Dan Wilbur
If you don’t know what a Homeowner’s Association is, congratulations. You’ve dodged a bullet and are truly free. Unless you rent. Or live in a co-op with a lot of rules. Or live in a van.
Frankly, most living situations in this country aside from owning a bunker and a big chunk of land in Missouri are a raw deal. Luckily, you’re not alone.
A homeowner with a simple question about their HOA restricting how many dogs a family was permitted to have in one home sparked rage. Quickly, the post went from a humdrum “Am I The Asshole” Reddit post to a Twitter debate about whether HOAs should exist at all.
Let’s start with the story itself.
A person on Reddit asked if they were the jerk for having 3 dogs instead of 2 on r/AITA:
It all started with a clever idea.
“My parents moved to a retirement neighborhood, so I moved into their neighborhood after my job required me to move to their state.
We have 3 dogs however, 2 of them look almost the same so we would never walk all 3 at once. It worked for 2 years. Well my body neighbor has been telling everyone we have 3 dogs and bitching about it on Nextdoor.”
Then came the HOA, and things took a turn:
“The HOA asked to investigate. One of my dogs was at the vet so I said go ahead, they walked through the house and the neighbor was outside. She later walked up to me all ug saying “did the HOA find your dog?”
I said no they didn’t, mind your own business bitch.
She then went on to Nextdoor to complain again, but the rest of the neighborhood is calling her crazy.” –u/ohohbo
First thing’s first… is this person the a**hole for not following the rules? Reddit had an answer:
1. One vote for “Everyone Sucks Here.”
“ESH. But that’s funny as hell. They think she is crazy now and she probably deserves it. Mind your own business lady. You aren’t hurting anyone.
You really need to work on moving out though.” –HowFunkyIsYourChiken
2. And then, there are those who will always side with a resident.
“You’re always NTA when it’s you vs the HOA.” –shae_lynne
3. Whereas, some people have a nuanced view.
“You’re the asshole, but also fuck HOAs. If you choose to live in an HOA, follow the covenant you agreed to.” –StreamAngler
4. Others, however, see it differently.
“Haha no. You owe nothing to an HOA. They shouldn’t exist, and about 95% of them are just a sewing circle to decide who they don’t like and how to punish them. Lying to HOAs is a moral good, and more often than not, a practical necessity. In either case, it’s nothing to lose sleep over.
And yes, your HOA will absolutely perjure themselves with stories about you if they decide you don’t treat them with due deference.” –ExtremelyLongButtock
5. The room is pretty split, however.
“Yes YTA. You moved somewhere that you couldn’t follow the rules, and used underhanded trickery to cover your back. I’m a huge dog lover and have three myself, which is why I would never move somewhere they wouldn’t all be welcome.” –integranda
Eventually, people left behind the question of who the jerk was in this scenario and began debating why HOAs exist at all:
6. In case you’re not sure what an HOA even does, here’s a quick explanation:
7. Some people don’t think HOAs are that bad.
8. Many are of the opinion that if you sign a contract, you should follow the rules.
9. Yet, some people on Twitter seem to think that no HOA is good.
10. Clever.
11. HOAs are awful.
12. Forget the HOA, let’s talk about how the dogs matter more than the story for a second.
13. People in HOAs who snitch are probably sad.
14. When the HOA doesn’t care for your dogs that don’t exist.
15. A great example of HOAs sucking.
16. Interesting History lesson on HOAs.
17. Reiterated the reason for HOAs and why they’re all bad.
18. It was in a museum so it’s true.
19. Again, let’s remember that we love dogs more than any HOA.
20. I hate them.
21. Here’s the real answer.
22. Fight the power.
h/t Reddit: r/AITA
