Homeowner Fined by His HOA Over a Tree on His Porch Starts Digging and Finds the HOA Has Not Filed With the State in Four Years

It began with a fine over a tree on his porch. The homeowner behind the TikTok account @alaskascape says his homeowners association penalized him for what the HOA president insists is a Christmas tree. Instead of simply paying up, he started asking questions, and what he found has turned a petty dispute into a fight over whether the association even has the legal right to exist.

In an earlier video, he had shared the fine. Plenty of people chimed in to tell him the tree on his porch was a pine tree, not a Christmas tree. “The HOA president disagrees with you,” he says at the start of his follow up, posted in late June 2026. Then he gets to the real news: “I found something that makes me think this HOA might not even legally exist anymore.”

Here is what he explains. Most HOAs are set up as nonprofit corporations, and corporations generally must file an annual report with the state, and pay a fee, to stay in good standing. His HOA, he says, has not filed in four years. That, according to the state’s records as he describes them, means the association was administratively dissolved “a long time ago.”

He did not stop at his own reading of it. He called a friend who works as a paralegal “just to make sure I wasn’t totally crazy,” and he says she confirmed it. His reasoning is straightforward: if the corporation does not legally exist, the board technically does not have the authority to fine anyone, place liens the way it has been doing, or enforce the rules the way it has been.

The Paper Trail Kept Getting Worse

Once he started digging, the homeowner says, the problems kept stacking up. He found no proof of an annual meeting in three years. No published budget. And, in his words, “no clear answer on where the fees have been going.”

Word apparently traveled fast. He says the board learned he had been poking around, and the very next morning a letter arrived calling an emergency board meeting for Tuesday night. The timing was not ideal. He was supposed to be camping. Instead, he says he is cutting his trip short and walking into that meeting with every piece of paperwork he has found, “ready for war.”

In his caption, he puts it bluntly: “So every fine, every lien threat… none of it.” He has promised a part three for those wondering how the meeting goes.

@alaskascape

Can a Dissolved HOA Still Fine You

This is a fair question, and the honest answer is that it depends on your state and on the details. An administrative dissolution for failing to file an annual report is common, and in many states it can be fixed by filing the missing reports and paying back fees and penalties. Some states allow that reinstatement to apply retroactively, which can restore the association’s authority as if the lapse never happened. Others treat actions taken during the dissolved period differently.

It is also important to know that in many places the covenants, conditions and restrictions recorded against the property may still run with the land even if the corporation lapses. That means homeowners generally should not assume every rule disappears overnight. But a lapse can raise serious questions about fines, liens and how money was handled during that period, and it gives homeowners real leverage to demand transparency.

How to Check Up on Your Own HOA

You do not need to wait for a fine to do some homework. Here are a few steps any homeowner can take.

Look up the association with your Secretary of State. Most states have a free online business search. Type in the HOA’s name and check its status, whether it shows as active or in good standing, and when its last annual report was filed.

Request the records. Most states give homeowners the right to inspect association records, including budgets, financial statements, meeting minutes and contracts. Make the request in writing and keep a copy.

Ask about annual meetings. Governing documents and many state laws require at least one meeting of the members each year. If none have been held, that is worth raising.

Read your covenants. Before arguing about whether something breaks a rule, find the exact wording. Questions like whether a potted pine counts as a holiday decoration often come down to how a single sentence is written.

Put everything in writing. Respond to violation notices by letter or email, ask for the specific rule you are accused of breaking, and request a hearing if your documents allow one.

Find your neighbors. One homeowner asking questions can be brushed off. Ten homeowners asking the same questions at a meeting are much harder to ignore. If you find problems, quietly share what you learned with others on your street and consider showing up together.

Talk to a professional for big stakes. If liens or foreclosure threats are involved, a real estate attorney in your state can tell you exactly where you stand. Many offer low cost first consultations.

Whatever happens at that Tuesday meeting, this homeowner has already shown how much one curious person can uncover with a little time and a records search. A fine over a porch tree may end up being the most expensive decision that board ever made.

Willow and Hearth