Holiday displays are one of the staples of these periods. People dedicate entire days to make their home look as festive during Christmas. Some even like to tour around town to watch these arrangements at play.
While it’s something almost everyone loves, we need to consider what they entail as well. These decorations are usually filled with light patterns. During the night, they might look amazing, yet they can also disrupt neighbors.
We also have other displays, like inflatables, musical displays, and more. Residential management can be a challenge when it comes to the holidays.
The importance of not being too strict
HOA Leader has several tips to help residential management keep things under control without making homeowners angry. That’s important because communities can become hostile if they feel their decorations are being attacked.
Thankfully, it’s not different from what community associations already do. It all boils down to agreements with the individuals and families within your residence.
Be reasonable
After you’ve set your goals for the holiday display regulations, dissect every rule. The goal is to make them as reasonable as possible so that homeowners are more likely to be happy with them. Community reunions and communication are vital to ensure satisfaction.
Agree on what’s acceptable
If you didn’t communicate with your homeowners before, now it’s the time. Make sure that your regulations come from your residents. That means discussing them and gathering feedback to adapt your rules accordingly.
Reserve rights
Keep the right to approve and dismiss specific holiday displays. It’s difficult to find what’s disrupting before someone sets up an overwhelming display. After discussing the rules, make sure you can ask for specific decoration removals.
Keep the holiday spirit
Sure, keeping your association’s image is important for many communities. However, the holidays are an exception in many ways. These displays often do more good than harm, so don’t be too tight with them.
Simple tips you can follow
Additionally, Spectrum also has a helpful piece with tips on how you can tackle residential management during the holidays. Unlike the previous advice, these guidelines translate standard management methods into holiday management.
These recommendations will make it easier to speak with your occupants without coming off as hostile.
Avoid discrimination
Don’t favor some residents over the others. Holidays are religious in their foundation, so avoid religious schemes and decorations if you believe your community might feel uncomfortable with them.
Standard community regulations
You might need to give up some ground during the holidays, but maintain rules about noise, bright lights, and other coexistence-related guidelines. Residents should be free to decorate their homes but not to disturb their neighbors.
Provide display advise
Instead of banning certain decorations directly, you want to approach homeowners politely. Make sure you provide constructive criticism on how their displays might disturb neighbors, and encourage community feedback.
Use schedules
Most importantly, set specific times for turning on the decorations as well as when they can display with all their features. Musical and pattern displays can be beautiful but also overwhelming when turned on for too long.