HOAs are often barriers to sustainable landscaping and solar energy. Here's how they could be bridges instead
If you build a house in the United States today, there's a good chance you'll be living under the dictates of a neighborhood homeowners association—roughly two out of every three new homes are in an HOA, as are a third of existing homes.
Homeowners associations (HOAs) in the United States have become a common feature of suburban living, with roughly two out of every three new homes and a third of existing homes falling under their jurisdiction. While some HOAs have begun to encourage environmentally friendly practices, many continue to act as barriers to sustainable landscaping and solar energy.
A case in point is the Crouch family in Maryland, who spent over a decade battling their HOA to maintain a bird and pollinator habitat in their yard, only to eventually win a legal victory that inspired Maryland lawmakers to pass a low-impact landscaping law in 2021. Despite progress in states like California, which has developed stricter protections against HOA restrictions on drought-resistant plants and artificial turf, conflicts between HOAs and homeowners over sustainability measures persist in many other states.
HOAs, which have existed since the 1800s and became more prevalent during the suburban development boom of the 1960s and 70s, hold a unique position between private property and local governments, exerting control over various aspects of homeowners' lives. While they can serve as barriers to sustainability, they also have the potential to act as bridges, and cities and states can help facilitate this transition by enacting laws that limit HOA authority over environmental matters.
Brief written by urgent.news from Phys.org's own syndicated text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
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