Even if you don’t live in an HOA, there may be certain city rules about what is and is not okay to do on your property.

For example, there might be rules about junk piles on your property or letting your grass or weeds get too tall.

In today’s story, one homeowner’s neighbor reports him to the county about a shed on his property.

He decides to get revenge and finds a way to do it so that his neighbor can’t report him again.

Let’s see how the story plays out…

Report me for a county ordinance violation? Ok.

Full disclaimer: there are other reasons why I dislike this neighbor enough to exact vengeance, which I won’t cover here.

Also, I’m on a phone; so, please excuse any typos, etc.

Backdrop: Several years ago, I purchased a home in a coastal paradise in hot, humid and mosquito-infested Florida.

The backyard was 2/3 fenced and included a tin shed that served more as a palmetto bug sanctuary than a functioning storage facility.

My next door neighbor, a decrepit old man, (henceforth “X”) also had a 2/3 fenced yard and his swimming pool faced my shed.

It’s time to get rid of the shed!

One weekend, I felt inspired to tear down the old shed and began stripping the structure down.

Due to the age of the shed, the bolts holding everything together were rusted through and impossible to remove without additional tools (aka tin snips).

I apologized to X, but informed him I would finish the work the following weekend, as I work full time during weekdays.

The neighbor immediately complained to the counter inspector.

By Tuesday, X had contacted the county inspector, who was a friend of his, and lied stating I had left the shed in disrepair for months which violates our local ordinances.

The inspector informed me I needed to remove the structure immediately or I would be subjected to fines.

I responded that X lied about the duration the shed was partially disassembled and also that I would have everything cleared out by the weekend, as I had already informed X about two days prior.

He now permanently keeps part of the yard overgrown.

The Revenge: since I was a new-ish homeowner, I hadn’t read up on all the ordinances in my county.

After reviewing the list, I took special note of the lawn care rules which state “grass exceeding 12” on a majority of the property is a violation.

Yada, yada, yada.”

And since a “majority” is not defined, it’s a de facto 50.1% of the property.

So, to this day, I let the lawn and weeds over grow in the section that is only visible to him from his pool, while the remainder of my lawn remains pristine.

This has been my routine for the past 4 years and will continue until the day he moves or is 6ft under, whichever occurs first.

Final note: he’s on a retiree’s SS budget; so I knew he couldn’t afford to erect a fence between us.

The revenge is brilliant because the neighbor can’t complain or do anything to block it.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story…

This reader found this story “satisfying.”

Another reader warns about a problem the grass could cause…

There could be another huge problem due to the tall grass…

He might be able to get the neighbor in trouble with the country.

Swimming pools can be dangerous.

I think that swimming pool situation needs to be reported!

Why do neighbors want to start stuff like this?

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