Hello everyone,

I’ve received a letter today from my HOA demanding that I stop flying my drones in the neighborhood. The HOA doesn’t have anything specific to drones, however, they cited the “nuisance” clause in the HOA rules.  

A little background, I’ve been flying various drones in the neighborhood for quite some time without any issues. I mostly fly my Mavic 3 and Mini 3 Pro. It wasn’t until recently that I’ve purchased and started flying a DJI FPV in the neighborhood as well.  I believe it was this drone which caused the outrage here due to the excessive noise. I actually understand their concern about the noise and don’t plan on flying it anymore in the neighborhood.

With my Mavic 3 and Mini 3 pro, I usually take off from my driveway and the immediately fly outside of the neighborhood and go in some rather long journeys. I would like to continue taking off from my property with these 2 drones and take them outside of the neighborhood as usual.

I really don’t want to challenge the HOA on this issue. I’m actually thinking about going stealth with the HOA situation. Has anyone here ever encountered an issue like this before? Does anyone know how I can take off from my property without the neighbors hearing these drones? I was thinking about running a loud vacuum cleaner while taking off or running some other type of distraction / diversion while taking off. I like on 1 acre so could easily take off from the side or back of my yard and hopefully go straight up until the drone cannnot be seen. All of the others neighbors are on 1-3 acre lots so we are not exactly on rope of each other.

Any advice I can get for this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

SH

HI SH, I would just try to take off really quickly and ascend as fast as possible, and then fly to your location. Ive found that the mini 3 cannot be heard above 200ft. Hope this helps   

FIGHT them!!! Most HOAs are holier-than-thou authoritarians with zero common sense!! If it's not in the by-laws, stick to it. And make sure to go to all the meetings!!

Maybe take off from the garden instead of infront of the road.  

Nuisance clause is used by lots of HOAs.  I've seen it challenged and the HOAs have lost but each case has to stand on it's own merits.  A lot will depend on how your HOA words the nuisance clause in the HOA rules.  

There is a new housing development down the road from me that has written into the covenants and restrictions that no drones can be flown from property within the development.  So a couple of drone pilots are now taking off outside the development and flying over the development.  The HOA complained to local law enforcement and they were told that they were not breaking FAA rules so there was nothing they could do to keep them from flying over the neighborhood.  Talk about a mad HOA.  I'd never live in a neighborhood that banned drones in the covenants and restrictions because I'm sure there are other restrictions in them that I would want to comply with.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 2-14 05:05
Nuisance clause is used by lots of HOAs.  I've seen it challenged and the HOAs have lost but each case has to stand on it's own merits.  A lot will depend on how your HOA words the nuisance clause in the HOA rules.  

There is a new housing development down the road from me that has written into the covenants and restrictions that no drones can be flown from property within the development.  So a couple of drone pilots are now taking off outside the development and flying over the development.  The HOA complained to local law enforcement and they were told that they were not breaking FAA rules so there was nothing they could do to keep them from flying over the neighborhood.  Talk about a mad HOA.  I'd never live in a neighborhood that banned drones in the covenants and restrictions because I'm sure there are other restrictions in them that I would want to comply with.

uh, what or who is a HOA?

JJB* Posted at 2-14 05:08
uh, what or who is a HOA?

Home Owner's Association.  A homeowners association is a governing structure that oversees and manages a neighborhood or community, whether it’s made of single-family houses, condominiums or townhomes. Residents elect members to the HOA board, and board members establish and enforce bylaws, collect dues, oversee common areas and generally maintain a cohesive atmosphere.
Cons to having an HOA are:  
1 - The rules may limit your lifestyle. For example, the HOA may restrict the type of pet you have, where you can park your RV and whether you can build a fence.
2 - If you don’t comply with the rules or fail to pay your dues, HOAs have the power to charge fines or levy liens against the property.
3 - You could move into an HOA community expecting to pay a certain monthly fee, but it may increase over time.

Hopefully, you don't have HOAs in NL.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 2-14 05:25
Home Owner's Association.  A homeowners association is a governing structure that oversees and manages a neighborhood or community, whether it’s made of single-family houses, condominiums or townhomes. Residents elect members to the HOA board, and board members establish and enforce bylaws, collect dues, oversee common areas and generally maintain a cohesive atmosphere.
Cons to having an HOA are:  
1 - The rules may limit your lifestyle. For example, the HOA may restrict the type of pet you have, where you can park your RV and whether you can build a fence.

Hiya,  thanks for the update.

Don`t think we have such community structures.

Only for apartments block houses there is a mutual owners residential foundation but afaik for rules only to the housing.

cheers
JJB

I think there is a high chance  it was the FPV that would have generated legitimate complaints and resulted in this situation.

You could try writing to the HOA stating that you realise the larger drone is indeed unsuitable for flights in the neighbourhood and apologise, and state that you will only fly the much smaller Mini 3 Pro and state it's one of the smallest and quietest models on the market and is far quieter than your average family gathering at a bbq and cannot usually be heard once it's more than 50 feet up.  
They may just leave it at that.  If they come back saying all drones are banned, then you'll need to go stealth; if they don't hear it or see it, the people can't complain.....  

JJB* Posted at 2-14 06:26
Hiya,  thanks for the update.

Don`t think we have such community structures.

No problem JJB*.  Just be glad you don't have HOAs as they are a pain in the "you know where".  Which is why I bought land where I could dock my large boat, have access to the ocean within 20 minutes but still have plenty of acreage as a buffer around me.  I'm putting in a bigger pond and then will stock it with fish.  I also have several wild deer that have migrated to the backside of my property.  

Mobilehomer Posted at 2-13 18:32
FIGHT them!!! Most HOAs are holier-than-thou authoritarians with zero common sense!! If it's not in the by-laws, stick to it. And make sure to go to all the meetings!!

The problem is that if you fight them and win, it will be temporary as it will end up in the bylaws eventually.  Best to explain you will stop flying the FPV drone that was the source of the nuisance and don't even mention the other drones.  

Tell them to pound sand.

in case you didn't see this thread:

https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=284942