Question:
What can you do when you live on an HOA street with widows, cancer patients, and sick elderly folks when the probably unknowing young people using snow blowers and skid loaders pulled the snow from our driveways and packed along the side of the street… and the township truck had come by hours earlier when the snow was light and fluffy but it was ice caked by the time the HOA got there. THEN- the township truck came back and widened the clear path of the road to the edges and plowed the driveways shut and threw logs of ice and frozen snow across the sidewalks and driveway openings (still ice covered) and blocked us in. I called the township and they said it was illegal for the HOA to do that….they always used to put the snow on our small front yards with a blower or push it across the street past the sidewalk into a common area. But this time it was a new crew in skirts and no gloves and our HOA management is run by a state senator. Is that why the neighbors had to did everybody out? The HOA has a person at an 800 number who only takes messages. The township was mean to do that I think but our neighbors had to shovel everybody out again yesterday….We were assessed an extra $30.00 a quarter when the management changed and now we have illegal snow removal………….and a state senator who does not care how much he hurts us…………
– Thomas
Answer:
Hi Thomas,
Generally, HOAs cannot do something to prevent homeowners from accessing their homes. While the Pennsylvania Uniform Planned Community Act does not seem to explicitly address this, you may find a provision addressing it in the governing documents. Kindly review them for verification. Afterward, you may contact your HOA board through other means whether via mail, email, text, or personal visit, if possible, to raise your concerns. You may also attend a board meeting and raise your concerns there.
However, if the board is unresponsive, you may remove the problem board member(s) according to the provisions in the Pennsylvania Uniform Planned Community Act Section 5303(f). According to this section, you may remove directors by a two-thirds vote of all persons present and entitled to vote at any meeting of the unit owners at which a quorum is present. Alternatively, you may contact the Pennsylvania Attorney General for assistance. For further guidance, kindly consult a lawyer.
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers. The information provided on this website does not constitute legal advice.
