socalmach

I have a very strict neighboorhood that doesn't allow much.

I can't find anything in the bylaws and I don't want to ask because the answer will probably be no. But if there isn't anything in the bylaws does building a treehouse need the same permit as say building a shed does? I want to build a pretty nice one too.

JTR

The only real lway to find out it so ask the neighborhood association. Even if the answer is no, if it's not allowed better to find out now than risk the fine. Some of those can be pretty stiff.

cami7

wow! how sad that you have to ask permission to bulid a treehouse on YOUR OWN property! My goodness next thing you will have to have the hosues paitned to look excatly the same with the same kind of flowers like everyone else!

Did you ever end up buliding your treehouse?

afunguy

that is messed up i would be mad if i had to ask everytime i wanted to do something i would like to know also if you got approved to bulid it

Sun

where do you live at??

bondo

you all would be suprised by some of the totalitarian rules dictated by some homeowner associations in the name of maintaining property values. I've been in some rules that dictate color scheme of your facia boards and shutters, materials your mailbox can be made of, times when your garage door can be open, activities that can occur in you front lawn or driveway, size and color of the address painted on your curb, and color/materials of your roof, too name a few that I can think of off the top of my head.

classy1

C.S. Lewis makes a remark somewhere that the "day will come" when everything in England is so tightly regulated that a man won't be allowed to cut down one of his own trees and build a shed or even a ladder without government permission - he wrote that in the late 40s or early 50s - I can only imagine what he might think about this question.

classy1

And by the by, the courts have repeatedly upheld restrictive housing covenants and building regs/by-laws/approvals, as long as there is no race-based element in the covenants.

sonofthesoil

Cami - there are some cities that, if they cannot mandate what people paint their houses, they at least try through community pressure groups (generally known as the local Arts Council, Preservation Committee, or whatever) - I know of several college and university towns (Lewisburg PA, home of Bucknell, is one I am most familiar with) that has tried to demand the right to determine the "color scheme" of the entire city. And a city just north of me has attempted to make everyone paint their homes white to give the place a "New England" feel to promote tourism

TxBuilder

Do not move into a neighborhood with an HOA. REPEAT NO HOA!!!!!!!!

My friend lives in an HOA. No cars allowed in the driveway, no basketball goals, no working on vehicles in the driveway. He is a Jeeper and friends come over and he helps them fix stuff. They are now investigating him on running a business out of his house.