A HOMEOWNER'S association has asked one resident to remove a safety fence around her pool because it doesn't comply with the community's rules.
Susan Durgapersad installed the barrier in 2014, the same year the home and the pool were built in Spring, Texas, a suburb about 25 miles north of Houston.
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Her insurance company said it was mandatory for her to install the fence, which prevents unsupervised children from falling into the water.
"It provides safety for the entire community and our family," Durgapersad told KPRC.
That's why she was shocked when the Bender's Landing HOA Board said the fence needed to come down in 2016.
"The pool fence is not an eyesore," Durgapersad said.
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"There's probably 50 fences of this same type installed in this neighborhood."
KPRC found seven similar barriers after searching for just a few minutes with a helicopter.
But Benders Landing HOA president Bruce Johnson told the outlet that those living on corner lots, like Durgapersad and her family, can only have non-privacy fences up to 4ft tall.
They also must be made of iron.
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"The deed restrictions for Benders Landing provide specific guidelines for fencing and an approval process to follow prior to installing a fence," Johnson said.
"The owner did not seek input and approval for their fence and it is not compliant with the association guidelines," he added.
"The owner is being asked to comply with the same rules that all owners in Bender’s Landing are required to follow."
An iron fence would have been an expensive project that Durgapersad didn't want to undertake.
That's not the only reason she found the HOA's request unreasonable.
"The rules of the subdivision seem to have more precedence over human life," she said.
"That's what bothers us a lot."
David Kahne, a lawyer KPRC spoke to about the situation, said Durgapersad should probably be allowed to build the barrier since the community's rules didn't specifically mention pool fences.
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"The way the Texas law works, it says if the deed restrictions don't impose a restriction, it's up to the owner to decide how to use your property," he said.
Durgapersad and Benders Landing did not respond to The U.S. Sun's request for comment.
