One local homeowner's association is using a unique approach to ensure residents toe the line: a "block list."
Those who end up on it lose access to the area's pool, clubhouse, laundry room or the community wifi internet.
With such steep penalties, what does it take to make the list?
Rules for the Mesa Terrace Condominium Association read "all HOA Representatives are required to be treated with respect and appropriately at all times."
"In the event an issue escalates as determined by the HOA Representative, that individual may be placed on the Block List. Escalation can include inappropriate words, actions or anything interpreted by the HOARepresentative to be inappropriate," according to the agreement all residents must sign.
Attorney Jonathan Dessaules says that language gives all the power to the HOA.
"If we find it inappropriate, we are judge jury and executioner," he says of the association's rules. Dessaules adds the wording is too vague.
"What's appropriate for me may not be appropriate in your eyes. What if you send an email in all caps? Is that inappropriate?"
And if you disobey the block list rules, you could get hit with a $50 fine on top of the lost access to communal resources.
Dessaules says he's seen block lists before but doesn't feel they would hold up in court because they are so one-sided and vague.
I asked the Mesa Terrace Condominium Association for comment about the block list and how many residents have landed there.
At this writing, I did not receive a response.
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