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Lawns

Started by NancyG3 • 11 replies • 566 views

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NancyG3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 342
Posted:
My next door neighbor refuses to mow his lawn. The condition now is it almost up to the knees. This has been a continued problem. I have written our Board about this problem many times. It seems he mows it if they send him a letter or whatever makes him mow the lawn. Our covenants tells the Board what they can do, but, they don't handle it. I have refused to pay my dues until they do something about this. I will contact my Attorney and pay my dues to her until the situation is settled. Does anyone else have this type of problem?

Also, our Covenants do not allow For Sale signs to be erected on any lots. Our Board is now allowing the Realtors to place their signs on the lawns. Any comments?
KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By NancyG3 on 08/15/2020 6:55 AM
My next door neighbor refuses to mow his lawn. The condition now is it almost up to the knees. This has been a continued problem. I have written our Board about this problem many times. It seems he mows it if they send him a letter or whatever makes him mow the lawn. Our covenants tells the Board what they can do, but, they don't handle it. I have refused to pay my dues until they do something about this. I will contact my Attorney and pay my dues to her until the situation is settled. Does anyone else have this type of problem?

Also, our Covenants do not allow For Sale signs to be erected on any lots. Our Board is now allowing the Realtors to place their signs on the lawns. Any comments?

Nancy,

If you withhold your dues payments, you're hurting yourself financially and will lose the collections battle.

If Realtors are attempting to sell the home, it's reasonable to post a "for sale" sign.

It's within your privileges to push hard on the HOA to enforce grass. You may can call your town government as it's a nuisance. However, any interactions between the HOA and the offending property owner is between those two groups and will not include you in the deliberation.
AugustinD
Posts: 5,144
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By NancyG3 on 08/15/2020 6:55 AM
My next door neighbor refuses to mow his lawn. The condition now is it almost up to the knees. This has been a continued problem. I have written our Board about this problem many times. It seems he mows it if they send him a letter or whatever makes him mow the lawn. Our covenants tells the Board what they can do, but, they don't handle it. I have refused to pay my dues until they do something about this.
I have seen this response (not paying legally required dues) by aggrieved HOA members before. Every court in the U. S. will tell you this is not a lawful response. Your HOA's covenants require you to pay your dues. Grievances like yours must, per the law, be handled in a different way. More below.

The HOA will be within its legal rights to lien your property, take you to court, et cetera for failing to comply with your HOA's declaration and covenants when it comes to dues.
Quote:
Posted By NancyG3 on 08/15/2020 6:55 AM

I will contact my Attorney and pay my dues to her until the situation is settled.
Great. Meanwhile, I think you should read your Declaration carefully to see what enforcement rights you lawfully have to force your neighbor to comply with the covenants. Also read the North Carolina statute that applies to your community, again with special attention to any sections on enforcement. This is going to be the starting point for your attorney in determining whether you have bona fide legal claims against your neighbor and the HOA that have teeth. It's always best to do homework before meeting with an attorney. It will save you money. By becoming acquainted with your lawful rights, I think you will have more control of the situation overall.
Quote:
Posted By NancyG3 on 08/15/2020 6:55 AM
Also, our Covenants do not allow For Sale signs to be erected on any lots. Our Board is now allowing the Realtors to place their signs on the lawns. Any comments?
My response is pretty much the same as above: Read your HOA's Declaration and North Carolina's statutes for what your options are to force the HOA to comply with its covenants.
CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
It may be worth checking to see if your local municipality has any laws about maintaining one's property, and then complain to them. It may be more effective.

Along with the others, don't withhold your assessments. The legal consequences of doing so are generally worse than those for neglected lawns. (I note the irony of responding to another homeowner's offense by committing an offense of one's own.)
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062
Posted:
Ignore the HOA. They apparently are not going to address it.

Make a complaint to the local health department.

Most municipalities have laws that specify maximum grass height due to health reasons (rodents, etc.).

DO NOT withhold paying your assessments.
This will go against you and you could end up with late charges, legal fees, etc.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062
Posted:
Side note - we did this where we lived and the county acted quickly.
The issue was resolved within a week.
GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By NancyG3 on 08/15/2020 6:55 AM
I have refused to pay my dues until they do something about this.

This is the worst thing you could possibly do.
NancyG3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 342
Posted:
Thanks everybody for responding. Our HOA Board doesn't abide by our Covenants. I put a sign on my neighbors lawn asking him to please mow and 3 days later he mowed his lawn last night. The good suggestion of going to our town and checking to see if they can handle this type of complaint was a good one. I know all about holding my dues, I used this as a warning to our Board I don't know if they know what to do if I did go to my attorney. I'm sure my attorney would tell me the same thing you have told me. Again thank you for your suggestions.
BillH10 (Texas)
Posts: 1,217
Posted:
Nancy, it sounds from your post like you have larger issues in your association than the condition of the neighbor's lawn, frustrating though that can be.

Can you see your way clear to help get things back on track?
MarshallT (New York)
Posts: 414
Posted:
Hi,

I'm sorry to hear you are in this position, but as others have noted, you can't stop paying dues. Do continue to put pressure on the board. If your HOA allows for it, it sounds like this owner should be issued a fine by now.

The For Sale sign makes sense, but if the CC&Rs don't allow for it, the board should formally amend that rule.

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