🧠 The Corrupt HOA Playbook - How HOAs silence residents

What dysfunctional boards and shady managers don’t want you to notice — and how they stay in power.

Here’s how it works:

  1. A resident asks questions — about finances, mediation, or community issues.

  2. Management stonewalls, delays, or selectively ignores those requests.

  3. The resident, understandably frustrated, pushes back.

  4. Suddenly, they’re labeled “disruptive” or “aggressive.”

  5. The board is told, “This is a problem resident — ignore them.”

Across the country, more and more homeowners are realizing something unsettling: the people running their HOA — and the managers working for them — aren’t just disorganized. They’re using a predictable set of tactics to manipulate residents, silence dissent, and avoid accountability.

We call it the Corrupt HOA Playbook — and if you’ve ever been ignored, shut down, or kept in the dark, you’ve probably seen some of these pages already.

Here’s how the playbook works:

📖 1. Control the Agenda

  • Meetings aren’t for discussion — they’re for performance.

  • Agendas are written in advance… and then ignored on the spot.

  • Important items are moved, buried, or skipped entirely.

  • Board members or property managers will say things like:

    “We’re moving this topic to the front…”

    “That’s not on the agenda, let’s move on…”

    “We don’t have time for that tonight.”

Translation: They’re afraid of questions they didn’t prepare for.

🧼 2. Clean the Narrative

  • Flyers disappear. Notices vanish. Only approved messages stay posted.

  • Sometimes even bulletin boards are removed altogether.

  • Residents who try to distribute information are called “aggressive” or “disruptive.”

  • Flyers that challenge the board’s actions are treated as vandalism — even if they follow the same rules as any other notice.

“They’ll let you speak — but not where anyone can hear you.”

🤐 3. Silence Dissent — Gently or Not

  • If you try to speak up at a meeting, you’ll be interrupted or redirected.

  • Property managers like will claim you’re “off-topic” or “violating procedure”.

  • If you bring up board misconduct? They’ll try to pivot to safe topics like donation bins or garage rules.

“You need to stick to the free tables.”

— Actual quote from at a recent HOA meeting June 24th, 2025, when homeowners raised governance concerns during the homeowner forum

It’s not that they don’t hear you. It’s that they don’t want others to.

📬 4. Don’t Answer Emails. Ever.

  • Legitimate questions from homeowners go unanswered for weeks — or forever.

  • Questions about financials, elections, or policy are “being reviewed.”

  • Requests to see minutes or documents get ghosted.

  • The goal is simple: wear you out.

  • You may even notice they respond selectively to trivial matters while ignoring legal requests

They won’t answer you in person, and they won’t respond in writing either.

🧩 5. Pretend It’s Just You

  • If you speak up, they’ll try to isolate you.

  • You’ll be called “negative,” “disruptive,” or told you’re the only one complaining.

  • But you’re not — they just control the microphone.

Once multiple people speak up, they’ll blame:

  • Outside influence

  • Social media

  • “Misinformation”

When power gets questioned, it starts gaslighting.

🔁 6. Close the Circle

  • Board members keep reappointing each other.

  • Nomination processes are vague or quietly hidden.

  • Elections, if they happen, are confusing and poorly announced.

  • And when the same people stay in charge, the cycle continues.

🚨 What You Can Do

  1. Document everything

    • Keep screenshots of ignored emails, deleted flyers, and altered agendas.

  2. Organize off-platform

    • Boards can often control bulletin boards — not independent websites, sidewalk chalk, or QR codes.

  3. Expose the pattern

    • It’s not about one flyer or one meeting.

    • It’s a playbook, and once you name it — they lose control of the script.

Final Word

HOAs are supposed to protect property values and serve the community. But when procedure becomes a weapon and transparency becomes a threat, it’s not just frustrating — it’s corrupt.

This article is a warning — not just to residents, but to boards and management companies like Citiscape who think no one’s watching.

We’re watching now.

It’s not personal. It’s a playbook. It’s how management avoids accountability!

But it only works if we fall for it.

I won’t be the scapegoat for a system that doesn’t want to answer to the people who pay them.

If you’ve ever felt dismissed, gaslit, or shut down — you’re not alone.

At 825 La Playa St, 855 La Playa St, and 875 La Playa St in San Francisco — We deserve transparency, not manipulation. We deserve a say in how our community is run. We deserve better than this.