Homeowners associations aim to protect property values but can limit personal choice

Soon after Athena and Bob Bauerle bought their newly built Bucks County home, they decided they wanted to install solar panels on their roof. But they faced a big hurdle: their homeowners association.

Four years later, they’re still in court fighting a lawsuit from their HOA board, which is demanding they remove the solar panels from the rear of their roof.

The association’s rules prohibit “solar heating panels and similar installations.” The Bauerles’ panels weren’t for heat, so they didn’t think that rule applied. Any additions or alterations to the exterior of homes in the Hilltown Township community need association approval. The HOA polled some neighbors and decided against the Bauerles’ panels.

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According to the Bauerles, who had already taken funds from retirement accounts and spent money for the panels, that decision was a reversal of an earlier decision to allow the panels only on the rear of their house — a point of contention in court. As the case drags on, the couple and a teenage son continue to live in the community controlled by the HOA.

“I feel ostracized in the neighborhood,” Athena said.

“It’s been an absolute nightmare,” Bob said. “I will probably never, ever again live in a neighborhood with an HOA because of this.”

Roughly one in four people in the United States lives in a community association, which includes condo associations, co-ops, and homeowners associations, according to the Community Associations Institute, a Virginia-based advocacy and continuing education organization. These associations have become more prevalent in the last couple of decades.

Solar United Neighbors, a national solar advocacy organization, offers a tool kit to equip homeowners with information and modern designs when they go before their boards to plead their cases. The group is pushing for legislation in Pennsylvania to prevent community associations from prohibiting solar panels, which many homeowners want for energy independence and to benefit the environment. Associations can’t stop New Jersey residents from going solar.

Bachman’s Roofing, Building & Remodeling in Berks County, which installs solar panels for homeowners across the region, says it has been thwarted by homeowners associations.

“In the past year, we’ve easily lost a million dollars of business,” said Robert Glasner, residential sales manager and solar energy specialist.

People who want to go green and take control of generating their own electricity are being prohibited from doing that by “people who are more worried about the aesthetics,” he said. “What the HOAs are doing is they’re limiting people’s choices.”

In Pennsylvania, it’s rare to find a housing development built since the mid-1990s or early 2000s that does not have a community association, said Tony Campisi, executive director of the local chapter of the Community Associations Institute that covers Pennsylvania and parts of South Jersey and Delaware.

“If you want new home construction in the last 20 years, you almost have no choice but to buy in a community association,” he said.

Since 2000, four in five new homes nationally have been built in one of some kind, he said. There’s been an explosion in growth of these associations nationwide since the 1970s.

The Community Associations Institute estimates that 1.3 million Pennsylvanians live in about 6,900 community associations, and more than 1.4 million New Jersey residents live in roughly 7,000 associations.

Community associations are made up of all the homeowners in a particular development, building, or community.

These associations are collections of property owners governed by shared rules and regulations. Community associations can control architectural features of homes, parking, the construction of external structures or features, yard signs, and more.

Any homeowner who buys a property in a community governed by an association is automatically a member. Property owners are required to follow bylaws, which lay out what is and isn’t allowed and are presented to buyers during the sales process.

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“They should read them and understand them before they purchase their home,” Campisi said.

HOA fees that pay for an association’s operation vary widely, depending on community size, price point, and amenities, but average monthly fees are a few hundred dollars.

Typically, developers form community associations and transfer them to homeowners after construction. Residents of the community who are in good standing can run for an association’s board.

State statutes govern the creation, management, and termination of community associations.

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In Pennsylvania, Campisi said, “municipal governments are almost forcing developers to build in an association-governed community.” Associations cover some services that would otherwise be a local government’s responsibility, such as street plowing, trash pickup, and streetlight maintenance. Municipalities have required community associations to manage storm water retention basins and open space.

Peter Rotelle, a Chester County-based custom-home builder, formed a homeowners association at one of his small Chester County communities because the township required one in exchange for installing narrower roads than otherwise would be allowed, he said.

Many people’s biggest asset is their home, and “the role of these community associations is to protect property values,” Campisi said. That can include preventing clutter and nuisances and ensuring a development as a whole looks well-maintained.

“There is a great misconception that homeowners associations are bad — big bad governing boards that tell you every little thing you can do with your home,” he said. “And that’s just not the case.”

The Community Associations Institute coaches boards on interpreting, amending, and enforcing their governing documents and alerts them to new laws that might affect them.

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The Bauerles’ homeowners association states in its written rules that “it is hoped and anticipated that all unit owners will comply with the rules and regulations as they are outlined in this document, since they are intended to preserve the character of the community and the property values of each owner.”

“The executive board understands the need to maintain a clean and aesthetically pleasing environment,” reads another section of the rules. “Each unit owner deserves such and pays monthly to obtain it. It is also each unit owner’s responsibility to comply with these rules and regulations in an effort to do their part for the community.”

Rotelle, home builder and owner of Rotelle Development Co., said the rules he puts in place for developments depend on the price point, location, and amenities of the community. Regulations could include limiting RV and boat parking and prohibiting chain-link fences. During the last three decades, his company has compiled lists of regulations “that will preserve the value of the community and the investment people are putting forth,” he said.

He said homeowner associations should serve a purpose and aren’t always necessary.

“In concept, they are great. I think in certain communities they are an absolute must,” Rotelle said. Someone has to be in charge of caring for common resources and active amenities such as pools, clubhouses, and playgrounds, he said.

But, “at times, they’re put into place where they shouldn’t be,” he said.

“There are some good and positive things about [HOAs] and just some horrific headaches,” Rotelle said.

Typically, homeowners associations enforce their regulations through fines. Accumulated fines and late fees can result in liens being placed on properties. Associations can sue homeowners. In extreme cases, community associations can foreclose on homes.

When disagreements arise, Campisi said, homeowners should be able to lay out their interpretations of the bylaws and any extenuating circumstances at a hearing before a disciplinary committee or the board. The board can decide whether the fine remains, homeowners qualify for exemptions, or some other resolution is appropriate. Homeowners can go to court and ask for a ruling from a judge.

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“At the heart of this is neighbor-to-neighbor disputes,” Campisi said. “Increasingly, regardless of where you live, Americans are mad at each other these days about everything. And community organizations are not exempt from that.”

At issue are leaves in yards, drainage, noise, music, parties, and cooking and smoking odors. “We hear everything,” he said.

When it comes to the most common disagreements, the Community Associations Institute refers to “the three p’s”: parking, pets, and poop.

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“Disputes are many, and we try to encourage people to just talk to each other and work them out before they elevate to the point where judges and attorneys get involved,” Campisi said.

Community associations that function well with few complaints are well-governed with boards that communicate clearly and members who stay involved. Associations with little homeowner participation and poor communication from the board — “those tend to be the communities where they have more complaints and more issues,” he said.

In a small community of just over a dozen homes that Rotelle built in Chester County, “there was a lawsuit in it because someone wanted to build a shed,” he said. “It just created complete animosity among the neighbors.”

He explained the crux of many arguments: “You’re giving up rights to your property and putting that in the hands of neighbors who maybe see differently on certain things that are personal choices.”