Christmas is around the corner! And while most people are spending time decorating their homes and gardens, not everyone feels the same eagerness. A man, identified as @Alternate_chaos5150 on Reddit, resides in a neighborhood with a homeowner’s association. He enjoys decorating his property and putting up Christmas lights, but he was recently informed of violating the HOA rules. 

The Redditor explained he’s exempt from both the HOA and its rules in his post, and a real estate attorney had verified this fact. While his house had been built before the association even existed, he also claimed the HOA has a long history of not appreciating this fact and that the most recent incident he’s been through with them serves as an example of how they tend to react to him.

People Naturally Explore Their Creativity Through Decorating During Christmas Season.

James Wheeler -Via

On November 30th, a woman visited the man who told him his Christmas light violated the HOA’s rules. In particular, the complaint was that the man put up his lights too early and had also put up too many for their liking. He replied: “I told her that we been over this before that I am in no way beholden to their policies and don’t care.” The man clearly had no intention to follow the rules of an association he didn’t belong to.

This Redditor Shared The Situation He Experienced With One Of His Neighbors, A HOA Member.

The Man, A Non-Member, Was Asked Not To Put His Christmas Lights Up So Early.

But He Refused To Comply With The Association Rules.

Alternate_chaos5150 -Via

Users quickly agreed with the man, claiming the rules didn’t apply to him. One person said: “Don’t you dare agree “out of respect” for any other non-legal reason to ANY of their rules. If you do that, you may set up precedence in behavior that could make you legally bound to their rules. Another asked: “What part of “I’m not a member of the HOA does she understand?” A third stated: “It kills them that somebody could exist that isn’t beholden to their rules.”