May 18, 2024 at 1:51 pm

Scrooge Neighbor Used HOA Rules To Make Him Take Down Some Lights, So He Got Revenge By Using The Rules To Create The Brightest Display Possible

by Ryan McCarthy

Source: Canva/Reddit

Maybe I’m biased, but I love those ridiculous and over-the top Christmas light displays.

I might be biased because my dad would always go all out, but even when the insane amount of light messes with my sleep schedule for the entire month of December!

But when this neighbor tried to celebrate Christmas with one single string of lights, his neighbor made him take them down in accordance with a ridiculous HOA rule!

But he had the last laugh when he found a way to put up as many lights as possible within breaking a single HOA rule.

Check it out!

Can’t Have White Rope Lights to Celebrate Christmas – Ok, Get Ready For The Color Explosion

About 20 years ago, my wife and I had just gotten married and we rented a condo where all the windows and sliding door faced the parking area.

My wife, to celebrate our first Christmas as a married couple put a white rope light on the railing on our 2 foot grilling area.

It was nice little gesture.

That night we went out to dinner and when we came home, found a letter under our door.

And apparently, not everyone was a fan of the Christmas decorations!

The letter read: “All holiday lights must be removed immediately from the exterior portion of the condo. Christmas or other religious lighting is against HOA policy and failure to remove can result in fines and other legal actions.”

My wife felt horrible and I couldn’t believe it.

The owner of the condo had left a copy of the HOA regulations and I found a nice little loophole.

Apparently, they could regulate lights on the exterior balcony/grilling area, but not lights inside the condo. Game on.

Armed with this loophole, he and his wife set out to teach their HOA a lesson about Christmas spirit!

I took my wife immediately to the big box hardware store and picked up two fake Christmas trees, about 2,000 colored lights, a light ball and whatever holiday decoration I could find.

Our condo had 3 windows and the sliding glass door.

I filled up each one of those windows with lights, crisscrossing, around the inside of the perimeter of the window and one had the led ball hanging in the center.

The sliding door had the Christmas tree in full view completely covered in lights and ornaments. Also the sliding doors were full of Christmas lights.

But even with the effect on his electric bill, he said the pettiness was completely worth it!

My electric bill must have tripled.

When you came into the parking lot of the Condo complex, you saw a beacon of light full of Christmas spirit.

You probably could see the condo from orbit. And, nothing could be said by the HOA snitch.

Apparently at the next board meeting, a proposed rule change was brought up to limit the amount of “holiday lighting” being shown through windows.

It was quietly pointed out by another HOA board member that was an attorney that you probably could not regulate activities inside a person’s dwelling.

I moved out before next year, but I never received another notice.

Who was their neighbor, Ebenezer Scrooge? Or perhaps the Grinch?

Reddit loved his festive revenge, with many suggesting even more ways he could get around his HOA’s ridiculous rules!

Source: Reddit/Petty Revenge

And this user was the complete opposite, saying he absolutely loved his neighbor’s festive lights!

Source: Reddit/Petty Revenge

Many were reminded of how their own families went all out for holiday decorations.

Source: Reddit/Petty Revenge

Finally, this user had another hilarious way to comply with his HOA, but the HOA definitely wasn’t too happy with the results of their request.

Source: Reddit/Petty Revenge

Sometimes the light bill is worth getting revenge on your neighbors!

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.