You can typically review your HOA communities rules in their Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). Typically a homeowner will receive these rules before they finalize on the house they are purchasing. CC&Rs are designed to help protect the condition and value of the properties in the community. Rules may include specifications about house paint colors or fence lines.
By attending homeowners association meetings in your community, you can keep up with changes in your neighborhood's CC&Rs.
If you are having a problem with one of the rules or another homeowner, you can ask the HOA for a mediation or arbitration meeting to settle the dispute. Sometimes a compromise or an amendment to a rule can be made. As a last resort, you may have to take your HOA dispute to court. This might happen if you believe you HOA is acting unfairly, favoring another homeowner, or are setting rules that are not states in your communities' CC&Rs.