Home Owners Association - Going Ballistic

[rakpix]

You do not indicate where you are from which might make a big difference. Here, in TX, an HOA has quite a bit of power and is assumed to be correct if things go to court. The kicker is they have the power to intimidate and coerce HOA members through fines without even going to court. So fines can be levied and allowed to build before anything gets to a legal resolution. I suggest you read your covenants very closely along with any state statutes addressing HOA powers and authority and compare those with any official letters you have received.

OP here. yes, i'm in texas. and yes, she is threatening a fine (actually, threatening my landlord with a fine). as to the legality of storing cylinders, am i correct that a scuba cylinder is only HAZMAT when being filled/transported (thats why blending techs need to take HAZMAT refreshers every three years?) if so, how could this HOA superseded the law?

The following is not intended to constitute legal advice. Nobody is going to be able to give the OP a proper answer until the OP responds to the questions posed in the responses. How were the cylinders even visible? How and where were they stored? What state does the OP reside in? When the OP says that he was accused of violating the complex's deed restrictions, the OP needs to be much more specific. Which particular deed restriction(s) did the OP allegedly violate?

the cylinders were not visible. i keep them stored in an interior closet with 500-700 psi. she most likely witnessed my transporting them to/from the car. and, as stated above: i live in texas. apparantly - from reading your responses - this means the HOA could call in an airstrike if they felt the need.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I was on the board of my HOA. You can't ignore them. They have a lot more power than you think. They can issue fines and eventually put a lien on your house. I've seen a small issue turn into a $750 bill because the owner ignored the warnings and the HOA hired an attorney. We would often go to great lenghts to avoid doing that, including waiving fees and fines, but once the attorney was retained, all opportunity was lost.

It also won't do any good to get into an argument with this woman. Keep in mind the board members are people too. When I was on the board, I made it my mission to try and shutdown the Nazis on the board. If you start a fight you will force any of the board members that might have had sympathy for you to her side.

Your best chance is to show up at the board meeting and make your case directly to the whole board. Hopefully, they will side with you and it's done once and for all. When I was on the board, our group would almost always waive fees and make exceptions for those that showed up in person. Remember, they don't want the hassel either. It's more difficult for them to make an unresonable ruling with the owner standing in front of them. When we issued fines and late fees when the owners would show up and ask to be let off, we would ALWAYS do it. It was only those that started letter-writing campaigns or ignored us that we would not work with. Face to face is your faster, better, cheaper way to handle this...

 

[D_B]

That sounds reasonable, Deep Sea
Get ALL the information you need first, if that means a lawyer to guide you than see one too ... and then go see the HOA, as apposed to writing a letter to them

 

[Jim Lapenta]

So a non government entity can levy fines, get liens, etc on property that I supposedly own? And what qualifies these bozos to do this? I have never had to deal with one so its hard to understand the premise. What if I buy a house and refuse to join the little compound? Can they refuse to sell to me? They force me to pay for a service(?) that I do not need or want? Sounds like the thing that got a lot of politicians kicked out of office. I realize I don't have to live there but if the house is what I want or my job required me to live in that area and that is all that's available I might be forced to. So I now have to bow down to some stepford wife or pencil neck dweeb that is on a power trip? Who owns the property here? Sounds like the homeowner sure as hell doesn't. We really are being taken over by the commies. And they are doing it to us on our own land we supposedly paid for.

 

[wrybosome]

This stuff really frosts me. I don't know why. Maybe its remembering a friend whose family bought a home in one of these ghettos that found out after they moved in that the HOA was requiring them to put in an underground lawn sprinkler system that the previous owner did not have to do. THey were there before the HOA buttwipes came into existence. Something like 10,000 dollars, and then they had to use one certain lawn cutting service that kept all the lawns at the same height. Lazy yuppie bastards too busy snorting coke and screwing each others wives to cut their own grass. These places truly are ghettos and projects. If youy cannot do as you wish with your home you live in a project. If all the people are of the same socio-economic level and have this idea that everyone should look the same and you are not allowed to make improvements without HOA ( horde of assholes) approval it is a ghetto. I've heard of ones that objected to someone flying too big of an american flag in their yard. THose are the ones that need to have someone buy a place then move a large family of immigrants in. Ones that keep chickens, goats, and sacrifice to some pagan god every other sunday. You also need to tell them to go back to the trailer parks they most likely grew up in and shut TF up.

I don't normally quote entire posts, but that is some good stuff right there Jim.

 

[tstormdiver]

Unfortunately HOA's are gaining more power & popularity, because they have been taking over some of the responsibilities & expenses of the local government. The local gov'ts are more than happy to step back & let them. Less hassle, less expense. Makes the lives of those running the local gov't much easier.

