Published Date 9/16/2022
No pets. It is often stated in rental ads, which is one of the reasons many people become homeowners. Now homeowners associations around the country have suddenly developed a severe dislike for animals, with countless homeowners battling it out with their HOAs over the right to house, feed, or take care of an animal, according to Realtor’s Meera Pal.
“We understand that HOAs have a role and duty to uphold. It’s the job of the HOA to ensure that the community looks its best and functions smoothly,” says Pal. “And the rules are typically in place to ensure the neighborhood doesn’t go to the dogs, figuratively and literally. But at what point do an HOA’s covenants, conditions, and restrictions (commonly called CC&Rs) go too far and start moving into the ‘ruining your life’ territory?”
She tells the story of how one Texas couple learned the hard way that when the HOA tells you to stop doing something, it means business. The couple ultimately decided to sell their house in Cypress, TX, after their HOA sued them and threatened to foreclose on their home for feeding the ducks that waddle around their subdivision. They said providing snacks to their feathered friends was not only therapeutic; it was also the right thing to do, since the ducks were once pets and then released into the wild. Their attorney told the Washington Post that the lawsuit was truly the silliest lawsuit he had ever seen in his practice.
Another story is one of porcine proportions. “Poor Arnold not only has to contend with being on a diet, but she is also dealing with an HOA that wants her kicked out of her home” says Pal, recounting a story from the Cincinnati Enquirer. Arnold is a female pot bellied pig who found herself smack dab in the middle of a legal battle with not one, but two dueling lawsuits. An HOA there is suing a couple for keeping a pig in their Ohio home. But the Prices filed their own federal civil rights lawsuit, claiming the HOA is discriminating against the couple’s partial heritage because Arnold is a traditional Vietnamese pet—and an essential part of the wife’s home country’s heritage and culture.
A Hawaii resident is facing a $100 daily fine because her tenants feed two wild cats at her condo complex and so far, she’s racked up a whopping $26,000 in fines. But this resident has no intention of depriving Bob and Carol (the cats) of their daily feedings, because the felines have lived at the Kona, HI, condo complex longer than this benevolent homeowner has owned her condo. While she claims community cats don’t bother a soul, the HOA told her that feeding the cats was against the rules. However, she says, there is precedence since the community fed a cat named Uncle until he passed on, and that the Hawaii statute that says withholding food or water from animals in a place they consider home is animal cruelty and a second-degree misdemeanor.
So when is a hen considered a pet and not a farmyard animal? A Roswell, GA, couple is learning the hard way that this may not be an easy question to answer, having been recently ordered to remove their two chickens. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Willow Springs HOA told the couple that they could not keep the chickens as pets because they were concerned about avian flu as well as the chickens attracting coyotes to the neighborhood. But their attorney says the issue stems from cultural differences, since the family still observes many of the customs of the country of their origins.
So who is winning the pet wars? Pal says the next story is a victorious one. A Raleigh, NC, man won in court against the HOA that had ordered him to remove the doggy treat station outside his home. “The HOA told Chuck Pringle to get rid of the snack stop because it was in the city’s right-of-way, which the community’s CC&Rs govern,” says Pal. “Pringle disagreed, refused to remove the treat station, and decided to take the HOA to court for overreaching.” And in the end, the court decided that the HOA had exceeded its authority under the covenants.
To be fair, it is up to the homeowners to know what they’re getting into when it comes to their HOA.So the best way to deal with an HOA is to make sure they are a good fit in the first place instead of the other way around. In other words, even if you’re crazy about buying a neighborhood or building whose HOA doesn’t allow dogs and you have a dog, find a different place. If, however, you end up in a sticky situation with your HOA, there are a few things you can do to help the situation. First, ensure you know and understand the CC&Rs. Next, get everything in writing, including your requests and the HOA’s responses. But don’t go at this with an ax to grind; be pleasant since you have to see these people daily. Enlist help: if you think a rule should be changed, get your neighbors to join you in a petition. And most of all, don’t stop paying your dues.
“Remember,” says Pal. “The HOA is a disparate group of people brought together solely because they all chose the same community in which to live.” In other words, it’s a collection of many different personalities and drives all rolled up into one HOA. In other words, diplomacy is the way to go.
Realtor, TBWS
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