HOA - Violating our Rights?

Homeowners Associations (HOA) have been around for as long as most can remember in neighborhoods all across America. They’re very important for many reasons: making sure people don’t block others' views, cleaning the neighborhood, and making sure the neighborhoods all have continuity. However, along with keeping the neighborhood together, they sometimes end up violating people’s First Amendment right to expression. For example, the HOA controls a house’s color, height, yard, garage, deck, style, and pretty much anything else that has to do with a home. Although these rules are important, are they really fair to homeowners? It seems like the HOA had more say in a home than the actual owner.

Of course there are reasons why the HOA is vital to a community. There can’t be one person painting their house bright pink, and another with a roof so tall it blocks everyone’s views. But, if someone does decide to paint their house pink... well, what can the Homeowners Association even do? According to Mrs. Damon, who is an active member of her HOA, “The Association can fine a person if they do not comply with the rules. They will get a couple warnings, and then, if they still do not meet the criteria, they will be cited. Really, though, besides that, we can’t force someone to change their house.”

Although Homeowners Associations are important, are they violating too many rights? In the Bill of Rights, it clearly states in the First Amendment that people have the right to expression. Well, what expresses someone’s personality more than their home, the place they at which spend their time and live, the place that represents who they are and is filled with things that are important to them? It might seem dangerous to go without the Association, though, and to risk a neighborhood colored like a mismatched rainbow. It seems like there would definitely be a downside to not having an HOA. Even so, in reality, England and many other countries don’t have one and just look at the comparison between London’s neighborhoods and some of the United States’.

Do the benefits outweigh the negative aspects of having an HOA, or is it truly the other way around?