A CLOTHESLINE has caused a woman to hash it out with her homeowner’s association.

In 2022, Venice, Florida, resident Denise Wuetcher was fined $2,500 by her HOA for putting up a clothesline in her backyard.

Wuetcher applied to install the line behind her home in 2018 and was initially approved to do so.

However, once the line was up, Wuetcher began to receive notices that she was in violation of having the clothesline visible from the street.

The woman insists that she should be able to use the clothesline and does not want to take it down because it is how she prefers to do her laundry.

“The fresh air makes the clothes smell great. It’s just a wonderful thing to do and it’s also helping the environment,” Wuetcher told FOX affiliate WTVT in Tampa Bay at the time.

“In the morning, the sun is in that spot, but it’s not closer to the house.

“The other thing is, if I put it too close to the house, sheets or towels will rub up against the lanai screen and get dirty.”

Since Wuetcher refused to take it down, her HOA began to fine her $100 a day which was capped at $2,500.

“In February of 2019, I got a violation letter saying, ‘You didn’t do what you were supposed to do. We can see it from the street. You have to move it,'” Wuetcher told WTVT.

Wuetcher hired a lawyer to help her tackle the issue because she felt it was unfair that they had fined her.

Wuetcher’s lawyer James Potts Sr. explained there are some issues with how her HOA is handling the situation.

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“You’re allowed to basically place a solar panel or line dryer in the place where it’s most efficient, where you can make the most use of the sun,” Potts said, per WTVT.

“[The HOA] have not properly referenced, or put us on notice, precisely which covenant or which bylaw we have broken.”

HOA did not like the pushback and decided to send a letter to all the neighbors using Wuetcher’s name to call her out.

“For lack of a better term, I think it’s a hit piece,” said Potts, per WTVT.

“They are trying to make her as unpopular as they possibly can in order to accomplish their objectives.”

Wuetcher refuses to give up and won’t let HOA push her to change what she is allowed to do.

“I feel it’s important to not let them run over us,” she said.

“If I don’t stand up for this, what’s the next thing they are going to do?”

HOA organizations are allowed to enforce rules that have been highlighted in governing documents.

They are allowed to do so to enforce the restrictions, rules, covenants, and regulations in the community.

HOAs are given the power to impose fines on homeowners for rule violations.

In this case, the HOA may have not outlined that seeing the clothes from the street is a violation.