Illegal Lockout by Landlord — HOA fining me for political sign

I've been trying to resolve this on my own but I'm stuck.

HOA fining me for political sign. I've been dealing with this for about 13 weeks now and the situation isn't improving.

I have been in this property for 7 years. My monthly rent is $1,420. We are on a month-to-month now.

Should I hire a lawyer for this or try to handle it myself?

Following this thread — I'm in a very similar situation. Would love to hear how it turns out.

Been there. Here's what I learned.

The biggest mistake people make in this situation is escalating to a supervisor/manager. I'd recommend following the formal complaint procedure instead.

Have you tried reaching out to your state's consumer protection office? They sometimes have free resources or mediation services.

I practice in this area. Here's my take on the legal issues.

There are several legal theories that could apply here. The strongest is probably your state's security deposit statute, which requires showing properly documented.

Before taking legal action, consider sending a formal demand letter. In many cases, this alone resolves the issue.

Following this thread — I'm in a very similar situation. Would love to hear how it turns out.

I've dealt with this before.

What worked for me was hiring an attorney to send the initial letter. It took 2-4 months but was worth it.

I've seen this play out several times in my field.

What worked for me was hiring an attorney to send the initial letter. It took 2-4 months but was worth it.

I went through almost the exact same thing.

In my case, it took about 3-6 months to resolve. The key was having everything documented.