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15 Ridiculous Things Your HOA Could Ban You From Having (Including Your EV)

Welcome back to living under someone else’s rules.

By Heather Bien

Edited by Lauren Wellbank

Updated Jan. 29, 2025

When you become an adult and move out on your own, you gain a sense of freedom. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. You can eat ice cream for breakfast. Go on a walk at midnight. Put up a 12-foot-tall skeleton in your yard year-round.

Or can you?

Buying into a homeowners association (HOA) might seem like a smart homeowner move, but it can be a surprising financial mistake when you realize how much power the association has when it comes to restrictions.

Typically, HOAs exist to enforce rules and regulations that maintain a certain standard of living within a community. They may mandate the color you can paint your home or the hours when you can make noise. Sometimes, they can even get a little power hungry and start putting rules into place about the items you can actually own. And, sometimes, these rules are legitimate and completely legal.

Concerned you might end up in a hairy HOA situation? Here are 15 ridiculous things your HOA can ban you from having.

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Overnight guests

Homes located within an HOA may have great amenities and be more visually appealing than their non-HOA counterparts, but you may be prevented from showing them off to your long-distance friends and family members in neighborhoods where overnight guests are banned.

That’s right, some HOAs put the kibosh on sleepovers, and prohibit homeowners from having company for more than a certain time period. With an average hotel rental being somewhere between $171-319, you may have to pay a little extra on top of your monthly mortgage payment when you’re looking to entertain certain guests.

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Boats

HOA communities are common in many vacation and resort destinations, but, if your dream of living near the water includes a boat, you might want to double check with the HOA. In some communities, you may not be able to park a boat outside your home.

Docking a boat can run you several thousand per season, so this is an expense you want to consider beforehand.

Pets

While you may think your 150-pound dog is darling, your HOA may not agree. Some HOAs have rules about the type of animals you can have, and they may restrict or ban certain types of pets or breeds of dog. This could be done based on size or just the breed’s reputation.

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Outdoor bike storage

For those who ride their bike to commute or on the weekends, it’s convenient to tuck your bike just outside your door or on your patio. But your HOA has the right to say that your outdoor bike storage doesn’t meet their aesthetic standards.

They can ban outdoor bike storage and relegate your bike to the indoors.

Holiday decor

One person’s festive is another person’s fright, and, in an HOA, you’re going to have to abide by the rules that someone else made — and you may not know whether or not they’re a Scrooge until you move in. They can ban the size, placement, and even the color palette of the holiday decor you choose.

Sheds

If you’ve had dreams of a darling potting shed for outdoor storage, don’t draw up plans before making sure that your HOA hasn’t banned additional exterior storage units.

From storage for items like a lawnmower to small sheds, the HOA has the power to tell you these small structures are a no-go. That means you could end up paying up to $100 a month for a storage unit elsewhere.

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Solar panels

Solar panels might seem like a judicious decision to anyone looking to make their home more sustainable, but your HOA doesn’t have to agree. Solar panels could be banned in your HOA, and it may be solely for aesthetic reasons.

Standalone mailbox

Want to put a mailbox by the street rather than going into jumpscare mode every time the mailman drops letters through your front door? Your HOA may not agree with your decision, and a standalone mailbox could violate your HOA’s rules and regulations for structures built near your home.

Short term rental guests

Were you planning on making some extra money by renting out your home when you’re not there? Not so fast. Short term rental guests, like those renting via Airbnb or VRBO, are one of the ridiculous things that your HOA can ban you from having.

They’ll restrict your ability to short term rental your home or run it as a business, potentially leading to you losing hundreds or thousands of dollars in income a month.

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RVs

If you bought into an HOA community as a way to downsize before you take off on your Great American Adventure, take a minute to make sure they’re okay with you parking your brand new, shiny RV out front.

In some HOA communities, an RV might be seen as an eyesore. Which means you could end up needing to find a spot elsewhere, and that may mean paying a fee to keep your RV safe and secure when it’s not in use.

Specific plants

Your garden may be your oasis, but your HOA has the final say on which plants gain entry. From invasive plants, like bamboo, to plants that don’t fit within a pre-approved color palette, your HOA can ban you from having certain shrubs, trees, and flowers within your yard.

They’ll position it as maintaining consistency from yard-to-yard, but it can restrict your green thumb and gardening creativity.

Patio

A patio might seem like an obvious way to increase the value of your home and create more liveable space for you and your family. But HOAs don’t always agree. They may have laws banning landscaping that includes permanent hardscaping, a term that is often used to include patio surfaces.

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Flags

You might be excited to show off your pride for your home state or your alma mater, but your HOA might feel differently. As long as they ban flags consistently across the board for everyone, they can tell you “thanks, but no thanks,” when you try to proudly wave your flag of choice.

Recreation items

From basketball hoops to swingsets, sometimes HOAs just don’t like to see people having fun. They can restrict residents from putting recreation items out in their yard that are designed to stay there semi-permanently.

That may force you and your kids to have to find a local rec center, which can cost you tens of dollars a month.

Pools

Whether it’s an in-ground lap pool or an above-ground hot tub, your HOA can quite literally drain your fun. Make sure your HOA doesn’t restrict whether or not you can put a pool in your yard or carefully choose an HOA that has a community pool so you don’t even need to worry about maintenance.

Bottom line

If you’re looking to buy a home that will let you build wealth and increase your property value so you can tap into home equity in the future, then buying into an HOA can be a wise decision.

These properties typically retain their value thanks to the tightly controlled neighborhood standards, which can make the hassle of living in a community that might say “no” to overnight guests and electric vehicles worth it for some.

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