So Your Neighbor Put Up an Offensive Flag—What Can You Do?

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Tensions are running high across the nation in the wake of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, VA, where one protester was killed. Residents of Northern California and Tennessee are bracing for more rallies and protests this weekend, which will likely dominate the airwaves on TV news.

But what happens when that overt racism suddenly appears in your own building or community? Do upset neighbors or city officials have the right to demand that, say, the flag of Nazi Germany be removed? And can offensive displays affect local property values, or how long it takes to sell nearby homes?

These weren’t hypothetical questions for Page Braswell, who confronted her neighbor over the Nazi flag he put up in front of his Gaston County, NC, home. The exchange quickly turned heated and went viral after Braswell posted it on Facebook.

“What’s it to you?” the homeowner with the flag said in the profanity-laden conversation. “Do you make the payments on [this] … house?”

Meanwhile, in New York City, angry neighbors threw rocks and insults at an apartment in Manhattan’s trendy East Village that has displayed Confederate flags in its window for years, alongside Israeli and American flags, according to The New York Daily News. (While the Confederate flag is seen by some Southerners as a symbol of regional heritage and pride, many others consider it a symbol of white oppression, and it’s a rare sight in the North.)

The Confederate flag incensed a local DJ so much that he broke into Will Green‘s home to remove it. Green’s landlord also sued to evict him. DJ Darren Keen was charged with criminal mischief and fined $150, and the eviction suit was dropped, according to The New York Post.

“It’s a Southern flag,” Green told the Post. “It flies many places in the South, but they only show it on TV when a racist is talking.”

Could a neighbor’s offensive flag bring down property values?

Controversial symbols in front of someone’s home could also cause property values to suffer—by indicating that your neighbor is spoiling for a fight.

“It’s the concept of a nightmare neighbor,” says national real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller. “People don’t want to buy into those problems.”

This could lead to a home on the same block sitting on the market longer—and maybe requiring a price cut before it sells. After all, many people are not eager to live near a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi.

However, in this tight housing market, with too many buyers and not enough homes for sale, it’s likely not to damage property values too much, Miller says.

What can you do about it?

Those living in an apartment or condo building, or in a single-family home in a community covered by a homeowners association, may have some leverage in getting an offensive flag or sign taken down. That’s because many buildings and associations prohibit such displays in windows or on front doors.

“If it’s in a rental building, complain to your landlord,” says New York City-based real estate attorney Aaron Shmulewitz of Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman. “If it’s a co-op, condo, or a homeowners association, it might be violating a house rule. There might be something that the board can do about it.”

But those who do take action could find that it might come back to bite them. Some people may find their building’s or community’s Christmas or Hanukkah displays inappropriate. So going after one person could lead to a crackdown on everything else—including Santa.

Meanwhile, those whose homes aren’t covered by a landlord, board of some sort, or homeowners association have little recourse. People can generally put up whatever they want in front of their homes unless there’s a law against it.

“Hate speech is still protected speech under the First Amendment,” says Houston, TX-based real estate attorney Cassandra McGarvey of Sanders Willyard.

Should you talk to your neighbors about it?

Frustrated folks could try to reason with their neighbors, but they shouldn’t get their hopes up too high.

“It probably won’t help, because their goal is to make a statement,” Shmulewitz says.

That’s the price of living in the United States.

“We do have the First Amendment protection. But it cuts both ways,” says McGarvey. “We can say a lot of things we couldn’t say in other countries. But … the other side also has free speech and may say things we don’t agree with.”

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