There is no shortage of nightmarish HOA stories out there, but this one verges on creepy because of it’s shady characters.

Keep reading to see how this resident’s reaction to this freeloading gardener put him at odds with the HOA.

AITA For firing my HOA-approved gardener after he tried to steal my departed uncle’s priceless heirloom?

My uncle’s HOA has insisted on multiple occasions that my uncle and now I employ the services of a gardener to keep the outside of my house “tidy.”

Oh, but not just *any* gardener, a specific gardener who has an in with the HOA who offers a bulk discount if *everyone* uses his services.

My uncle tried to make the best of the situation, befriending the gardener, sometimes letting him shower in our place or grab a water or a beer.

Whatever, we should all look out for each other right?

Here’s where things get really weird and OP is furious.

But ever since I inherited the house, this guy has been pushing my limits, assuming I would be even more generous than my uncle.

A few weeks ago, I ordered some special baked goods from one of those nationwide shipping services.

These cookies are hard to get because they have to be refrigerated. I waited for these cookies for weeks.

Well I go to my kitchen to grab a bite and I find my gardener inside the house covered in crumbs instead of outside the house “tidying” the yard.

He had gone into my fridge and eaten several of the cookies!

I scolded him about it, he apologized, and I thought we would move on.

While I was in my own living room cleaning up some of the jewelry boxes left by my uncle.

The gardener came inside to use the restroom, noticed one of the pieces, and asked if I would let him “hold it.”

I told him to get the **** out of my house, go back to his own home, and never come back.

But the drama is only just beginning.

My phone is now blowing up from the president and co-treasurer of the HOA livid that I have cost them their “bulk deal” with he gardener.

The said they expect me to offset every other house’s increased costs in my own HOA dues because of how rude I was to a “loyal employee” who had “served the community” for many years.

I think it’s ridiculous to ask me to pay for everyone else’s garden but I’m feeling a little guilty about how I exploded at the gardener.

AITA?

Here’s what people are saying.

I bet. That would also explain why they hired such a shady gardener.

Good idea. I would move, though. Who knows what other sketchy stuff they’re up to.

This. Following a contract helps you cover yourself.

It boggles my mind, too. Lots of commenters said the same thing.

Good to have this perspective. I don’t understand why people let someone walk all over them and then get surprised when it turns into something bad.

I’m glad I don’t live in an HOA.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.