HOA fines guy for using his trash bins, he maliciously complies to get them off his back: ‘I’ll let you know every time I use my garbage can’

Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor

Feb 20, 2024 2:00 PM EST

One would think that living in an HOA neighborhood would mean safety and protection, but in reality, it means pettiness and fines. Of course, it's not easy to get on the good side of HOA board members because these are the folks with Tracy Flick sensibilities, years of under-explored resentment, and backward authority complexes. In short, you can't make friends with the people who will go out of their way to put you in your place for silly reasons. It's a waste of one's time and energy. It's best to keep a healthy distance and avoid conflict.

However, sometimes you find yourself in a situation so ridiculous that you have to defend yourself. This resident was fined for having his trash bins open in public because he was literally in the process of cleaning them at that time. When he explained himself to an HOA rep, he was able to get the fine lifted but decided that he would go a step further and enact some malicious compliance to further prove his point that this was all ludicrous.

He shared his side of the story via this thread on Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit. Keep scrolling below for the full story. When you're done, check out this post about other similar major inconveniences