Asklemmy

It's not a thing in other countries

in the UK, you buy a house and you pay a council (county?) tax. If you collect junk outside of your house no one says anything, you just get assigned as a cooky neighbour.

If the rats come or its genuinely bringing down the safety of the area, neighbours might complain tothe council who may/may not do anything about it depending on how much they care. Council positions are safe/steady jobs but the pay isn't great, so you can expect swift inaction at any time.

Norway has something similar, you own the inside usually and the HOA own the outside, including the houses themselves. Live in one, largely a good thing but some things come slow since they need to be voted for of course. Generally worth it, since you get good deals on things like internet. It's cheaper but it's also something you usually have to use and the only option. Eg only that provider of internet.

I'm my case, they are also responsible for my balanced ventilation, my exterior doors and my water heater. So when the time comes, they handle it. Shared costs cover snow plowing, the shared community building, upkeep of garage, outdoors and the buildings, and things like water bills and taxes paid. In particular, HOAs purchases do not need to pay a 2.5% of the purchase price fee when you purchase a home. This itself saves you quite a bit, and makes up for some of the extra you pay in monthly costs. (but pretty much all of those are at least going somewhere that benefit you anyways)

The downsides are, there are special rules so some people that have membership may have a right to take over the winning bid in a sale. I myself used this to purchase my place, having gotten 10 years of seniority in "HOA company". You spend the seniority with your purchase, but also are not allowed to own more than one part. Also, no long term renting so there aren't any companies buying and renting out and things like that. You have to live in the HOA.