HOA fines resident $500 for not carrying his dog in common areas, resident discovers he only was fined because the board president's wife doesn't like him: 'The wife lied to the property manager!'

Sometimes, you can follow all the rules to the exact letter and still get in trouble just because someone more powerful than you is holding an inexplicable grudge.

It goes without saying that every community has its own strangely specific set of guidelines, and sometimes, following said guidelines can be a pain in the rear. It's like an endless string of minor inconveniences that satisfies absolutely no one except for a few curmudgeons who have been living in the neighborhood since the Pleistocene era. 

For this resident, he was fined for $500 because he hadn't carried his dogs in the lobby of his condominium building. He was never warned about this, nor was he given a smaller fine before the $500 one. Seems a bit steep, especially considering the fact that his dog didn't make a mess or a disturbance in the lobby whatsoever.

Eventually, he figured out why he received this fine at all, and it had nothing to do with his dog's behavior or with the owner's breach of any hard and fast rule. At the end of the day, this all transpired because the president of the HOA was told to go after this author… by his wife.

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  • That's right. There was no actual HOA rule about needing to carry your dog in common areas, but there was a rule about not letting your dog go to the bathroom in common areas. The author swears that this didn't happen, but he couldn't prove that to the HOA board, not when the president's wife insisted that she saw an accident.

    We agree with several members of this online community that the author should consider pursuing finding security footage of this so-called “incident" in order to prove his dog's innocence and get this ridiculous fine voided. Only then will this lady learn that the author is not to be messed with. Otherwise, today, it's the dog in the lobby. Tomorrow, it will surely be something else. People like this disgruntled lady need to know that they can't get away with nonsense.

  • "HOA decided to fine me $500 for every occasion of me walking my dog in the common areas"

    I live in a condo building that is dog friendly (hardly Imao) and my dog has not been able to do stairs so I take her in the elevator,
    via Alyxanazx
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  • through the lobby and out the front door. Apparently the dog's feet cannot touch the ground. I received notice today that I owe the HOA $500 in accrued instances of not carrying my dog in the common areas. I was never
    via Alyxanazx
  • notified about the first instance or the following. Only once they reached $500. There are 7 dog owners here out of over 100 people. 2 of the dogs are WAY over the weight limit and
    via Alyxanazx
  • 2 owners literally can't carry their dogs because they need a walker too, but the rule was only enforced on me because the president's wife doesn't like me.
    via Alyxanazx
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  • I've spoken to the other owners and they received no notice of fines or anything. Come to find out, the wife lied to the property manager saying my POTTY TRAINED DOG goes to the bathroom in the common areas.
    via Alyxanazx
  • I'm also the only owner that picks up after their dog in the yard. I can hardly walk there anymore without stepping in shit because some of the other owners are just flat out ruining this for us.
    via Alyxanazx
  • A man walks his pug on a leash in the lobby of a building.
    via Darwin Boaventura

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

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  • Intrepid00 Rules have to be reasonable and last I checked dogs can't float.
    via Alyxanazx
  • OP Alyxanazx When I first moved in I asked the property manager if the rule was even enforceable and she checked with legal before I even signed my contract and she said it's not.....until the fines came today and their "reason" is because my dog used the bathroom in the lobby and they don't go to the bathroom when they're being carried. It wasn't even my dog that went to the bathroom (if there was even waste there!)
    via Alyxanazx
  • igwbuffalo I'd challenge the fines based on providing photo or video evidence of it being you and your animal that went potty in the common space.
    via Alyxanazx
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  • OP Alyxanazx They have no cameras and i'm unsure if they have photo evidence of the waste. Obviously they don't of my dog. I'm definitely challenging it, but i'm not sure how much that will do.
    via Alyxanazx
  • IndividualFarmer9917 I'm a property manager, don't pay this garbage Imao if what you're saying is true, they're just trying to intimidate you into paying. Your property manager was probably right that this is unenforceable, but that doesn't stop them from trying. Eventually they'll have to take you to court, and then a judge will laugh at them.
    via Alyxanazx
  • OP Alyxanazx The property manager is now saying it is enforceable because they added "accommodations" for the residents who can't (diapers and pet strollers), but told no one apparently. The same one was there when I signed the handbook who said they don't enforce it and it's not enforceable. I definitely don't want to pay it so I guess I'm dying on this hill for this silly rule lol.
    via Alyxanazx
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  • ASubconcious Dick can they provide you with proof that your dog used the bathroom in their common areas? I mean, ffs, they are common areas, which should have cameras monitoring them. if they wanna be ballsy enough to try and enforce a rule that isnt legally enforceable, make them jump through every little hoop before you refuse.
    via Alyxanazx
  • OP Alyxanazx They can't because there aren't any cameras, which makes me also believe the $500 is an arbitrary number they made up because my dog goes out 4 times a day.
    via Alyxanazx
  • Complex-Broccoli654 Ask to see the videos...you need to make sure its you
    via Alyxanazx
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  • OP Alyxanazx There are no cameras.
    via Alyxanazx
  • soulwater_sports Film the other owners walking their dogs just like you. Then sue the HOA for discrimination. I'm generally OK with HOA's have lived in several houses with them. But this is insane. The other option is to get on the HOA and change the rules.
    via Alyxanazx
  • OP Alyxanazx This was never the hill I wanted to die on because I can carry my dog, a few of the residents just can't, and if they told me like "hey this is actually enforceable" and didn't tell me that they don't enforce it, I would've just carried her. But I guess i'm dying on this hill:( HOA elections are coming up so I guess here's my chance!
    via Alyxanazx
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  • halberdierbowman Do you have any records of that communication? prior If the manager is a professional, and they're claiming your fine is for pooping, then you can just politely let them know you appreciate their effort but they're barking up the wrong dog tree, so they'll have to keep looking for the real pawpertrator.
    via Alyxanazx
  • OP Alyxanazx I don't and I see where I went wrong by not getting it in writing before I signed the contract and the rule is in the handbook I signed with the HOA. One other owner has it in an e-mail that it's not enforceable and the property manager checked with legal, so I am not sure if I can use that, but I will try.
    via Alyxanazx
  • Legitimate_Term1636 You can apparently test doggy poop dna to see if it's from your dog... I don't know how but my daughter's apartment started a plan like this so they could tell which dog.
    via Alyxanazx
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  • OP Alyxanazx I'll definitely bring this up, I truly don't even think there was any inside but if they won't get cameras at least they should do this.
    via Alyxanazx
  • unknownpoltroon Lawyer time. Is your skin tone darker than the other residents with dogs by any chance? Or darker than the HOA presidents wife?
    via Alyxanazx
  • OP Alyxanazx No we are both white. She has issues with me because I called her out for making a disrespectful comment about a 4 year old that lives here when I first moved in. Definitely has been making my life a living hell ever since as she always has a comment to make whenever I pass her sitting in the lobby.
    via Alyxanazx
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