Last week, my parents had one of those black painted aluminum fences installed. The neighborhood fence maximum height is 48″ so my parents purchased a 48″ fence to comply, despite them preferring the 60″ and 72″ versions more.
The day after the contractor completed the job, two elderly women walked right onto their property, a good 70 or 80′ from the road, and measured the fence compliance. What they (and I) didn’t realize is a fence is installed 1″ off that grass to allow room for the weed wacker to fit below the bottom rail. So the ladies knocked on their door to report their fence was approx 49″ everywhere they measured(without permission). It’s worth noting my Dad did tell the contractor they were limited to a 48″ fence at the time of hiring.
The women brought this to the HOA board yesterday and all 5 members politely told them to pound sand, and while technically they’re correct that the fence is 1″ too tall, the logic on why and materials purchased are correct and make sense.
Apparently this isn’t going to end here as one of the women called my Mom to say they need to remove the fence or she would get her attorneys involved, reason being she was forced to remove her 6′ vinyl privacy fence around her pool 18 months ago. So now she’s out for revenge I guess.
My Dad is waiting on the next shoe to drop, if any, but he knows for a fact, of the 115ish homes in this HOA, at least 20 or 30 have 4′ fences and many you can see are above the grass, just like his. This may actually become a gigantic war, over 1″.
Comments
Imagine going after your peers instead of the fucking HOA. This is why humanity is doomed.
6’ vs 4’ is a huge difference.
Start a petition have everyone vote to change the rule to 4’2. take it to the board
Edit: typo
There’s always that one (or two) people in the community that believe the HAO empowers them and now they are the HOA police.
I too, am often bitter about our HOA
They made me replace my garage door for a baseball dent in the bottom panel. They argued that I only need replace the bottom panel and its not a big deal. My garage guy said there’s no point in replacing JUST the bottom panel of a 30 year old door; the door comes as a kit and to replace the bottom panel, you have to go through all of the same motions regardless with the springs, cables, rollers and hinges.
They were assessing me $50 a month until I had it done in the spring.
I drive around the neighborhood; out of 100 doors I counted 23 that had noticeable dents in them, but I didn’t see anyone else replacing their door.
I have seen what’s happening; lady with a clipboard walks unit to unit and find things to write them up for – no real consistency or fairness about the process. I put a sign outside that said “Lady with clipboard not welcome”
Now
Instead of “reporting” the other 23 people with noticeable dents in their garage door, I actually started attending the board meetings where I can verbally express that I have never been late on monthly, have never had the police come to MY condo – not even for a noise complaint – and I have the best kept condo in the development. Finding things to “ding” me for is ridiculous when you have units that are 5K behind in monthlys
[deleted]
Life lesson DON’T BUY IN A HOA
Seriously they are like a weird cult and should be outlawed.
This must be the land of the free I keep hearing so much about.
Those elderly ladies are wanna-be local monarchs. That is basically what HOAs are for in 2025
So,
Go out and measure EVERY fence in the neighborhood. Report all the fences that are even the tiniest fraction of an inch out of compliance. Find out where the HOA board live and report any violation. Even measure the height of the grass.
This is exactly why i bought a house in a semi rural area with NO covenants and no HOA. Uggh, these neighbors must be nightmares – I would have your parents get them a membership in a local bowling league or something to get them out of their house.
I had to repaint my beige eaves beige because it wasn’t beige enough… 🙄
Oh my god these people are insane, and pathetic. Mental
Not sure what the neighbor thinks their attorney would do to you, but it sounds like they needed the lawyer for their original fight against the HOA instead. If their fence was around a pool, there’s a solid chance that your local laws require the fence to be higher than 4′, and those laws will always supersede any HOA nonsense.
I was having this exact conversation with my kids yesterday. One of them wouldn’t share something as their sibling hadn’t shared with them earlier.
I pointed out how much better life would be if instead of all trying to make things worse for each other, we stopped and thought how it felt for us and then tried to make it better for other people.
They got it and they are all under 10…..
Reading everything here kinda makes me glad I live in the hood.
The HOA I grew up in was ran by those ladies basically. My dad got sick of it, joined the board, became president then started changing a bunch of rules and blocked unnecessary dues increases as much as possible. I’m glad he did that but it is not realistic for everyone.
