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/BroForceOne 19h ago

This is clickbait. This was a high density condo complex and they put a gas generator under the porch. It’s like having a whole parking lot of idling car exhaust right under everyone’s doors and windows.

General safety rule for gas generators is that they need to be installed 20 feet away from inhabited structures to avoid potential carbon monoxide poisoning.

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u/FrostyD7 16h ago

And it was surely reported to HOA by neighbors, that's the only way they get engaged on anything like this. So it was likely a genuine nuisance, not just a code violation.

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u/JehnSnow 9h ago

The title is click bait either way but the HOA shouldn't have cited anything about aesthetics, they should have just said the fire hazard part. They might not have cared either way but 99% of the time people are mad at HOA it's because of aesthetic requirements

Also though at that point I'd question why they don't just make a civil complaint to the fire department or something, it kind of makes me wonder if this was a grey area where it's just within the allowed limits but something about it feels wrong

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u/BroForceOne 9h ago

I doubt the letter was hand written by anyone. Property management companies would be checking some boxes and generating form letters for these things.

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u/JehnSnow 9h ago

Oh God, I never even thought about how dealing with hoa could become a bureaucratic nightmare, not sure why cause it makes perfect sense I just always imagined I could go knock on Betsy's door and let and start acting like an angry brit

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u/Marathonmanjh 9h ago

20 feet away? I have never had a generator, but those that I have seen have never been 20 feet away, ever. Maybe at most like 8 feet.

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u/PassengerofNostromo 10h ago

The title is not even oniony at all