Since the dawn of civilisation people have battled over all manner of things. However, few institutions have cause people such menial trouble as local homeowner's associations.
Recently, one man got into a passionate fight with his local HOA when they threatened to sue his neighbor after the neighbor had installed an accessibility ramp to their house.
The individual posted their story on Reddit, asking the question: "[Am I the asshole] for losing my s*** after the HOA prevented my disabled veteran neighbor from making NECESSARY adjustments to his house?"
"My nextdoor neighbor is a war veteran. He was medically discharged from the military. He has some sort of head trauma and has a missing leg. He is wheelchaired and going through physical therapy to learn to walk again," this person started their story by writing.
Due to the fact that he is a contractor, his neighbour's sister had asked if he could build a ramp. After telling her that if she covered the cost of the materials he would do it for free, he then emailled the HOA to let them know his plans.
"I got a permit to building, took a ridiculous amount of time to get it. I also tell the HOA about the ramp. They didn't get back to me, despite me calling, emailing, sending letters and getting to them in person. Its about 3 weeks, no response. F*** it I'm building the ramp [...] During this entire time whenever [my neighbor] had to enter or leave the house, 2 people would have to carry his wheelchair up or down."
"I start building the ramp and I'm about halfway done, I go home to finish it the next day. The next day the HOA sends a nasty letter to the house informing them that the ramp doesn't meet the HOA specifications. Something about the aesthetics and the right color wood. We ignore the letter. A neighbor complains and threatens to bring a lawsuit over it about," he went on to say.
So, our helpful contractor went down to the next HOA meeting to give them a piece of his mind. He went on to explain:
"I finished building the ramp and the HOA is demanding we deconstruct it. I go to the meeting and I explain how the HOA never got back to me and that it's their fault they don't like the aesthetics. They said that rules are rules and we must follow them. I lost my shit at the point and yelled, 'SHUT YOUR GOD DAMNED MOUTH, THAT MAN SACRIFICED HIS LEGS OVERSEAS FOR US, YOU ALL ARE DISGUSTING PIECES OF S*** FOR MAKING HIS [LIFE] HARDER, YOU SHOULD ALL BE [ASHAMED] OF YOURSELVES!'"
It is shocking that any decent person would try and force someone to dismantle an accessible ramp to their home, and so people quickly voted the contractor as not the asshole in the story.
"[You're not the asshole]. In fact, I would consult an attorney about this. There are certain things that supersede an HOA's authority, even though they frequently think they are the supreme rulers," wrote one person.
While there were some people in the thread defending HOAs in general, none were able to condone the actions of this specific HOA. The fact that the HOA would impact a veteran's life so massively, simply due to the fact that the HOA don't like the aesthetics of the ramp, is deplorable.
Let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments.
h/t: Reddit