How do they need to measure? I’m sure a few cubic yards of dirt is cheaper than ripping a fence out…
Land of the free huh?
Some people really don’t have anything better to do than just be nosey and vile. Tell them to go kick rocks and pound sand like the HOA did.
This was one of the reasons I joined my HOA board, so that I can tell people to go pound sand whenever they have stupid unfounded complaints about another neighbor, and to potentially overrule any overzealous board member that might be on. Thankfully, our board members since I joined have been reasonable people.
In my state, at least, any competent lawyer would laugh that hag out of their office. If I were your dad and she sued me, she should expect a counterclaim for injunctive relief barring her from trespassing on my property.
They’d need proof that they measured the fence with a calibrated device that matched a calibration certificate from an approved facility before I considered paying for anything to be moved.
It sounds like the HOA backed your parents so not sure why you are saying the HOA is out of control? And your neighbor can’t sue your parents, no standing.
Time to start using that woman’s yard as the neighborhood dog shitting spot 🙂
Were the ladies trespassing to obtain the measurements? Might be something to get them on or at least make them nervous.
Those random women could sue the HOA but not your mom. That’s a good way to piss off your hoa.
The HOA has determined that the fence is compliant and so the old women can go pound sand at the hoa.
Have your parents ask for a copy of the minutes or whatever during which the HOA tacitly or explicitly approved your fence just to make sure they have it on hand.
If the HOA told them to pound dirt then what is the issue. If she goes to an attorney what case does she even have?
Simple solution is to add an inch of dirt on the bottom
If all 5 members of the board told them to pack sand then it is over. Have the board approve the installation and it is done until new board members are put in place and the process starts over again.
Whatever the lady is saying doesn’t matter. Her attorney and her feelings on the matter hold no jurisdiction over anything. The HOA made their decision, it’s over. …until another one is put in place and at such time they can bring it up again. Yes, at that time EVERY fence would need to be measured and all of them not in compliance would be fixed/taken down. OR… the better option would be:
Have the HOA amend the letter of the restriction and put a clause that states that the FENCE is 48″ but that allowances for grass maintenance may allow up to 2″ of clearance. If they do that then it will be resolved even slightly more permanently but can still be overwritten by a new board.
Probably isn’t going anywhere. If this ever got into court it would be a General District court, and while nobody can truly know how a judge will rule, that type court is typically more about fairness than actual letter of the law. Considering the board already approved it by declining to pursue the matter everything tilts in the direction of leaving it be.
If it a decision is appealed then the matter will be examined more on law (if the appeals court even accepts such a case).
The whole attempt seems frivolous. If the lady tried to beat this thing the tables could be flipped.
If the wording is vague just let it be, I’d be contacting those other neighbors in a friendly “this is happening and I just want to warn you, perhaps you can sign this email so they don’t come after you”
Yeah, and that lady trespassed on your parent’s property to measure the fence. 🙄
Your parents did everything right. Hired a contractor etc. they can go to the board and ask for a variance since they worked hard to comply.
Also, did the contractor not measure?
So Karen is upset that she couldn’t have her vinyl fencing around her pool, so she’s out for revenge against the HOA with her bestie Judy.
Yeah, if any actual ‘attorney’ for Karen shows up, just tell them you’ll gladly see them in court.
Buy a bunch of $1 topsoil bags at your local garden store, spread everywhere. Fence is no longer 49 inches above the ground.
Sounds like it’s these two women who are the problem, not the HOA. The HOA’s response was perfectly reasonable when they told the women to pound sand!
I hate HOA’s
The HOA handled it fairly. This is a neighbor issue
This reminds me of The Pig War (1859): Tensions between the US and Britain on the San Juan Islands escalated after an American farmer shot a British pig that wandered into his garden. Both sides sent in troops and warships, but the standoff ended without bloodshed-except for the pig that wandered into the garden uninvited.
The fencing is a standard 48″, not 49″ high, not including the distance from the ground. The HOA is on your side, for which you should be grateful. The fencing company could pound down the posts an inch (but shouldn’t).
