What is the function of a Homeowners Association?

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MarieVeronica

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I would especially appreciate answers from any of you… who serve on your HOA’s.

Are HOA’s supposed to “advocate” for their members? I have a situation… a neighbor of mine, is “stealing” trash pickup service… by adding his trash to mine and another close neighbor. The problem: Our trash pick up service charges BY THE BAG. So… that means, if I set out 3 bags… and he adds 2-3 more… I am charged for that amount.

Ok… so I called the HOA today, to ask if they can send a letter reminding folks that we must each pay for our OWN trash pick up.

Her advice: Confront the guy doing it… and tell him to stop. I was like… :eek: Are you serious? (she also said that mailing correspondance is “expensive” and she can’t authorize it).

I thought it was one of the functions of an HOA to advocate for the members. Anyone know? Thanks and God bless.
 
I don’t think that’s their role… usually the HOA dictates rules that have to do with the neighborhood.

Isn’t the garbage collection through your city or county? I would contact them instead.

That’s horrible your neighbor is doing that. 😦 I would either confront him yourself or call the city/county garbage collection agency.
 
Em_in_FL said:
I don’t think that’s their role… usually the HOA dictates rules that have to do with the neighborhood.

Isn’t the garbage collection through your city or county? I would contact them instead.

That’s horrible your neighbor is doing that. 😦 I would either confront him yourself or call the city/county garbage collection agency.
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Nope. We have private pickup service. I guess I could call them, and ask what to do. The problem is that this guy is doing this… covertly… under cover of darkness, etc. Although… I did see him once. And that’s how I know who it is. I’m also kind of afraid to confront him. I’m female, under 5 ft. 4. He’s male, and BIG.

I don’t know. It just seems to me… that garbage collection COULD fall under “rules of the neighborhood”. I’m sure if someone had the nerve to tap into a neighbors cable or electricity… the HOA would respond. 🤷

Thanks for your answer. God bless.
 
MarieVeronica said:
Nope. We have private pickup service. I guess I could call them, and ask what to do.

…

I don’t know. It just seems to me… that garbage collection COULD fall under “rules of the neighborhood”. I’m sure if someone had the nerve to tap into a neighbors cable or electricity… the HOA would respond. 🤷
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Yeah, I would call the service. Maybe mark your bags with your street address or something so they know what’s yours? 🤷

Our HOA would have nothing to do with utilities, electricity, cable, etc… in those cases I’d just call those particular companies, not the HOA.
 
Leave a note on his door that you (you don’t have to identify yourself) are going to be putting up camera’s to monitor who is putting trash in your trash pile. Even if you don’t put up cameras it might deter him from doing it any more.

We had someone who was letting their dog use the restroom in our yard and not picking it up. We put a note on their door like this and they never let their dog in our yard again 👍
 
MarieVeronica said:
Are HOA’s supposed to “advocate” for their members? I have a situation… a neighbor of mine, is “stealing” trash pickup service… by adding his trash to mine and another close neighbor. The problem: Our trash pick up service charges BY THE BAG. So… that means, if I set out 3 bags… and he adds 2-3 more… I am charged for that amount.
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I’m not on the HOA board (our subdivision hasn’t reached 90% build-out yet, so we have a 3rd-party company managing our HOA), but I live in an HOA community and I used to work for a municipal solid waste (trash/recycling) department, so I have a few thoughts. 🙂

Bottom line, this guy is definitely stealing from you. You can file a police report, because theft is theft.

We pay our HOA for trash service (we are in a rural area), so I totally get what you’re saying, and yes, they should be reminding people to keep their trash to themselves. Even if they put a notice in a newsletter, however, it doesn’t necessarily mean this guy will stop. If he’s doing it late at night, he knows he’s doing something wrong, and doesn’t want to get caught.

Your HOA probably isn’t your actual waste pick up provider, but you should be able to identify the company by calling your HOA and asking for the trash company’s customer service number. They should be able to monitor your address, recording how many bags they pick up. You should be able to tell them, “I only have 2 or 3 bags for each pick up,” so they know how many to expect from you.

Are your neighbor’s bags the same color as yours? Around here, we can get either white or black bags… I would pick the opposite color that he has, and tell the trash company which color is yours.

