I don’t like HOAs. A lot of people feel that way. But if you live in an HOA, sometimes your dues go towards community amenities such as a swimming pool, playground or a lake stocked with fish.

In this story, one homeowner shares that she lives in a neighborhood where the HOA dues go towards maintaining a private lake and keeping it stocked with fish. The lake is for HOA members only, but apparently it’s not gated or fenced off because sometimes people who don’t live there use the lake too.

The homeowner noticed a family fishing at the lake, a family who is not a member of the HOA, so she asked them to leave. Now, she’s wondering if she was wrong to enforce the HOA rules.

Keep reading for all the details.

AITA for having a family removed from a private lake neighborhood?

I live in a private neighborhood built around a lake. Essentially, the lake is in the middle and a road runs in a circle around it with houses on the road.

Everyone who buys a house here pays an HOA fee to help take care of the neighborhood. Fixing docks, stocking the lake with fish, clubhouse maintenance, etc. Not a big body of water, about 1.5 miles around.

There are lots of signs, including a big one right when you drive in, saying that the neighborhood is private for members and guests only.

Only people in the HOA are supposed to use the lake.

In the past month, all homeowners have gotten letters from the HOA saying to be on the lookout for people who don’t living coming to fish since a lot of public parks have been closed.

If we see someone who doesn’t live here and doesn’t have lake tags signifying that they are a guest, we should tell them to leave or call the maintenance guy who will handle it.

You can see where this is going.

OP encountered a family fishing.

A week ago I leave my house and see a pickup pulled up to the dock in front on my house. There is a guy (dad) and his two small kids there fishing.

I have never seen them before, so I go up to them and strike up a conversation. I ask where they live and they say that they don’t live here but heard about the lake from one of their friends who also doesn’t live there.

We talk for a few more minutes and I tell the dad (whispering so the kids don’t hear) that this is a private neighborhood and that they technically aren’t allowed to fish here if they aren’t a member or guest. I then say that they must not have known that and tell them to finish fishing for a day. I even offered to give them lake tags if anyone else hasseles them about being there.

The guy thanks me, says he didn’t know, and continues fishing the next few hours that I could tell after I went back inside.

The same family came back.

Two days later, I am going for a walk around the lake and I see the same family fishing at another dock (not in front of my house). I ask the dad if he has tags and he says he doesn’t, but that his kids want to fish and they aren’t hurting anyone.

I say I understand that, but the people that live here pay for the lake, the docks, and the fish in it and it isn’t for just anyone to come here and use.

We get into it and I tell him to leave.

We can do this the easy way or the hard way…

He refuses, calmly, and I tell him that our maintenance guy will be here in 10 minutes and he better find some tags in that time period or else he’s getting dragged out.

I get back to my house, call the maintenance guy, and I see the maintenance guy drive up to them from my window and presumably tell them to leave which they do.

Am I a jerk here? On one hand, it is private property and I let them stay and finish the first day when I could have easily kicked them out. On the other hand, they weren’t hurting anyone.

It’s one thing when the family clearly doesn’t know they’re breaking the rules, but when they came back, they simply didn’t care about the rules. I don’t think OP did anything wrong.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a homeowner who responded to an HOA violation letter by investigating the bylaws and having the whole board removed.

Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

This is a good point.

This person knows how the maintenance guy feels.

It could’ve been worse!

Here’s another good point.

Their HOA dues are paying for the fish in the lake, so when the family who doesn’t live there trespasses and fishes, they’re really stealing the fish the HOA members own.

It’s unfortunate to end a family’s fun, but they were breaking the rules. In this case it was two strikes and you’re out.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a family who is resisting pressure from the HOA to remove their tree and lights.