California HOA Karen Sends Cease and Desist to Neighbors Over Halloween Spider Decoration — “Dress Up as Her for Halloween!”
CALIFORNIA – A California neighborhood has gone viral after a 70-year-old HOA member, dubbed the latest “HOA Karen,” tried to shut down her neighbors’ Halloween spirit by sending a cease and desist order — just one hour after spotting a spider web decoration in their yard.
The bizarre incident began when the homeowner posted their story on Reddit, explaining that the HOA member marched to their front door and demanded they remove the spider web display immediately, claiming it violated neighborhood rules.
“She said the decoration was against HOA policy,” the homeowner wrote. “An hour later, she actually emailed us a cease and desist letter. Who does that?”
The “Violation” That Wasn’t
According to the HOA’s official memo, residents were only required to:
- Keep cords safe and off walkways
- Add timers to outdoor lights
- Avoid placing decorations on roofs
- And refrain from decorating shared community spaces
Nowhere in the policy did it mention spider webs, trees, or Halloween themes.
The spider web in question was attached to a tree near the homeowner’s front entrance, not in a shared area, meaning the HOA’s claim of a “common space violation” had no real basis.
“It’s not even close to the street,” the homeowner wrote. “She just wanted to ruin someone’s day.”
HOA Karen Reported My Halloween Decorations
byu/esotericinformer infuckHOA
“Dress Up as Her for Halloween!”
When the Reddit post blew up, commenters flooded the thread with hilarious suggestions.
“Dress up as her for Halloween and hand out fake HOA violation notices,” one user joked.
Another added, “Fight it. Make them point to the exact rule you’re breaking — I bet they can’t.”
Others speculated the woman’s outrage came from the web being a “tripping hazard,” but photos showed it was well out of reach of walkways.
“That’s not a hazard — that’s just her being 70 and angry about joy,” one commenter said.
Classic HOA Chaos
At the time of writing, there’s no final resolution to the dispute. However, Reddit users agreed the homeowners did nothing wrong, and the HOA Karen’s actions were another example of overreach and pettiness.
“This is why HOAs have such a bad reputation,” one commenter wrote. “They start acting like they own everyone’s property.”
Another joked,
“She probably sits at home with binoculars just waiting to write someone up.”
Have you ever had an HOA ruin your holiday decorations? Share your story with us at FatCityFeed.com — we might just feature it next.
