‘This is my house that I paid for with my own money’: HOA threatens homeowner with $100/day fine because their Christmas lights are ‘too festive’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Dec 5, 2025 8:00 PM EST

Where there's a Buddy the Elf, there is also a Scrooge.

Take a look around you. At least one of the people you see hates Christmas and will do anything in their power to talk down those who opt to actually enjoy their holiday season. For whatever reason, the holidays strike a nerve in certain individuals, and some of these individuals have the power to police how you decide to celebrate this jolly time of year.

What better Scrooge exists than an HOA? The number of rules in an HOA handbook is probably as long as Santa's nice and naughty lists, and that's because every home needs to look crisp, clean-cut, and uniform. Sure, you can argue that those who decide to join an HOA in the first place know that they're signing up for this, but you never think that people would police some colorful Christmas lights.

In the story below, an HOA homeowner is threatened by their HOA to take down their colorful Christmas lights, or else they'll be fined 100 dollars each day they remain up. Only white lights are allowed… So nobody has Christmas cheer anymore? Scroll below to read the full story.

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  • 01
    a house with christmas lights
    via Gautam Krishnan for Unsplash
  • 02

    "HOA is threatening to fine me $100 a day because my Christmas lights are ‘too festive’ and I'm so done with these people"

    I just need to vent because I'm losing my mind over this absolute nonsense. My husband and I bought our house two years ago.
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  • 03
    It's in a neighborhood with an HOA, which we knew going into it, but the rules seemed reasonable at the
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  • 04
    Basic stuff about lawn maintenance and not parking RVs in the driveway. This year I decided to go all out for Christmas.
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  • 05
    I love Christmas. I put up lights on the house, some yard decorations, a big inflatable snowman, the works.
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  • 06
    Nothing crazy. I've seen way more elaborate displays. But it looks nice and festive and it makes me happy.
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  • 07
    Two days after I finished decorating, I got a letter from the HOA. Apparently my Christmas display violates the "seasonal decoration guidelines." Guidelines I didn't even know existed because they're not in the main HOA rules.
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  • 08
    They're in some supplementary document that was never given to us when we bought the house.
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  • 09
    The letter says: * I can only have white or clear lights (mine are * multicolored) Inflatables are not permitted * Decorations cannot extend more than 3 feet from the house *The display can only be up from December 1st to January 5th (I put mine up the week before Thanksgiving) I have 48 hours to remove the "non-compliant" decorations or I'll be fined $100 per day.
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  • 10
    a hand giving another hand a few hundred dollar bills
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 11
    ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER DAY. I called the HOA management company and the woman I spoke to was so condescending.
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  • 12
    She said "These rules apply to everyone to maintain neighborhood aesthetics." I said I never received these rules and she said "Ignorance of the rules doesn't excuse violation of them." I asked to see the rule document and she emailed me a 47- page PDF of "supplementary guidelines" that include insane things like: *Wreaths can only be green or gold * No lawn ornaments visible from the street between January 6th and November 30th * Holiday decorations must be "tasteful and understated" My decorat
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  • 13
    They're normal Christmas decorations that thousands of people have! My next-door neighbor has almost the exact same setup as me.
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  • 14
    I asked if they got a letter. They said no. So apparently the HOA is selectively enforcing this.
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  • 15
    My husband wants me to just take down the decorations to avoid the fines. But I'm so angry about this.
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  • 16
    It's Christmas. I want to have Christmas lights. This is my house that I paid for with my own money.
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  • 17
    I looked up who's on the HOA board. It's run by this woman Diane who lives three streets over.
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  • 18
    I've never even met her but apparently she has nothing better to do than patrol the neighborhood looking for Christmas decoration violations.
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  • 19
    I tried to fight it. I sent an email saying I never received these supplementary guidelines and that the rule seems overly restrictive.
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  • 20
    The response was basically "Rules are rules. Remove the decorations or face daily fines starting December 1st." So now I have to decide if I want to keep my Christmas decorations up and potentially owe thousands of dollars in fines, or take them down and let the HOA win.
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  • 21
    My mom thinks I should just comply and avoid the stress. My best friend thinks I should leave the decorations up and fight it because the HOA is being ridiculous.
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  • 22
    My husband is stressed because he thinks if we don't comply they'll put a lien on our house or something
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  • 23
    I'm just so tired of this. I can't even enjoy Christmas in my own home because some woman on a power trip has decided my lights are too colorful.
    via Ok-Cloud-4742

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hoa homeowner reddit story decoration christmas lights entitled people
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