I like either 2 or 3. One seems a little petty and is likely to keep the back-and-forth going at least one more round. If you think it’s unlikely she’ll confront your partner, I prefer 2.
The fact that you’re spending time researching nonsense like HOA regulations and figuring out if they’re actual rules or just bullshit she wrote down, and draining your emotional well worrying about this bullshit, means the game is already over and you lost. You have to put people like this on defense. Passive aggressive bullies bank on your sense of decency to get away with abusive behavior. If you ignore her completely and pretend she doesn’t exist, what is she really going to do? Absolutely nothing.
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Just to emphasize Riverman’s point - you do not have a contract with this woman. You are not obligated to talk to her, and your well-intentioned efforts to be civil are not benefitting you at all. The only thing you should be figuring out is if your lease contains a general clause obligating you to follow all HOA rules and guidelines. If the answer is no (and it almost certainly does not obligate you to follow “guidelines”), just ignore her.
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Absolutely.
The worst she would do is similar to what she has already done. Knock on our door to try and hassle Mrs Rugby when she orders a delivery.
And if that happens again I would definitely escalate and that wouldn’t be good for neighbourly harmony.
Yes?
See if the first-floor unit with dodgy locks has a copy lying around. Apparently, verifying the owner is home is optional.
I don’t think this is the best advice in some cases. Here we can assign monetary fines for not following HOA rules. We can go so far as to put a lien on the property if not paid. Some jurisdictions allow the HOA to force a sale if not paid!
If these are actual HOA rules (which isn’t clear yet) the owner of his unit could suffer consequences if not followed.
Yeah, I think inviting her to take it up with the owner of your unit could be a mistake. She seems the type to relish that challenge. Think of the barren hours you’ve invited her to fill. Why, without this distraction, she might have had to entertain some introspective thoughts!
And your landlord definitely isn’t going to want the hassle. They’ll likely not extend your lease, rather than deal with her thrice-weekly phone calls.
Definitely keep the email of her stating she will just add a date to the paper.
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It’s only a matter of time before he or Ms. Rugby observes Karen breaking the actual rules.
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One of these two.
People like her deserve to be mocked. Buy a lathe and start woodworking to really fuck with her.
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Pretty sure the
“Here’s a word doc I just make up. Just guidelines. I can add a date” email answers this question.
I have what look like official rules attached to my contract. Her rules def aren’t in there.
This may of course prompt her to get her rules ratified, but a) that’s gonna take time to do b) take 29 days before they come into effect and c) I can still invoke the “who’s gonna make me” rule.
No risk of landlord not renewing. I’m a good tenant and the rental market is way down because of Covid.
Carve a sweater into a pumpkin
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This is more or less exactly what I predicted.
I think you’re doing great so far. Much better than the ignore her completely line.
However, now you’ve got many options. Including ignoring her at this point.
Couple of questions:
- After reading the real rules have you noticed her breaking any?
- How sure are you that she can get these rules ratified? I would think that being able to take your bike up to your apartment and allowing uber deliveries would be supported by most owners. It’s likely she’ll try, but it only works if she has support to make it official.
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I hardly see her. I had interacted with her 2 or 3 times total in 2 years. I doubt she has broken anything significant.
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Hmm. That depends. She is probably in close with the owner occupiers, and the landlords won’t care one way or another.
I think if I dont poke the bear and I’m reasonably polite she will let it drop.
Significant is not necessary. I was just talking letter of the law here. Might be something to weaponize later on depending on how this shakes out.
If you’re really confident in your assessment of the rental market, if push comes to shove, you may have to suggest to your landlord that these things would be deal breakers and cause you to not renew your lease. If it’s really hard for them to find replacements, they’ll take your side on these issues if Karen attempts to formalize them.
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We have an update!
Two copies of this have been posted to the front door. (One on each side of a pair of glass doors)
Mrs Rugby pretty fed up with Karen
“Why should I have to feel dread every time I order a delivery in my own place?!”
So, as much fun as this is, I think I need to find a way to close this out.
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Cross out “deliveries” and “food” and write “Karens” imo.
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You probably got given a copy of the strata by-laws with your rental contract, if not ask your REA and they will be able to send you one.
If there’s nothing in there they can’t stop you getting uber deliveries to your door or bringing your bike into your apartment,
To make a new by-law Karen needs to call an AGM and got 75% if the vote in support or 50% if they don’t get enough objections within some number of days (Victorian law here is weird). It’s not compulsory but By-laws are usually drafted by lawyers, so Karen would probably need to hire one. She would also have to find some way to word it that banned Uber Eats but not all deliveries so people could still get furniture and stuff delivered to their apartments.
Any building guidelines she sends you are unenforceable nonsense, if Karen thinks you’ve broken a by-law, the committee can send you a breach notice listing the by-law they think you’ve broken. They then have to send you a final breach notice giving you 28 days to rectify the issue before they can take you to VCAT( Government run state tribunal)
Australian HOA’s don’t have anywhere near the power they do in the US, Karen can send you as many emails as she wants but she can’t actually do anything to stop or punish you. I’d be tempted you just take the signs down if they’re bothering you.
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