“They Diminish the Experience for Our Own Children” — HOA Bans Outsider Trick-or-Treaters

Halloween is easily one of the most exciting holidays that exist, but trick-or-treating just isn’t what it used to be. Apartment complexes feel like deserted graveyards, and some neighbors literally go silent and dark for the night. These days, many parents have realized that if they want to give their kids a Halloween experience even remotely close to what they had growing up, they need to make alternate plans, like driving to a more lively neighborhood to trick-or-treat.

Tons of people do it (myself included) because, honestly, what other choice is there?

But this year, one HOA has decided to put a swift stop to having “outsiders” come into their neighborhood to trick-or-treat and “deplete their candy supplies.” The HOA even sent out a letter, which one of the residents later shared on Reddit, laying out a full list of Halloween “guidelines” as if they owned the land. Here’s a look at the wild measures they plan to enforce.

This almost sounds too wild to be true, but considering how entitled some people act these days, I believe it. So, Reddit user @Pschobbert shared a letter they presumably received from their HOA outlining new trick-or-treating “guidelines” for this year.

The reason being is that they’re fed up with people who don’t live in their community, aka outsiders, coming in and “imposing” on the Halloween fun their neighborhood offers. In other words, they only want their residents to enjoy the experience they’re creating. Selfish much?

In the letter, the HOA board wrote, “Our community has long taken pride in offering a safe, charming, and well-organized Halloween experience, something that, unfortunately, has attracted large groups from outside neighborhoods. These visitors often arrive in packed vehicles, crowd our streets, and diminish the experience for our own children.”

They went on to say that, “Last year, this influx led not only to depleted candy supplies but also to instances of property damage, something we simply cannot tolerate in a neighborhood that values order and respect.”

So, the board decided to implement a few new measures (and just wait, they’re really something). For starters, only kids who live in the community will be allowed to trick-or-treat. So… are residents supposed to tell an unfamiliar child to scat?

Next, the letter stated that “volunteers will be stationed at the entrance to check vehicles during the designated trick-or-treat window,” which is from 6 pm to 8 pm. But the line that really threw people for a loop was this: “Residents expecting guests from outside the neighborhood are encouraged to make alternate plans.”

Are you screaming internally yet? Because, what in the world? The HOA is literally trying to control who can trick-or-treat on public streets and even limit who can enter the neighborhood. If this were a gated community, maybe they’d have some say, but since it’s presumably not (because if it were, they probably wouldn’t have this “issue” in the first place), the whole situation feels ridiculous.

The HOA is completely overstepping its authority by trying to police who enters the community, flagging down cars, and deciding who can and can’t participate in a public holiday… on public streets!

I’m not entirely sure how Halloween is going to go in that neighborhood, but let’s just hope the HOA and its volunteers realize before nightfall how little control they truly have over the situation. If you don’t like people coming and enjoying Halloween in your neighborhood, stop celebrating it!