'HOAs are a scourge to society': HOA enforces ridiculous trash rule, neighborhood bands together for some trashy compliance

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 1, 2023 2:00 PM EDT

The members of this HOA must have gotten bored and, well, power-hungry when they were coming up with this rule. Despite the fact that residents use different trash pickup services (which operate on different days and at different hours), the HOA decided to enforce a new rule demanding that neighbors take up and take down their trash cans at very specific times. These times did not correlate with the average human's work hours, especially those working in the medical field (which evidently was a large chunk of this neighborhood). 

 

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by u/Chiaseedmess, who certainly got folks upset about all the unnecessary rules their respective HOAs randomly have chosen to enforce. Thankfully, in this instance, the neighborhood banded together and figured out a way to comply but in such a way that revealed the ridiculous nature of the rule. At the end of the day, they won! How rare that is to see these days. 

 

Check out this post for more HOA drama!

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  • 01
    Wheel - 1751
    via James Day
  • 02
    Font - Your trash cans may only be out at specific times! M OC We live in an HOA, and if you don't, lucky you. We have never had any real problems, they don't do much other than make sure the park and gardens look good. Anyhow, for whatever reason, they decided to add a new rule. It wasn't needed, but I guess they got bored and wanted something to do. Maybe someone kept leaving their trash cans out all week. Fine, just ask them not to. It's not that hard.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 03
    Font - The new rule states when trashcans can be put out. They can't be out before 6 am on Wednesdays and must be put back before 6 pm the same day. This is obviously stupid and has a few problems. First of all, some people use a different company. The HOA provided one goes on Wednesday and it's cheap so most people use it, but you don't have to. Some people have theirs go Monday or Tuesday. Also, a lot of people here work in the medical field and just aren't home during those times. So no one i
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 04
    Font - So, a few of us got together on how to comply, but be annoying about it. We decided to comply with their set times as best we can. Take it out at 6 when a lot of us go to work or go for a morning walk, and take it back in at 6 since most of us are home. Some of us help by taking others bins to the street if they're at work.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 05
    Font - But, when it is time to take out the trash, do it as loud as possible. Bin has wheels? DRAG IT. Got it to the street, make sure it's firmly placed on the street. Need to take out other bag? Slap it in there and let the lids slam shut.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 06
    Font - For those who have trash go out on other days, comply with the times, but do in on your trash day. Then, also put them out on Wednesday as required. If you can, leave trash in them and leave the lid open to it would bake in the sun all day. Yes, it did smell like hot trash. That's the point.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 07
    Font - After 3 weeks of this, an email was sent out. The rule was thrown out, and we were all simply asked to put out and take in our cans within a reasonable amount of time, preferably on trash day. Was it really that 1 hard to ask nicely? Why not just address whoever was the problem?
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 08
    Font - Know that, because an HOA rule was changed, a lawyer was paid to look over it before the CC&R could be updated. That means this stupid rule cost every resident money. Anyhow, we are already planning on voting out one member of the board who we know is the problem come the summer election.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 09
    Font - Katana13691 hr. ago HOA's are dictatorships with bored old people (and I'm old too) that have nothing to do other than obsess about trash cans and parking. We only have the one trash service but we have the same rules. AND they have a fit if you put them anywhere but in your backyard yard which for some of us is really difficult.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 10
    Font - songinheart17. 1 hr. ago The strangest part of this whole story to me, as somebody who doesn't live in the US or an HOA, is that you have different days for garbage pick up. My city contracts with one company to manage collection for the whole city, covered by taxes.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 11
    Font - Practical_Garage_396 1 hr. ago I absolutely will not buy or rent in an HOA. I've just heard too many stupid stories.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 12
    Font - SunflowerSpeaks +2 • 1 hr. ago places I will never live: Any place that does not have professional firefighters, any City that does not offer trash pickup, and any neighborhood that is in part of an HOA.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 13
    Font - Old Goat Ninja . 53 min. ago As someone who works graveyard shift, this would be impossible for me. I don't get home before 6am so I put them out the night before. What a stupid rule.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 14
    Font - R Fast_Fee517 1 hr. ago +2. Militant HOAs are a scourge to society. Glad you and your neighbors had common sense
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 15
    Font - unknownpoltroon 59 min. ago +3 You forgot to play the "trash day heavy metal jam mix" on your boom box at top volume(as far as local ordinances allow)
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 16
    Font - hjablowme919. 35 min. ago We don't have an HOA, but we do have a village code which is over 700 pages long. When I moved in to my home, one of my neighbors told me about the trash can code. Trash cans cannot be out more than 12 hours in advance of a pickup but can sit there empty all day because people go to work and cannot be expected to be home when the trash gets picked up. Now the funny part: Code enforcement only works Monday - Friday 9 to 5. Trash pickup is always somewhere around 8
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 17
    Font - angmarsilar +1. 28 min. ago. edited 6 min. ago Our HOA doesn't have any rules on trash cans. This is good, because occasionally our trash service doesn't run because of weather. We just leave the tash can out because they may run off schedule. If I see my neighbor's out the day after it's collected, I'll move theirs back. In 15 years, nobody's ever complained about trash cans being left out.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 18
    Font - Edit: My wife is the HOA president (she's had it 5 years because nobody will take the job). If she sees trash cans blown over by wind, she'll stop and pick them up so they don't roll around in the street. It's all about being good neighbors and working together and not being petty.
    via u/Chiaseedmess
  • 19
    Font - HenRob_6327 . 17 min. ago My goodness, we are building in an estate and, as one of the first houses, we will be on the HOA. Hopefully I can be a sensible voice in curbing nonsense like this.
    via u/Chiaseedmess

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