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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/AtomicAnimationsYT on 2024-12-12 00:52:23+00:00.

I don’t live in an HOA community, but that hasn’t stopped my neighbor, Karen (yes, her actual name), from acting like she’s the president of one. She’s the self-appointed enforcer of “neighborhood standards,” complete with handwritten notes and endless complaints.

It all started when I put up a small vegetable garden in my front yard. Nothing fancy—just a few raised beds with tomatoes, cucumbers, and some herbs. Karen, however, saw it as an affront to the neighborhood’s aesthetic.

One morning, I found a note on my door:

“Front yards are for grass and flowers, NOT vegetables. This isn’t a farm. Fix this eyesore immediately!”

I ignored it because, well, Karen isn’t the boss of me. But she kept escalating—leaving more notes, glaring at me whenever I worked in the garden, and eventually calling the city to report me.

The city inspector came out, took one look, and told her there was absolutely nothing wrong with my garden. But Karen wasn’t done yet.

She confronted me directly.

Karen: “If you’re going to keep that hideous garden, you need to build a fence around it so it doesn’t ruin the view for everyone else!”

Me: “A fence? You’re sure that’s what you want?”

Karen: “Yes! A tall one, so no one has to see it!”

Cue malicious compliance.

I looked up the local zoning laws and found out I could legally build a fence up to 8 feet tall without any special permits. So, I did exactly what Karen demanded—I built a fence. But not just any fence.

I built an 8-foot-tall privacy fence around my garden, perfectly within my property line…and I painted the side facing her house the most obnoxious shade of neon pink I could find.

Karen was furious. She came storming over the next day.

Karen: “You can’t do this! It’s hideous!”

Me: “But Karen, you insisted I build a fence so you wouldn’t have to see the garden. Problem solved!”

She tried calling the city again, but since the fence was completely legal, they couldn’t do anything about it.

Now, every time I walk past her house, I see her blinds tightly shut, and my garden is thriving behind its fabulous pink fence. Malicious compliance has never tasted so sweet—or so fresh!