HOAs and parking on the streets
May 20th, 2008 by KenricI got a letter today from the HOA stating that my tenants had a car parked in the street overnight. For those who don’t live in HOA communities, most new communities do not allow parking on the street at night. All cars must be kept in the garage or driveway.
Anyway, I talked to my tenant about this letter and he told me that the HOA had left a note on his truck that night also. He said he called the police to find out if the HOA has any jurisdiction on parking on public streets. The police told him that if the streets are maintained by the city, then the HOA has no authority on who can park on those streets unless the city puts up a sign that says no parking 12am-6am or something like that. My tenant said he called the HOA and told them this and the lady did not have a come back.
I find this very interesting because here in Phoenix, most new subdivisions have HOAs and most HOAs have this rule. When you think about it, what my tenant found out does make sense if the HOAs do not maintain the roads. I guess this conversation just made me think about this HOA rule. Does the HOA have the right to post no parking signs on the streets? Wouldn’t this come down to the same thing as an HOA making the speed limit 18 MPH on our subdivision roads?
For the record I don’t know if I’m for or against HOAs. Sometimes I’m glad to have them because so people just can’t keep a clean yard. Other times, they step over the line by being super anal on things (weeds).
At my condo in Chicago the HOA charges $200 to rent the elevator to move-in and to move-out and a $75 transfer fee. So either I get charged $475 every time I get a new tenant, or I pass the costs to the tenants. Trying telling a tenant that it will cost $200 to move out! For this HOA, I pretty much don’t cooperate with them at all when they ask me any questions. I figure if they want me to fill out a form, they have to pay me to do it.
On the other hand, I like my HOA in Salt Lake City. They seem very fair and cooperative. Plus my HOA fees there have only risen $10/mo in three years!
Posted in Real Estate | 
Stumble it!
I’ve got the same rule in our HOA - and the HOA does maintain our streets, not the city. They even put up signs of who to call if your car gets towed.
By Shaun on May 22, 2008