Doesn’t look like the HOA is at fault here. It’s two old biddies who’ve got nothing better to do. I’d figure out a way to go on the offensive, frankly, because it’s fun, and your folks are likely better at it than two bitter old bats. lol
I’m so so glad HoA’s don’t exist here
I wouldn’t say the HOA is out of hand. In fact I’d say it’s perfectly reasonable, seeing as how the board told the nosy women to pound sand. I do think there is a nosy neighbor problem but that should resolve itself with enough denial.
[ Removed by Reddit ]
This is why I’ve always said it’s sometimes better not to have that extra inch!
For one it’s an HOA issue and they done said it’s fine. Not sure what she expects to do with an attorney. But this is an example why HOA rules and regulations suck
The HOA is saving your folks, they should ask the board to up the limit to 54″.
These two old bats are the problem not the HOA
2575BC called, they want their units of measurement back.
I am honestly surprised that there’s not more murder involved with HOAs. If someone was pulling that shit on me I would be so angry.
I can’t imagine why anyone would ever buy a house that’s part of an HOA. Not worth the potential headaches. Don’t tell me what to do on my own property.
The HOA actually took the side of your parents. These other rogue neighbors are the ones causing the problem.
The thing about HOAs is that there are people like that in the HOA. I live in one too and they are the most ridiculous, entitled Karen’s I’ve ever met.
Your parents need to contact an attorney ahead of her. Then get a letter about the HOA ruling for court. If she actually sues make sure that she pays for your parents attorney fees after.
If she wins everyone is going to hate her based on them having to replace their fences too. Then she’s going to play victim when the consequences of alienating her neighbors hits her over 1″.
Rogue neighbor has no case. They’ll lose. The HOA is on your parent’s side. Not sure why HOA is being blamed for the Karen neighbors. In this situation.
Alright boys. There you have it. An inch is a big deal. Imagine what 2.5 inches would do. Jaw dropping
Leave the fence up, if they keep nagging about it add “big” deco rocks or raise the lawn .
>Apparently this isn’t going to end here as one of the women called my Mom to say they need to remove the fence or she would get her attorneys involved, reason being she was forced to remove her 6′ vinyl privacy fence around her pool 18 months ago. So now she’s out for revenge I guess.
I have never understood this level logic for “revenge”. I honestly wouldn’t give a solitary fux if my neighbor had even the 72” (6′) option installed an inch over ground like your parents wanted/needed. Thankfully, my dad doesn’t live in a HOA, and he has something like an 8′ or 10′ privacy fence.
Ex-litigator here (long since retired and never practiced any type of HOA for homeowner law) however, in my humble opinion the woman and you are not in privity of contract, which is to say that you have an agreement with the HOA and the HOA with them so they have no “standing” to sue you for any type of breach of contract. Also, you have to have “damages” at least a small amount which is a tangible or quantifiable loss. Because they went to the HOA and you were cleared – they cannot by any stretch of the imagination, contend that they were damaged in anyway by you. They want to go ahead and sue the HOA for not properly enforcing the rules – Well, I’m sure we all having an opinion on that type of Karen but it’s also not your problem.
They’d be getting egged daily. Deal w that biatch
What do the CC&Rs say exactly? The fence measures 48 inches. If the rule is a 48 inch fence, you’re good because the fences is 48 inches tall. If it says 48 inches from ground to finial or top rail or that the fence must sit on the ground, then I guess they can make you remove it.
Get those biddies trespassed from your property for harassing you.
This is bullshit. These people have nothing better to do than walk around with tape measures making other people’s lives miserable.
I assume the regulation is that the height of the fence can be no more than 4’ from grade. Don’t change the fence, change the grade.
The easiest solution here is to bring in some dirt or top soil and spread it so it fills in the 1” gap, feathering it in to blend in with the rest of the soil. If it’s lawn, you’d need to get some grass seed and hay, but new grass should come up relatively quickly.
your dad did everything right — bought the right size, followed the rules, and got approval from the hoa board those ladies are clearly still bitter about their own situation and trying to stir up drama where there isn’t any if the board already sided with your parents, that’s pretty much the final word unless the hoa documents say otherwise one inch off the ground for maintenance is completely standard and any decent contractor would’ve done the same honestly sounds like she’s just looking for a fight to justify her own fence loss hope your folks stand their ground and don’t let the petty energy get to them
Seems like the HOA is on your side. It’s the lady that is the problem.
