‘That’s illegal’: Georgia couple takes their dachshund into their yard without a leash. Then they get a photo from the HOA

Whenever people go viral online for sharing their experiences with their local homeowners association (HOA), the stories are rarely positive. HOAs seem universally hated, especially on platforms like TikTok.

One woman is going viral for sharing one such horror story about surveillance, legal threats, and more from her neighborhood's HOA.

Who reported the couple?

Georgia homeowner Cannon Wheatcroft-Lee (@cannonwheatcroft_lee) posted the first of a series of videos of her going toe-to-toe with her neighborhood's HOA. The video received more than 1.3 million views.

It started when Wheatcroft-Lee said she had received a picture in the mail of her and her partner taking their pet dachshund outside without a leash.

“That is against our bylaws,” Wheatcroft-Lee said, relaying what the HOA told her.

She said, “At this point we've paid the fine, but we are upset because the HOA board member's security camera is now revealed to us that it's pointing directly at our home, showing every single window, our front door, our address, everything.”

So, Wheatcroft-Lee decided to confront said board member. According to her, there was “some yelling.”

“She asked me multiple times if I'm threatening her,” Wheatcroft-Lee said. “And I said, no, I'm not threatening you. I'm just telling you we're going to have a problem if you continue to video record our home. It's illegal.”

What did Wheatcroft-Lee say to the HOA?

After paying the fine, Wheatcroft-Lee said she emailed the HOA citing “the exact law in [her] state which says you cannot observe, photograph, or record activities of another person in a private place without their consent.” Georgia law covers “front door, interior windows, reasonable expectation of privacy,” and more.

In a follow-up video, Wheatcroft-Lee clarified that she does not live “on a public street,” but rather in a private community, where privacy laws are more applicable. She also said that her neighbor was not surveilling her via Ring camera, but with a high-level security camera “affixed to like the top window of her two story place.”

Wheatcroft-Lee said she cited “the bylaws in [her] HOA that says they have to abide by the law,” via email and “requested action” in the form of a formal HOA investigation.

“We said that we would love for you to investigate our neighbor's security camera as it relates to our unit, require the neighbor to reposition the camera so that it no longer captures our front door windows or any private area of our  home, and then confirm in writing the outcome in this investigation and take any corrective action,” Wheatcroft-Lee said. “A pretty reasonable email knowing that you've just been surveyed for like an unknown amount of time.”

How did the HOA respond?

The HOA didn't bite. The association called Wheatcroft-Lee's predicament an “owner-to-owner situation,” and implied it wasn't under its purview. Wheatcroft-Lee argued that this wasn't the case, as the owner in question was a board member for the HOA. Additionally, the board member used her footage to fine Wheatcroft-Lee.

So Wheatcroft-Lee had a police officer come inspect the scene.

“He was very kind and was like, ‘Actually, you have a really good case here, because her home is diagonal to you,'” Wheatcroft-Lee said.

She added that the police officer told her, “The pointing of the security camera directly at your home is actually very intentional. It's not like, directly across.” Wheatcroft-Lee sent this information in her email thread to the HOA.

The next day, Wheatcroft-Lee received a cease and desist from the HOA in the mail. She noted that “the HOA's lawyers” were representing her neighbor-slash-board member, which she felt was “a conflict of interest.”

Is the situation ongoing?

And then things got even crazier.

“My neighbor sent me a text today that ‘We've found a hidden, like, hunter-level trail cam behind all of our homes,'” Wheatcroft-Lee said, showing a picture of said trail cam fastened to a tree. “Luckily, a lot of neighbors are upset because of this now. So we're looking into how to unseat them from their HOA board seats.”

In a follow-up video, Wheatcroft-Lee told her viewers that she'd filed a “supplementary police report about the hunting camera,” and that she'd realized the cease and desist sent by the HOA “[was] not signed by a judge” and “[had] a ton of typos in it.” The HOA later confirmed the organization owned the hunting camera.

In Wheatcroft-Lee's most recent update, she said the dispute is still ongoing.

In what states is it legal to record someone else's home?

Georgia state law heavily restricts residents' ability to film other people on their respective properties. Georgia, however, allows individuals to record in public as long as cameras are clearly visible. But what about other state legislatures?

According to Security.org, a key aspect of many video surveillance laws is a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” Essentially, if a person is in a place where they can reasonably expect privacy, others cannot surveil them.

Security.org states that “Florida, Alabama, and Minnesota allows for hidden video surveillance” in areas that do not meet this reasonable expectation of privacy. The website says there are similar laws in Tennessee, Michigan, and Utah.

“New Hampshire, Maine, Kansas, South Dakota, and Delaware … apply the ‘reasonable expectation of privacy' principle and rule that you need consent to use hidden camera surveillance,” Security.org says. “In California, it is illegal for anyone to make a video recording of communications that are considered confidential … [Arkansas] state law requires consent when recording individuals in a private space.”

Security camera retailer Eufy echoes these guidelines and adds that “outdoor security cameras pointed at public-facing areas like driveways, front yards, or sidewalks” are “usually legal.” The website notes that “cameras aimed into windows, fenced backyards, bathrooms, or other private spaces” are “usually illegal.”

“Recording in these areas can be considered voyeurism, harassment, or invasion of privacy,” Eufy says. “Also, … even if the camera technically covers a public space, constant or aggressive surveillance could still cross into harassment or stalking under state laws. For example, if your neighbor deliberately monitors you 24/7 with zoomed-in footage and posts it online, a court might view that as harassment.”

Buzz News has reached out to Wheatcroft-Lee via email.