Silly Condo Rules

January 2017

In Ontario…
If you don’t pay your hotel bill
they can sell your horse

In Canada …
It is illegal to practice witchcraft
It is illegal to challenge someone to a duel and/or accept an invitation to a duel
It is illegal to scare the Queen

It can be difficult to adequately balance establishing reasonable rules, compliance and enforcement while trying to represent the interests of condo residents. While some rules may at first appear unreasonable, there is often a reasonable reason for attempting to implement most rules.

• In the USA some Home Owner Associations (HOAs) – the US equivalent to condominium corporations – have challenges when it comes to enforcing apparently reasonable condo rules.
• In North Palm Beach, a family of three was nearly kicked out of their home after the wife had twins. There was a rule limiting occupancy to two children.
• In one HOA that disallowed storage items in common areas, a man suffering from ALS was fined $100 a day for using a shopping cart instead of a walker to get around the building.
• Some towns are served by septic systems. Improper disposal of certain items, or even a garbage disposal, can lead to equipment damage. Since this equipment is expensive some HOAs may have very large fines, perhaps as high as $2,000 per day, for improper disposal of items.
• In an attempt to prevent homosexual couples from living in a development, one HOA passed a rule preventing two unmarried people from living together.
• One HOA banned pet owners from walking their dogs through the lobby. One woman, fined $25 per day, had hundreds of dollars in fines before leaving the building. Another HOA required all pets to be carried over common areas.
• A HOA established a dress code for area activities. Residents and guests were required to wear polo shirts and khakis. Those who did not comply were fined.
• HOAs have been known to fine residents for keeping holiday decorations up too long or using the wrong type of light bulb.
• A HOA catering to artists screened residents and their art to ensure they were sufficiently talented before allowing them to purchase in the building.
• One HOA prohibited nudity in their common areas. One has to wonder why the rule is necessary.

In Connecticut, pickles must bounce to officially be considered pickles.

In Massachusetts, snoring is prohibited unless all bedroom windows are closed and securely locked