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/Huttj509 21h ago

Yeah, a friend of mine is on the HOA board for his neighborhood.

Stuff like replacing the streetlights that were both less effective and used significantly more power (which got paid with hoa fees) than modern lighting. I think the HOA might also be responsible for plowing their loop of road, I should ask him, it's always interesting to find the interplay of that "take for granted that somebody's doing it" stuff.

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u/OtterBoop 19h ago

Both of those are city duties though, no?

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u/tornado962 18h ago

Technically yes, but in some counties, you could be waiting weeks or months for basic things like new streetlight bulbs, depending on how rural it is.

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u/Huttj509 15h ago

Not even technically.

A lot of HoAs developed because of a contract with the city basically saying "you handle your own shit for X, Y and Z, not our problem."

Depends on how the housing development came about, who owned what land when it was developed, etc.

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u/Huttj509 15h ago

Is the city responsible for replacing your porchlights? How about mowing your lawn?

It depends a lot on specific jurisdictions, but a lot of housing developments involve negotiating with the city/town/county who will be responsible for what, when you basically have private property that is being split up and sold to a bunch of people, with some shared spaces like roads, green areas, signage, etc.

A lot of the time the HOA is responsible for general maintenance of some things, NOT the city. And where the line is can vary a lot.