BOISE, Idaho — If you're a homeowner in the state of Idaho, chances are you pay a monthly fee to your neighborhood's homeowners association (HOA). Those associations typically have Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CCNR's) meant to keep the neighborhood nice to keep property values high.
Those CCNR's, which differ by neighborhood, are typically enforced by an email or a letter to the homeowner, which could entail the threat of fines if the issue is not corrected.
One of those CCNR's may things like no parking on the street for longer than 24 hours, what kinds of plants are allowed, and the kinds of signs you are allowed to display in front yards, including political signs.
"(We) a lot of active neighbors walking by, so they see things and they know the CCNR's and they know when rules are begin broken and are more than happy to pass that along to the forces that be," Lindsay Waller said.
On Saturday afternoon, Waller and her husband, who own a home in Boise, put up a slew of political signs in her front yard, she said, knowing they would get an email from their HOA, which they did less than 24 hours after they went up.
However, that rule is now outdated. In March, the Idaho Legislature passed House Bill 503, Title 55 which says "No Homeowners Association may prohibit the display of a political sign." It also says no sign can be put up on public or private property without permission.
"A lot of people don't know about this law that passed this year," she added.
So, she posted her frustrations on social media.
"My husband drafted an email sent it back and said 'Actually, we are aware of the CCNR's but we're also aware of the Idaho statute that says HOA's can't enforce this," she said.
By Monday, the Wallers' HOA said they were correct, and they plan to adjust their rules accordingly.
"We were one of those people months ago and if I hadn't tweeted out and expressed my frustration that we weren't able to put yard signs up, and then had a friend see that and say 'actually, you are able to,' we wouldn't have yard signs. we would still be in that group."
As far as the signs on street corners, they are not regulated by the state. However, the general rule is they must be removed within two days after the election. Some cities also have statutes that state there is a ten or 14-day after-election time limit to take them down.
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