> So now she’s out for revenge I guess
As she should
If HOA rules are going to inconvenience me, I’m going all in on enforcement on every single rule until it starts hurting people that flaunt rules yet enforce those that don’t affect them
I loathe HOAs.
I would suggest your parents post the property as no trespassing, if not already.
If the lady persists, I would have them tell her that as good neighbors they chose not to file a police report against her the first time she trespassed.
If she persists I would file a complaint.
Tell your dad to put an inch of dirt if that becomes a problem.$20 worth of dirt a Walmart would have your problem solved. HOAs suck for sure. Good luck
Love that the board is saying “f off”
Truthfully here, it sounds like nosy neighbors are the issue, not the HOA.
Pour 1 inch of sand on the fence line. Take a photo of the fence showing 48″ from top of sand. When the rain washes the sand into the grass, it will be an “act of god”. If they complain again, ask if they are against acts of god or god himself. That will usually have an old hen running back to her roost. Make sure to record their reaction to the god question, I would like to see the video.
If I’m reading this correctly, the HOA told this person to pound sand, and then the person chose to personally declare it in violation without their consent.
Just report that person to the HOA for harassment and impersonation of the HOA.
Next time they’re on your property, call the non emergency line and have them ticketed for trespassing.
Raise the ground with wood chips lol.
The neighbor has no standing to sue your mom/dad. Only the HOA does. Ask for a written statement from the HOA that the fence is approved as installed. Then stop worrying.
Editing to add, I used to run a 1k property plus HOA with a $4m annual budget. Little stuff like this happens all the time. Frankly the minutes from the meeting suffice as proof your parents are in compliance. But I’d ask for an actual email confirming. Print & Save.
I’m confused?? I thought you said HOA told these lady’s to “pound sand”. Are these lady’s with HOA??? If not, what legal recourse do they have?
Fill 1” of mulch around the fence base
This felt like the appropriate place for this…HOA Snitch
All that drama over one inch, some people really need a new hobby.
If you have paperwork that says it 48” I would get an attorney and go to the court and fight that!!
IANAL, but I do know only your HOA can enforce their rules. The ladies have no legal standing.
Sounds like HOA board is already ignoring this lady, but at last resort, you could add an inch of dirt at the bottom, so when measured from the “ground” it’s 48 again.
Send a message back that if they contact attorneys about it then you will have your attorney send a letter asking how they measured the fence without permission to be on the property. that they can admit to trespassing to measure the fence, in which case you’ll call the cops with the admission, or maybe they can keep their noses out of other people’s business.
Her attorney won’t do anything to your parents. She sounds like a PITA, and the board didn’t entertain her nonsense.
Next time, and there will be a next time, she bothers them –
N: Your fence, My attorney, do what I say NOW.
Parents: Get off our property, NOW. If you don’t leave now or ever come back, I’m calling the police to report trespassing and harassment.
Also please if they don’t already, encourage your parents to place cameras.
This is why I’ll never live an area with HOA. I’d flip shit and cause a war. Smile being arrested. Couldn’t do it.
My HOA botches about trash cans being in the front, can’t have solar panels, the fence has to be short and black iron just to name some. It’s crazy you spend all this money on a house for someone else to tell you how to operate it. Never again.
Huh, it’s usually dudes who make a big deal over 1 inch lol
Just build up the base (lawn) by 1″. Just putting sod down would probably bring the ground up an inch.
This is why I would NEVER buy a house in an HOA!
The HOA already made the ruling in favor of your parents keeping the fence. End of story.
Get some dirt and raise the ground level 1″, this is nearly nothing. Then ask for it to be measured. Get the HOA to provide the rule in writing. It will likely say the fence can’t be more than 48″ from the ground, so make the change, then ask for a remeasure. Throw some seed down and grow some grass.
On another note, I’d ask the HOA for some time to complete the alteration as you had all good intent and it was a mistake. That should give you time to get some sand or dirt to distribute from post to post.
I wish I could be there when you ask for the fence to be measured again, that should be some petty revenge 🙂
Turn her in for being an asshole!!! There is also a rules in the covenants about that!!! That will upset her. Send her lawyer to the board and the bag will have to pay for the boards lawyer also under cobalts rules. 😆😆
> two elderly women walked right onto their property, a good 70 or 80′ from the road, and measured the fence compliance.
