HOA fines condo owner $500/month over noise complaints and expects them to redo their flooring, despite not having owned the condo when the original floors were installed: ‘Retaliation mixed with incompetence’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jan 11, 2026 6:00 PM EST

If you're reading a story about an HOA, odds are, it's not going to be one praising the association. Those stories are simply too few and far between.

Instead, you'll read about how an HOA board will go against the rules they themselves set up to be followed by residents. HOAs are infamous for never staying true to their word, especially when it means they will receive the short end of the stick. If you're not part of an HOA, consider yourself lucky. There are homeowners and condo owners out there who are in the trenches because they didn't know what they were signing up for when they first purchased their places. This is why you should always read the fine print, I suppose.

Living in an apartment building has its benefits. You don't pay for water, you might have a building gym or pool among other amenities, and you don't have to rely on yourself for maintenance and upkeep. The cons often outweigh the pros if you have impolite neighbors. Noise is going to happen when you're living in close quarters with others and cohabitating in the same structure. This doesn't mean that an HOA can fine you $500 per month because you don't want to spend thousands of dollars on new flooring. That's what's happening to the condo owner featured in this next story, who explains that the floors were installed in their condo after a fire in the building, but also before they purchased the unit. Is it truly their responsibility? That's up for debate, but it seems like the HOA won't stop harassing them about the floor replacement until it's done, and now, the condo owner is wondering what their next steps should be.

What would you do in this kind of situation? Surrender your pride and eat the cost of the floors? Or, perhaps, you want to put an end to the common narrative of HOAs getting one over on the small guys? Scroll below to read the full story, including a couple of opinions from users on the situation.

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  • carpenter installing new laminated wooden floors
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • "HOA fined me $500/month over ‘loud floors’ in a condo that was rebuilt after a fire and now wants me to tear them up"

    I'm honestly at my breaking point with my HOA and need to vent. Before I ever bought my condo, the unit had a fire and the entire interior was rebuilt, including the flooring.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • I purchased the unit after the rebuild, assuming that anything reconstructed and approved at the time was compliant with HOA rules.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • Fast forward to now. The downstairs neighbor has started constantly complaining about noise and has escalated to harassing my tenant directly.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • Instead of addressing that, the HOA decided the issue must be my flooring. For context, there is no management company.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • The HOA board is three people, and they fired the management company because they didn't like how much money was being spent.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • In reality, the HOA is basically being run by one person, while the other two board members are largely inactive.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • Before any formal letter or process, that one board member told me he wanted to come into my unit by himself and remove my flooring to send it out for testing.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • He is not a licensed contractor. He is not insured. I told him no. Shortly after that, the HOA started fining me $500 every single month until I "fix" the flooring.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • several united states 20 dollar bills
    via Dan Dennis for Unsplash
  • The rule they're citing says that: "Wood or simulated wood flooring installations on the 2nd and 3rd floor are not permitted unless the owner demonstrates that the final floor assembly meets or exceeds a Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating of 60 or above." I've tried to be cooperative.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • I contacted the restoration company that rebuilt the unit to get documentation on the flooring materials and STC rating.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • They told me they switched systems since the rebuild and no longer have that information. The HOA claims the previous management company won't provide any rebuild documentation and hasn't responded to them.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • So instead of resolving that internally, they're dumping the entire situation on me, even though I wasn't the owner during the fire, rebuild, or approvals.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • Now they've sent me a formal agreement requiring me to hire and pay for my own licensed contractor, remove sections of flooring in at least two rooms, allow an HOA board member to be present, and hand over the removed flooring materials for sound testing.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • Every cost is on me, including removal, repair, replacement, and restoration. So I'm being fined monthly over flooring that was installed before I owned the unit, based on complaints from one neighbor, by an HOA with no management, effectively run by one person, who first tried to personally rip up my floors and is now forcing me to pay thousands to prove compliance.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • This whole thing feels less like enforcement and more like retaliation mixed with incompetence. Not sure what to do here, or if what they're doing is even legal.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • TLDR My condo was rebuilt after a fire before I bought it. Downstairs neighbor complains about noise and harasses my tenant.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • HOA has no management company and is basically run by one board member. That person tried to personally remove my flooring for testing even though he's not licensed.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • I said no and the HOA started fining me $500 a month. They can't get rebuild records from the old management or restoration company, so now they want me to pay to tear up my floors in multiple rooms to prove they meet a 60 STC rule, even though the flooring was installed before I owned the unit.
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • 1. Purpose The purpose of this Agreement is to allow the Association to verify whether the flooring installed in the Condo Owner's unit complies with the Association's sound transmission requirements. The Association's flooring rule provides that: "Wood or simulated wood flooring installations on the 2nd and 3rd floor are not permitted unless the owner demonstrates that the final floor assembly meets or exceeds a Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating of 60 or above." 2. Access and Presence The C
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • 5. No Admission or Waiver This Agreement does not constitute: • An admission of compliance or non-compliance by the Condo Owner; or • A waiver of the Association's right to enforce its governing documents, rules, or sound requirements. 6. Limited Access Access granted under this Agreement is limited solely to the purpose described above and does not grant the Association ongoing access rights beyond the agreed-upon inspection. 7. Governing Law This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted
    via Wiggins4mvp
  • LokeCanada As part of the sale you should have gotten some documentation from the HOA that the unit was currently in compliance and there was nothing outstanding. There should also be documentation from the repair/restore work with approvals of the work. Where you are should mandate an appeal process. If you have the above you can appeal and show them that they signed off on everything. The HOA and communication with anyone else is not your problem. Never sign anything without a lawyer reviewing
    via LokeCanada
  • Choice_Captain_6007 Tell the HOA that it is on them. If they want to pay for materials, installation and place for your resident to stay while work is being done, then you would consider their offer. If the flooring wasn't done properly to their standards then it is their hoa management company/restoration problem for not following up and making sure that it was approved materials. The hoa should sue them for not doing their job and cost to remedy. But ultimately it probably falls on the whoever
    via Choice_Captain_6007

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