Re: HOA ultimate power trip bans smoking inside one's home

On 2/1/2025 1:37 PM, BTR1701 wrote:

On Feb 1, 2025 at 9:20:28 AM PST, ""Adam H. Kerman"" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
 

Castle doctrine be damned: HOAs will attempt to regulate personal
conduct under any and all circumstances, even within the confines of
one's own home.
>
Here's the Steve Lehto video.
>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3NbQQFrOTU
>
I am so ready to support death penalty as a judgment against HOAs in
civil suits.

 If this is not a situation where the home is sharing common walls and air
ducts with other units, then I can't imagine how a court could uphold this.
 What would be the HOA's justification for it? It can't be to protect other
residents since smoking in your standalone home does not affect anyone else.
If it's some busybody who's justifying it by claiming, "We're just concerned
about your health" (because that's the only other conceivable reason for such
a ban), then how far would this power extend?
 Could the HOA ban consumption of meat in your home and force all residents to
become vegan for their health? Could they regulate how often you and your
spouse have sex? Either limiting the number of your sexual encounters or, if
you're not doing it enough in their opinion, force you to have sex a minimum
number of times per week? Can they force you to exercise a minimum number of
hours per week? Can they limit your screen time on TVs, phones, and tablets
for your own good?
 If not, why can't they do any of that but they can ban you from smoking?
 And how can they enforce this ban? Peek in your windows? If you draw the
blinds can they force you to allow them inside your home every week to ensure
there's no smell of cigarette smoke or butts in the trash can? Can they search
your home, pulling open all the drawers and forcing you to open locked
cabinets and safes, looking for cigarette packs?
 When this reaches a courtroom these are all questions both the judge and the
HOA are going to have to answer. If this smoking ban is allowed, where's the
line beyond which they can't cross and why is it there and not before the
smoking ban?

The question's going to be whether there are categorical limits to what an HOA can address.  Or, maybe you've previously agreed there are none.