, fights over flags, and in some cases truly stupid rules. Here’s some ridiculous HOA rules I found:

• Leave your garage door open all day to prove nobody’s living there. Meaning you can’t store stuff in your garage.
• Specific rules for the color of swingsets and playhouses…that are in your back yard.
• Requirements for blinds rather than curtains. Horizontal blinds. The ones dangerous to children and pets.
• A rule to park all vehicles in garages, whether they fit or not.
• No drying clothes in your backyard (note, in some states this is illegal).
• No yard flamingoes.
• Requiring lawns. In the desert.
• No politics or religion. On your own property.