HOA Irrigation System

I live in a community that was once a rental community. My single family home is surrounded by about 12 townhomes.
When we purchased our home, it was listed as having an irrigation system. However, it turns out that the irrigation system serves our home and all the townhomes around us. The box to control the system runs off of our electricity and is attached to our home. We did not sign any agreement, nor was there any language in the HOA rules and regulations about a shared system. The HOA has turned off the irrigation system and locked the box. Do we have any means to take this over? My assumption is the control box for the system is our property as we purchased the home. Thanks for the feedback!

It is possible that the controller box on your home is just a "timer" that tells when the valve should open and close. Then, the well and pump have their own electric bill that is sent to your HOA. At least that is how our system works.

Similar arrangement here at the other end of the country. We have 8 homes where we have sprinkler control bits hooked into their electric. We reimburse the owners annually for the electricity. Some of the owners of those homes don't like it. One recent purchaser complained and was told if his pre-closing inspection report didn't disclose it then it's not the HOA's problem. The timers do present problems from time to time. One tripped a breaker that caused an owner's refrigerator to lose power for a while and food spoilage resulted. Another of the owners went away for the summer and turned off every breaker except for the HVAC and locked the place up tight. No sprinkler coverage for a portion of the property.

We've talked about running separate electric service for the 8 sprinkler controls but the cost is prohibitive for various reasons. Eventually we'll get around to it, probably after someone threatens a lawsuit. There are no easements.

Thanks for all the feedback. There is not an easement. I wrote the HOA a letter the other day and the HOA president dropped by for a visit. He had no idea that the water ran off our control box and was a little concerned. His opinion was, "it's your box." Since we don't have any documents stating otherwise, he has agreed to let us turn the system back on. If other neighbors want to opt out of the system, they can ask me and we can consider it.

Either way, I'm still concerned about property value. The house was appraised as having an irrigation system. That's really not the case. If I were to sell it tomorrow, I wouldn't represent it that way.