Apartment owner reports HOA board member neighbor for breaking apartment building bylaws they helped set: ‘He is 1/3 of the HOA board in an 8 unit building’

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Dec 5, 2024 6:00 PM EST

Part of the responsibility of setting rules is that you have to follow them. It is inconvenient, to be sure, but all you really need to do to avoid that inconvenience is make sure that you're setting fair rules that everyone, including yourself, should be following for the betterment of everyone affected. Everyone despises their HOA, but undoubtedly, rules like this are important when it comes to the fair enjoyment of your own space. No one likes to hear unnecessary noise from a neighbor.

It's just especially ironic that this neighbor also happened to be one of only three board members for the complex… holding ⅓ of the power for the entire HOA, and he still couldn't follow the rules. Not to mention, he clearly intends to rent his unit out, which will mean an even more uncontrolled amount of noise for this downstairs neighbor.

The downstairs neighbor shared their experience with this online community, wondering if they were in the wrong for reporting the breaches their upstairs neighbor, who was on the HOA board, had committed. 

Advertisement
  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10437641472
    via Yevhenii Deshko For Unsplash+
  • 02
    AITA for telling on my neighbor for breaking HOA bylaws? So, my neighbor, who lives directly above me, installed flooring in a section of their unit that is prohibited by the bylaws of the HOA for my building. The bylaws prohibit this because the change in material will cause significant noise to be transmitted from any non- ground level units to the ones below.
    via RaeBees666
  • 03
    It has since caused an enormous amount of noise to come from his unit to mine. I brought it up with him and he said he didn't know or didn't read the bylaws well enough to know that he wasn't supposed to do it. Ok fine. So then I asked when he would remove it. He said he planned on putting down carpet over it until he moves or rents it out. Mind you, this isn't actual carpet--it's some sort of paneled carpet "system". I haven't seen any of this by the way.
    via RaeBees666
  • 04
    So ultimately he gets to just break the bylaws without any enforcement unless I tell my HOA. The problem is he is 1/3 of the HOA board in an 8 unit building. It's stressing me out and the noise is insane and there's no way to stop him from just leaving the flooring in when the unit changes occupancy. I think I should tell the board but then will he just be louder to spite me? I am thinking about just sending an email to everyone instead of just the board.
    via RaeBees666
  • 05
    I should also say we don't have regular board meetings or anything like that so I can't just add it to the agenda of the next meeting.
    via RaeBees666
  • 06
    OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the ash le: I told my upstairs neighbor to remove the flooring he put in because it violates the HOA bylaws. I might be an a hole because he did try to put carpet over it but that's not what the bylaws state.
    via RaeBees666
  • 07
    • Longjumping-... 1h ago. NTA. Certain HOA restrictions make sense, and he is abusing his power. How is he on the board and didn't read the bylaws? People, and I'm sorry you're go through this. I always tell people to avoid HOAs like the plague!
    via RaeBees666
  • 08
    Dittoheadforev... • 1h ago • You're NTA. I would normally never side with anyone in league with tattling to an HOA, because as a general rule. they However- what he did is impacting you and your quality of life. And he knows it. So he is the A-H and you should rat away.
    via RaeBees666
  • 09
    myshellly 1h ago • NTA. The entire point of living in an HOA is to be protected by its rules.
    via RaeBees666
  • 10
    Glittering-Cut-... • 1h ago He's on the board but "doesn't know" the bylaws? NTA. Easy.
    via RaeBees666
  • 11
    Vivid-Findin... • 46m ago • I live in a condo but I wouldn't tell the Board but your condo association seems large enough to have a property management company. Find out who the manager is from the company and ask him not to tell the Board who is complaining. But you shouldn't have to put up with all that noise.
    via RaeBees666
  • 12
    Hasan_Piker... 48m ago You're not the a hle, neighbor is. While a lot of HOA rules are bulls, this one is obviously there for a good reason. Snitch away, friend.
    via RaeBees666
  • 13
    aj_alva 20m ago • NTA. I never take the side of a HOA, but the idea that he is 1/3 of the association and "didn't know/read" the fine print is insane. He is already acting carelessly toward you so you might - as well defend yourself and your own apartment value.
    via RaeBees666
  • 14
    algunarubia 5m ago • NTA. But I'd have another conversation with him before going that route. Tell him the noise is really unbearable and he really needs to fix it now, not later. If he still doesn't have anything useful to say then, escalate it to the HOA.
    via RaeBees666

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

hoa neighbors neighborhood homeowner neighborhood-drama bad neighbors neighborhood-stories terrible neighbors Bad Neighbor neighbor
Scroll Down For The Next Article