Hope that helps a little, or gives you a few ideas on how to combat this situation.
 
**Well I’ll tell you what I did in our old neighborhood when our trash hog neighbor (family of 4 made more trash than my family of 10??) kept doing this to us. I had an extra $70 on my bill one month because of them doing that twice a week.:mad: **
As soon as I saw their car leave for work in the morning, I’d run out there and put ALL my bags at their curb.
Only took 1 bill for them to get the message.
I think it depends on the HOA and who’s answering the phone. If it’s written as a violation in the HOA, then it’s up to the HOA to enforce their own rules. If it’s not, then that’s a big grey area.
I personally hate HOA and would prefer to handle most things myself.
Trash cans and maybe colored trash bags would help? I hate the colored bags because you can see through them, but if you have a trash can, it’s a little bit better. Then you can tell the trash guys that if it’s not in your white trash bags, it’s not yours?
 
Thank you all… for the responses. There are some good suggestions here. I like the different color bags suggestion. (btw, his bags are the same color as ours… but I tie the knots on ours… a certain way. So I know which bags belong to us… and which don’t). But maybe I will switch colors anyway.

I don’t think it is in anyone’s best interests for me to confront this guy. Not only is he big… and I’m small; But I mean, what is to stop him then… from damaging my car (which we must park, outdoors); killing our outdoor cat (he knows which cat is ours); or getting revenge, in some other way? If he is of the mindset that “stealing” trash pickup service is acceptable… who knows what ELSE he might do?

It’s awful… when people… especially women… must be so afraid of others. But sadly, fear is often the “residue” of the times we’re living in. 😦 I would greatly appreciate your prayers.

God bless.
 
depends on your by-laws. here the HOA meets regularly mainly to gripe about the owners of the golf course.
 
If you are being charged for a service that he is using in your name without your consent, and if you really want to put the fear in him, then call the police. Two charges, both felonies: theft and trespassing. That will definitely get his attention. You can agree to drop the charges if you feel he’s learned his lesson, but don’t let him believe that you won’t do anything about it.
 
I’m on my HOA board. The purpose of the HOA is to maintain commonly owned property and enforce the covenents recorded when the subdivision plat was recorded.

What you are describing is completely outside the jurisdiction of the HOA. As mentioned by others, it is stealing - a police matter.

I’d probably post a sign on a stick in the ground that said:

“WARNING! We will report illegal trash dumping to the police. We will not pay for YOUR trash removal.”

And you will have to back it up if they call your hand. It does stink, but justice always requires courage. I have to believe it wouldn’t be too hard to ID a dumper. These days there is always 400 pieces of junk mail to throw out…
 
You can put stickers on your bags… tell the company yours have the orange dots on them or something. I’m sure the company is used to this and can give you advice.
 
MarieVeronica said:
I would especially appreciate answers from any of you… who serve on your HOA’s.

Are HOA’s supposed to “advocate” for their members? I have a situation… a neighbor of mine, is “stealing” trash pickup service… by adding his trash to mine and another close neighbor. The problem: Our trash pick up service charges BY THE BAG. So… that means, if I set out 3 bags… and he adds 2-3 more… I am charged for that amount.

Ok… so I called the HOA today, to ask if they can send a letter reminding folks that we must each pay for our OWN trash pick up.

Her advice: Confront the guy doing it… and tell him to stop. I was like… :eek: Are you serious? (she also said that mailing correspondance is “expensive” and she can’t authorize it).

I thought it was one of the functions of an HOA to advocate for the members. Anyone know? Thanks and God bless.
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I am on the board of a HOA.

FIRST, let me say that each HOA is very different in what they do, what the scope of their authority is, what their functions and purpose are supposed to be. It all varies by their bylaws and by the land covenants that give them authority.

Now as to your specific situation, what the HOA did in your case is EXACTLY what I would suggest. The HOA is not there to mediate private squabbles between neighbors, at least not the HOA that I serve for. Your HOA may be different, but I suspect that it is not.

Why do I suspect that? Simple, the issue is not one that would typically be addressed by the bylaws or covenants.
 
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