I would look into them. Have they been doing this to others in the community?
The best thing to do is to talk to people in your neighborhood and run for the HOA.
You get the HOA you vote for.
Aren’t six feet a lot more than 48 inches?
so, the person out measuring your fence and complaining about her SIX FOOT fence has NO LEG to stand on.
She can certainly bring her lawyer into the fold, but she has no standing against you personally. If you’re in compliance according to the HOA, then this is this individual’s issue, not the HOA. I think they treated you fairly. Why say they’re getting out of hand?
So it sounds like the HOA is being reasonable here, but the 2 ladies are mad a rule was enforced against them and are using the fact that the rule isn’t enforced on fences technically over the limit where it was on theirs which is egregiously over the limit. I’d say the HOA is actually an ally in this instance, which opens the opportunity to rewrite the rules to solve this issue. You’ll probably need to do it an at AG, but I’m sure any competent lawyer could drag the proceedings out long enough to allow for that and use a “spirit of the law” argument that would fly with most judges. Or alternatively the HOA could allow for 6-ft (+/- 2 inches to avoid this problem in the future) fences which would probably mollify these biddies. If the rest of the units agree, anyway.
Alternatively you go go on an out-petty war with them, but you’re going to face a pretty uphill fight against a pair of retirees.
Regardless, your parents should definitely ensure there’s enough candidates to fill all council positions on the upcoming elections, and if not they should run themselves. Otherwise guess who your new councillors are going to be!
Looks like it might be time to add a bit of fill for the gap. Narrow strips of sod it is.
HOA should be illegal. Not sure why people keep living in them
Her attorney won’t do a damn thing. She’s bluffing. Tell Gladys Kravitz to fly right at it.
Well, the fence IS 48 inches high. The distance from the ground to the top of the fence is 49 inches. That’s two different things. If the maximum height for a fence is 48 inches, they may be okay because of semantics. They didn’t make the rule clear. If they don’t want anything over 48 inches, they need to stipulate that the height from the ground to the top of the fence can’t exceed 48 inches. But if the maximum height of the fence is 48 inches… we’ll then that’s what your parents have, a 48 inch fence.
So, even if the woman “gets attorneys involved” the best she could do is sue the HOA BoD for selective enforcement—and tbh it kind of sounds like she has a case if there are multiple neighbors who aren’t being required to follow the same rules she had to follow.
Can’t imagine there’s an attorney on the planet who would accept a case against a homeowner for acting within their rights and with (what sounds like) approval from the actual community governing body. Your parents should be fine unless he DOES sue the board. Then that’s a hell of a time.
MY GOD I HATE HOA’s
I would never live in a HOA again, I had many fights with my HOA that I used to live in even so much as nearly going to court over them harassing me. Even my city attorney got involved and offer to fight on my behalf for free. (He goes to the same church as I do)
My HOA cited me for installing a motion sensor to my outdoor light, we had several instances of break ins and drug users stealing from our property. I would often be gone for work at night so I installed the sensor bulb accessory as a security measure, my HOA said I removed the HOA light fixture but I showed them I just added the sensor to the light bulb, they asked me for a written approval with plans.
Next they cited me for leaving my water hose out, It was only out for 2 hours, I went inside to eat lunch and they cited me for that.
They cited me for having hanging flower pots
They cited me for my American Flag hanging in front of my home because it was visible to the street.
They cited me for leaving my garage door open, I was in the garage at the time.
They cited me for working on my car, in my HOA it is forbidden to work on your car. I was vacuuming my car because my son who was a toddler at the time spilled cereal in the back seat.
They cited me for using the community pool because they claimed we had guests in the pool with us, they were neighbors not our guests.
They cited me for having curtains that were different colors, we had put up a Happy Birthday Drape thing for my sons birthday party, it was only up for the weekend.
They cited me for leaving my car parked outside in front of my garage, we were packing up to go on a roadtrip.
Over the course of the 10 years I lived there I racked up over $2,700 in citations from the HOA
Hoa should be illegal
Does seem to be an hoa problem. Seems to be a grumpy neighbor problem
Why does anyone join an HOA? I don’t know if they’re a thing here, but they seem so universally hated.
Reason number 7387 to never buy where there’s an HOA, Jesus Christ this is absolutely ridiculous