Can a HOA make it mandatory to cover all windows and doors with sunscreens.?

Question

Just recently been notified that at a recent meeting of the Board of Directors that a motion was unamimously pass requiring that all condo owners that all windows in the complex be covered by black sunscreens. All owners have till May 2007 to comply, then the Association wiil make arrangements to have them installed and the cost wiil be added to the homeowner account. Does the HOA have a right to do this?

Answer 1

yes they do. they obviously voted on the issue and it passed. you can sue them to stop it but it will cost more than the sunscreens.

Answer 2

Sadly, yes. HOA's can suck when they are run by a tyrannical group. That is why you should attend all meetings so you can object when they do lame things like this.

Talk to the neighbors and see what they think about it. If enough agree with you, get a petition and present it to the board. They can't ignore a majority of the owners.

Answer 3

HOA's are so evil. I don't know how they can be allowed to exist in the United States. Of course you can fight it, but it will cost you big money. HOA's will fight back tooth and nail and will literally force you out of your home if you don't comply. My answer is yes, they do have the right to demand that - at least until something happens to make HOA's illegal. I sure as heck wish that someone would take up the cause - I'd sure be on the bandwagon. I don't know anyone who likes their HOA. Who died and made these people god? GRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Answer 4

HOA's are Nazi's. They are bored little trolls who have been given too much power and don't know how to handle it. To answer your question, the unfortunate answser is YES. Unless all the other tenants get together and tell them to stick it. Which is a good idea. Funny how free they are when they are spending someone else's money eh? You should get a petition stating that if the HOA wants anymore retarded ideas passed that THEY have to fund it.

Answer 5

Actually, it depends on your state. Some HOAs are restricted in what they can order -- this is the rule where I live. It may be worth calling an attorney to find out -- most don't charge a lot for a brief consultation.

Answer 6

Don't listen to those that tell you "lie down and take it because you moved there". The powers of HOA's and Condo associations have gone far beyond the realm of commonsense .

The lack of any reasonable constraints on association power has financially ruined the lives of thousands across the country. Association attorneys only profit from the madness.

Check out Cyber Citizens for Justice, or ahrc.com for up to date information about what to do about out of control associations.
The good news is that the AARP is on your side. They have contacted the legislatures of all 50 states and recommended broad changes to the laws that currently allow associations to run amok.

Don't even think about contacting an attorney with your problem, only they win in association disputes.

Contact your legislator and tell him/her to get "onboard" with the AARP legislative effort.

(And don't let anyone tell you these places are "democracies", they are not. Associations control the "media", the association newsletter; they control the elections where fraud abounds, they more resemble the old Soviet Union than any American democracy)

But don't take my word for it. The following is testimony from
NJ Association Regulator Edward Hannaman:

...[C]omplaints have disclosed the following acts committed by incumbent boards: leaving opponents’ names off the ballots (printed up by the board) by “mistake”; citing some trivial “violation” against opponents to make them ineligible to run; losing nominating petitions; counting ballots in secret -- either by the board or their spouses or someone in its employ -- such as the property manager deciding to appoint additional board members to avoid the bother of elections; soliciting proxies under the guise of absentee ballots; holding elections open until the board obtains the necessary votes to pass a desired action; declaring campaign literature by their opponents to be littering; using association newsletters to aggrandize their “accomplishments” but forbidding contrary opinions by owners ...; routinely refusing to release owner lists to candidates-despite the board mailing owners (at association expense) their positions (it has become routine for the State to refer candidates to the municipal tax office to obtain the names of their fellow association owners); rejecting candidate platforms or editing them to conform to the board’s idea of fair comment which includes eliminating any criticism at the board.

Answer 7

If you signed the HOA agreement when you moved into the house then, yes, they have the authority to do this. If you didn't want to abide by the HOA and its rules, you should have bought a house somewhere else.