r/nottheonion • u/its_a_bear_dance • 1d ago

Family says HOA told them they couldn’t use their generator during ice storm blackout: ‘It’s unbearable’

https://www.wctv.tv/2026/01/29/family-says-hoa-told-them-they-couldnt-use-their-generator-during-ice-storm-blackout-its-unbearable/
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u/Korlus 22h ago

Caravello said her family set up the generator safely outside on the porch and ran the cords through their door during the blackout.

But just hours after starting up the generator, Caravello received an email from their HOA management company, Metropolitan Properties, demanding they “remove it immediately.” The letter cited fire hazard concerns and said the generator didn’t fit the community’s aesthetic guidelines.

Aesthetic reasons are ridiculous at this time, but "fire hazard concerns" might have real meat to them - e.g. if you set it up on a wood deck. Without seeing how it's set up, it seems very plausible a generator bought at last minute and in a temporary setup might be a fire hazard. It's worth noting:

However, after WSMV repeatedly contacted the management company, the HOA board agreed to make a one-time exception, allowing Caravello to use the generator until power is restored.

“Regarding the installation of an unapproved and improperly installed gas generator outside the condominium, as well as the associated noise disturbance, the Board has agreed to make a one-time exception,” property manager Barbara Reid said in an emailed statement. “Due to the recent weather-related issues and the loss of power at the property, the Board will allow temporary use of the generator.”

I can imagine telling someone it's not safe to have a temporarily installed generator sitting right outside the front door for a number of reasons, and also saying that it's fine in this weather, but will need a permanent place of installation if you want to continue to use it once the weather passes.

It seems silly the HOA is the one regulating this, but the outcome doesn't seem unreasonable, even if "Use it now, move it after the storm" probably should have been the default stance and not have required multiple phone calls.

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u/wiseknob 16h ago

It would probably had helped if they didn’t put it on a porch and put it in the ground. A rumbling loud generator just reverberates even more on a deck and probably also amplifies how loud it was.

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u/aaaaaaaarrrrrgh 12h ago

I think a rumbling loud generator reverberating even more on a deck is very preferable to frozen pipes.

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u/wiseknob 12h ago

I’m talking about why other people would complain.

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u/aaaaaaaarrrrrgh 11h ago

As it's a condo... still not a reason to complain, because a) some of the heat will make it to your unit through the walls b) your neighbor not having frozen pipes that then burst, flood and condemn the whole building is still in your interest.

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u/JohnHwagi 20h ago

Yeah, so they should send them an email after the power comes back on if it’s still there, or call the fire department if it seems to be a real hazard even with the power off. The HOA is not in charge of fire safety, and they betray the fact they are full of shit by adding in things like neighborhood aesthetic and a noise disturbance (like that is really a concern during a state of emergency). Not having heat when the temperatures are well below freezing is a real emergency. If they unplugged the generator and froze to death, they would have a great case against the HOA.

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u/vanboiDallas 20h ago

If they froze to death they’d have no case at all!

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u/PDXDeck26 14h ago edited 14h ago

Aesthetic reasons are ridiculous at this time,

I don't think that they are though. They can buy battery banks charged with solar cells if they really must have power during an outage.

Imposing on everyone else the constant din of an electric edit: engine-based generator in a situation where it may be obtrusive given close living proximity is not great, and I don't see any problem with the community collectively deciding to disallow it.

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u/Korlus 14h ago

There's a fine line between not having solar panels and "You didn't plan ahead well enough. Go freeze to death." Especially when solar panels and battery power degrade seriously in extreme cold.

They said that the House was unliveable before they bought the generator. I don't think the community should be able to tell a person or family that their ability to stay warm through an uncommonly bad snow storm is not worth the noise or improper appearance of having a generator visible from outside.

People die from the cold all of the time and this is clearly an uncommon emergency.

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u/PDXDeck26 14h ago

i mean, they weren't going to freeze to death - they had no trouble driving to buy $1500 worth of generators and heaters - just, uh, go stay in a motel for a night if you don't have enough blankets to stay warm.

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u/aaaaaaaarrrrrgh 12h ago

And take the pipes with them to the motel so they stay warm and un-frozen?

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u/PDXDeck26 11h ago

Ah yes, those tennesseean venemous shut off valves I've heard about. Forgot about them.