I’ve never seen any HOA that has CC&Rs that allow changes without a majority of homeowner approval. Somebody above said theirs requires unanimous approval to change the CC&Rs. That’s an extreme I’ve never seen myself. Usually it’s either a simple majority or a 2/3 supermajority. Perhaps you’ve lived somewhere that the board can unilaterally change the rules, but I’ve never seen it. If you’re a renter rather than owner, you’re SOL. But if you’re an owner, you certainly had a chance to vote on any such changes.
HOA boards generally have some leeway in guidelines. These will be things like restrictions on paint colors or front yard landscaping. Most boards recognize that it is impossible for them to make such guidelines stricter over time. It’s almost impossible to allow olive trees in front yards one year but prohibit them later. (Olive trees are quite messy.) Any board that’s at all self-aware recognizes that such actions may result in expensive lawsuits. And most boards are dealing with tight budgets and don’t want to pay lawyers any more than they need to.
Do you have any examples of guidelines or CC&Rs becoming more restrictive? I’ve never seen any, but I’ve never been under the thumb of a bad board for longer than it took for elections to come around.
Do you make a general practice of avoiding your neighbors? Remember, that’s who the HOA is. You are the HOA. It’s you and your neighbors. It’s not some faceless corporation somewhere. The vast majority of people living in HOAs have no problems with them at all. I sat on boards for years. Never saw more than about 2% of homeowners complain about anything in any given year.
