July 8, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster

I’ve heard of people getting sued by restaurants for leaving bad or “false” reviews on the food or the service that they received. But this is the first time I’ve heard of a fine being levied for a bad review of an HOA-related matter.

The story from Scottsdale comes on the heals of a mess that festered when a couple signed a lease with the property manager (Denali) following the sale of their north Scottsdale home. They needed a condo in the interim that “checked all their boxes,” and they landed at an HOA with a lease signed a month before their required move-out date. However, on visitation to the condo, they discovered mold, rat droppings and missing carpet, to name just a few egregious things. Alas, no response from Denali Property Management, and the issue got tense.

The renter, Adrian Paull, decided to take drastic action and felt that leaving a bad online review on Yelp and Google might unclog the drain. But it backfired. It turns out that the agreement he signed has a provision that prohibits bad reviews of the property management company and he was slapped with $4,000 worth of fines for the two bad reviews. Alarmingly, the agreement also required a minimum of “3 out of 5 stars” — or else.

The Consumer Review Fairness Act that was passed actually makes such a requirement illegal, so it seems the renter will likely not need to pay the fine, but his nightmare goes on.

Watch the story here from Channel 12 in Scottdale.