I received an email from my Realtor (who manages the townhouse in Glenside Woods I rent from the owner), sent to me on behalf of Nicole at Landmark who is the Community Account Manager for Glenside Woods HOA. Nicole does not like that I choose to mow my own lawn (I don't need to go into all the reasons why I choose to take on this responsibility). The email below in quotes is from Nicole to me.
I highly doubt this unreasonable demand was put before the property owner who pays Landmark $205 a month and Landmark is now threatening to provide NO LANDSCAPING SERVICES for my address should I continue to mow my own lawn. The HOA is trying their best to bully me. There's not a judge in VA who would rule in their favor if litigation were to be pursued. Now if my yard were not kept within community guidelines Landmark certainly could insist that Davey perform full landscaping services for my unit to enforce compliance.
Email:
"I wanted to reach out regarding a note I received from the association. They commented that you mentioned your desire to take care of both the front and the rear yard. They are glad to allow you to take care of both the front and the rear yard, but noted that would mean that you would be responsible for all maintenance of the yard. This would include mowing, trimming, chemical treatments, aerating, seeding, etc. Basically with 100 units in the community we can't pick and choose what services we want and which we do not want. There are just too many homes for individual units to each have a separate plan. That being said, they are offering a couple of options...
(1) Allow the tenant to maintain the front and back yards entirely (meaning Davey will not service and ALL the yard maintenance will be the sole responsibility of the resident/owner).
(2) Have Davey service her yard, giving the tenant the option to keep the back gate locked, so she will be able to maintain the back yard herself if and when she desires.
(3) Have Davey Service the front and back yard. Tenant will not maintain."
First of all, no "special landscaping plan" for my townhouse was asked for. No additional work or consideration would be required of Davey, the landscape crew. You would think the 15 minutes of time saved not having to mow my front & backyard would give them more time to spend on other yards. Many of the other 99 units in this community either maintain their own shrubs, do their own weeding, or request that no mulch even be put down on their beds, among other things.
Consider the context. If the HOA isn't uniformly enforcing covenants around landscaping, that can lead to allegations of discrimination. You don't want to be selective or punitive in enforcement, especially if there may be extenuating circumstances.
Photo attached shows my yard I mowed myself (top photo) compared to two others (lower left & right photos) in the community this week after they were mowed by Davey who they want to mow my lawn. Note there is also a sign that fell off the pole and sat there for days. read more