Family outraged after HOA fines them $650 over massive holiday display: ‘This is not a nuisance’

The family says their display is even toned down compared to last year

A Maryland family has hired a lawyer after their homeowners association fined them over $600 for their festive holiday light display outside their home (NBC 4 Washington )

A Maryland family is facing at least $650 in fines after their homeowners association claimed their festive holiday yard display – decked with bright lights and a manger – was a “nuisance.”

The Salgado family in Germantown, about 30 miles north of Washington, D.C., says their display, which the Middlebrook Manor South HOA has taken issue with, follows the rules.

“Each year our family has a display, and it gets bigger and changes each year, but this year we did tone it down – by a lot,” Supuli Salgado told NBC 4 Washington.

Photos of the house over the past two years show the family has scaled their display back significantly – but apparently not enough for the HOA.

This year’s decorations include traditional white and multi-color string lights, a light-up star, several nutcrackers and wreaths, whereas last year’s decorations included much larger lit-up statues and covered the entire front yard.

A Maryland family has hired a lawyer after their homeowners association fined them over $600 for their festive holiday light display outside their home (NBC 4 Washington)

The Salgado family is facing a $50 a day fine for their Christmas decorations, which had racked up to at least $650 as of Tuesday, according to WCSC.

The Middlebrook Manor South HOA says the decorations break nuisance rules and are an annoyance to neighbors, which the family disagrees with.

“Some lights on the bushes and a manger scene do not cause a nuisance to the whole community,” Pahan Salgado said.

The HOA’s rules do not specifically ban Christmas lights. They do, however, ban loud noises, lawn ornaments and lights directed outside the property. The family says their display doesn’t break any of those rules.

“Just some lights and a manger, like, in our garden area of our house, not even on the lawn,” Salgado said. “The lights are strictly within our boundaries of our land. It’s not touching anybody’s yard.”

Now, the Salgados have hired a lawyer to fight their case.

“You can see as you go through the neighborhood, there are other homes with similar displays,” attorney David Gardner told NBC 4.

“They might not be as nice or extravagant, but this is a very attractive, traditional Christmas display, and they’re essentially being selectively singled out for enforcement, and we’re going to challenge that, and I would fully expect a court to agree.”

Despite the ongoing dispute, the family doesn’t plan on altering their annual holiday tradition of decorating their home.

“The Grinches are going to hate, but we’re still going to do it,” Supuli Salgado said.

A lawyer for the HOA told WJLA that the association’s goal “is to support a safe, respectful, and well-maintained community while ensuring the Association’s governing documents are enforced uniformly and in accordance with Maryland law.”

The HOA said it does not comment on specific homeowners or individual enforcement actions.