it's actually really simple. some (but not all) neighborhoods have neighborhood associations that have bylaws. if you don't like the bylaws, you go live in a different neighborhood.

pretty much everyone who lives in these kinds of places has at least one rule on the books that they think is dumb, but at the end of the day most people do actually want their neighbors to cut their lawns and stuff like that, so they choose to live somewhere that has at least some of these restrictions.

> if you don't like the bylaws, you go live in a different neighborhood.

What if I own land there because I bought it or inherited it? At which point do I freely enter those free neighbourhood associacions and agreements? Are they attached to the land? How exactly are they free if they are bundled? Is it like "freely" agreeing to see ads because if I don't agree I'll be cut out from the service?

In my country interaction between people that live side by side is regulated by actual law and since it's universal it's limited. Like no emission of unbearable smells or actual poison and no constant noise. It's nobody's business if his neighbour cuts grass provided he doesn't do that all the time with especially loud lawnmower.

If you own property that's not part of a HOA and your neighbors decide to form one, you can just choose not to join it if you don't want to. If you're buying land, you should find out whether or not it is part of a HOA before buying it, and if it is part of one make sure that it has rules which are acceptable to you.

I've never understood this. I live in an older neighborhood which was built long before HOAs existed. Actually I have never lived in a neighborhood with an HOA, and I'm over 60. I've never seen any of the evils that those folks worry about.

They work in the same way as restaurant dress codes