Is it legal for my Home Owners Association to place flyers inside your mailbox?

Answer 1

Legally speaking, only authorized personnel like postal workers can put stuff in your mailbox. So, unless your HOA has some kind of special permission or is sneaking around like a ninja, they shouldn't be messing with your mailbox. If they're breaking the rules, you can kindly remind them or report them to the postal service.

Answer 2

The association can use the USPS to deliver material to your mailbox. Using the mailbox for other an official USPS services, may be a violation of the Federal Laws covering the use of USPS assets. According to the USPS guidelines, see below, anything deposited in the mailbox can be subject to the value of postage.

Added: The above does not apply IF your residence has a through-the-door mail slot.

Answer 3

Your question involves:

• yourself as the designated addressee of the mailbox
• the Postal Service, who 'owns' the box (if your question assumes a USPO device)
• your association (your private democracy's governing body)
• the flyer's publisher

The 'law' part of your question involves the USPO and your association. The USPO is transparent in its rule that the interior of the USPO device is for use only by the USPO. The exterior might be available; check with your local postal authority.

The association's requirement to notify owners -- members of the association -- is written into your governing documents, and the delivery methodology is usually precise.

Best practices indicate that you bring up this issue at a board meeting and request that it be discussed. In your letter requesting clarification, include the sections of your governing documents that address notification. Finally, request that the board vote on the process, frequency and responsibility of the association to notify owners. It may also set up fines and violation notices when the guidelines are ignored.

This process highlights the issue, forces the board to vote on a process and notifies everyone by way of the board meeting minutes about how notification is to be accomplished within your community.

Answer 4

Yes, the homeowner's associations can regulate the appearance of residential mailboxes. Please refer to any documents you received to determine what the homeowners association has regulations over.

Answer 5

in the United States, harrasment is illegal

Answer 6

They can put postage on it and mail it, otherwise it is illegal to place non-mailed items in a mailbox. An exception is newspapers can be placed in mailboxes- but only on Sundays.