 

[Wookie]

So a non government entity can levy fines, get liens, etc on property that I supposedly own? And what qualifies these bozos to do this? I have never had to deal with one so its hard to understand the premise. What if I buy a house and refuse to join the little compound? Can they refuse to sell to me? They force me to pay for a service(?) that I do not need or want? Sounds like the thing that got a lot of politicians kicked out of office. I realize I don't have to live there but if the house is what I want or my job required me to live in that area and that is all that's available I might be forced to. So I now have to bow down to some stepford wife or pencil neck dweeb that is on a power trip? Who owns the property here? Sounds like the homeowner sure as hell doesn't. We really are being taken over by the commies. And they are doing it to us on our own land we supposedly paid for.

Jim, I understand your objections, but yes, they can. You sign away some of your property rights when you buy (rent) a house in a neighborhood that has deed restrictions/covenants. You have to be told up front that you are buying such a property, and that you will adhere to the deed restrictions. The problem comes in when these little people think that they have more juice than they really do. Obviously, there is no deed restriction about storing sporting goods in your house, or "cans of compressed air" or medical supplies or many other things a scuba cylinder could be. There are certainly restrictions about storing work-related items, performing commercial work, or operating a business out of your house. This little woman who has nothing better to do than drive around spying on her neighbors (and there are lots of them in the world) doesn't know a scuba cylinder from a chop saw.

It's a two edged sword. My neighborhood in Texas had covenants, not deed restrictions. The covenants expired sometime in the '80's when the HOA members didn't bother renewing them (which takes a vote of the HOA, which was defunct). The covenants were renewed sometime in the late '90's, after I had bought my house, which means I'm not covered by them, so I can do anything any other landowner can do. My next door neighbor is in the same position. He operates his carpenter shop in his garage. He has his Mexican laborers (illegals) parking in front of my house, and in front of his house, and in my driveway when I'm not there (which is all the time, now), and the saws start at 0700 and go till midnight, and he has hundreds of gallons of paint stored in the shed behind his garage, and the list goes on. When my house was on the market last year, the common question the prospective home buyer would ask is if those cars parked there all the time. My property value has dropped significantly in part due to the covenants having expired. If a new buyer were to buy my house, they would be bound by the covenants of the neighborhood assn.

I think the advice to the OP to go to a meeting is the best I've heard. Don't take a cylinder, just go and explain that a scuba cylinder is a piece of sporting goods, and it is certified and tested by agents of the DOT to be a safe storage cylinder for air. If they press you, tell them it has less potential energy than a propane cylinder and is just like a medical oxygen bottle. In fact, they are made by the same manufacturer.

 

[redacted]

OP here. yes, i'm in texas. and yes, she is threatening a fine (actually, threatening my landlord with a fine). as to the legality of storing cylinders, am i correct that a scuba cylinder is only HAZMAT when being filled/transported (thats why blending techs need to take HAZMAT refreshers every three years?) if so, how could this HOA superseded the law?

Here is a link to TX Statutes: Texas Constitution and Statutes - Home

Property Code, Tittle 11 is what applies.

What you really need to do is read the restrictive covenants and see if they have a case. The TX Statutes give the HOA more power than they should have IMO, but it also requires them to be non-discriminatory.

"Sec. 202.004.  ENFORCEMENT OF RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS.  (a)  An exercise of discretionary authority by a property owners' association or other representative designated by an owner of real property concerning a restrictive covenant is presumed reasonable unless the court determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the exercise of discretionary authority was arbitrary, capricious, or discriminatory."

So, it really depends on what the covenants say. If, by some odd chance, they specifically prohibit scuba tanks, you are probably SOL. If OTOH they are a general limitation on hazardous materials, then they need to enforce that covenant on all who have qualified hazardous materials.

You also need to look closely at your letter and the statutes requirements to see if they have, in fact, taken the first required legal step to take this to court. Sited the specific covenant, say what must be done to correct, 30 day to make correction....

In the mean time, I would move the tanks out of sight and tell anyone who you see a need to respond to about them that they are all empty, unless you have raised your right hand of course.

 

[tracydr]

I recently saw an article where someone was being find because they were making sauerkraut at home and the neighbors complained about the smell.
I wonder if your HOA allows pressure canners and cookers? I use them a lot but they do have a reputation for blowing things up.

 

[theduckguru]

So a non government entity can levy fines, get liens, etc on property that I supposedly own? And what qualifies these bozos to do this? I have never had to deal with one so its hard to understand the premise. What if I buy a house and refuse to join the little compound? Can they refuse to sell to me? They force me to pay for a service(?) that I do not need or want? Sounds like the thing that got a lot of politicians kicked out of office. I realize I don't have to live there but if the house is what I want or my job required me to live in that area and that is all that's available I might be forced to. So I now have to bow down to some stepford wife or pencil neck dweeb that is on a power trip? Who owns the property here? Sounds like the homeowner sure as hell doesn't. We really are being taken over by the commies. And they are doing it to us on our own land we supposedly paid for.

For those of use that like to live in an attractive community, its the solution to the 'its my land and I can do what ever I want crowd'.