Community Parking Rules (experiences with your current or former homes)

[Kurosaki]

Starting this thread because this is something I've brought up in the post whore thread but I'd like to hear opinions/experiences from the rest of the 'sink. Our HOA (HOAs suck) implemented a new rule recently about the resident parking policy. Previously, every home was issued one parking pass and if another was needed, you can apply for it.

Now they require the license and current registration of vehicles in our garages to be eligible for a parking pass. The application for that parking pass asks for make/model/color/plate#/registration.

This is the math they're using;

• Number of permanent/resident vehicles (minimum 3 required to qualify unless oversized)
• Number of garage parking spaces.
• Subtract line 2 from line 1. This is the number of Digital Hangtags you may apply for (max: 1).

What kind of malarkey math is that? What if line 1 says there are four permanent/resident vehicles, line 2 says there are two garage parking spaces, so line three would be 2, but we're only allowed to apply for one parking pass. Am I doing math wrong?

This doesn't specify number of available parking spaces. I don't know what this means for one of my neighbors, good friend of mine that turned his garage into a woodshop. I don't know what this means for people that use their garage for extra storage space. I don't know what this means for another friend that has a pool table in his garage. Or another neighbor that uses one side of his garage for dirt bikes that aren't plated. There is no language speaking to those situations. Only assuming that the garage is used for cars.

If our neighborhood was one that has a constant parking problem of being full, I might get it, even though it still seems an overstep of privacy. Parking has never been a problem here, as long as I've been here.

Never dealt with anything like this. I'm curious if anyone else has.

 

[Eldritch]

I have never lived under an HOA, they are a nightmare as a rule. An independent terrorism authority with no public accountability that can just push horrible shit on you at the whim of local members and as a side fun fact, they can charge you for it.



I'm not sre what you are looking for here though? HOA's are run by their own private rules on private properties and it is all private contracts that run stuff, so usually you do not have many, "rights," that can be defended except as detailed in the HOA Charter.

Like there are some fed eral and State rules, but they d not offer a tremendous amount of protection. https://www.hopb.co/california-hoa-law-guide

 

[Kurosaki]

I have never lived under an HOA, they are a nightmare as a rule. An independent terrorism authority with no public accountability that can just push horrible shit on you at the whim of local members and as a side fun fact, they can charge you for it.



I'm not sre what you are looking for here though? HOA's are run by their own private rules on private properties and it is all private contracts that run stuff, so usually you do not have many, "rights," that can be defended except as detailed in the HOA Charter.

Like there are some fed eral and State rules, but they d not offer a tremendous amount of protection. https://www.hopb.co/california-hoa-law-guide

What I'm looking for if this is something anyone else has dealt with anything remotely similar. Maybe some anecdotes about how it eventually turned out.

Don't like some of the HOA rules we have here but they aren't THAT bothersome. I AM concerned about a rule that has anything to do with what we have going on in our garage/home. We are renters so we have less "rights" but this applies to home owners as well.

Why does the HOA need to know the complete details of vehicles in our garages? Enforce whatever they want outside. But inside your home, would you be cool with that, Eldirty?

 

[afm199]

I'm with you Kurosaki. Organize a biker picket and we'll get some BARF riders to do a ride by with loud pipes.

 

[Wolf]

The purpose is to limit the number of vehicles on the street. So they're essentially capping the number of each house is allowed to 3 (2 in the garage, 1 on the street).

Fewer vehicles on the street makes the neighborhood look classier.

It sounds like you don't have driveways? Just garage & street?

 

[Kurosaki]

The purpose is to limit the number of vehicles on the street. So they're essentially capping the number of each house is allowed to 3 (2 in the garage, 1 on the street).

Fewer vehicles on the street makes the neighborhood look classier.

It sounds like you don't have driveways? Just garage & street?

BARF isn't cooperating with linking a picture to show how open parking is here, so it's hard to explain but this new rule is making things WORSE on the street (outside of the community) because we are right by an elementary/middle school where people create a ton of traffic. Pushing residents out to the street to park, when parking wasn't even a problem here is stupid.

But again, this is finding a solution to a problem that didn't exist. Just want to know if this is something others have dealt with and how it turned out. I've already spoken to our landlord and as tone deaf as he can be on some things, he agrees this sounds like bullshit.

 

[gnahc79]

Our HOA for our townhomes have had the following rules for many years. Overall it makes sense to me because our complex does have a parking problem.

1. Each home has either a 1 car or two car garage.
2. Homes with a 1 car garage can have a max of two parking permits with an assigned parking spot along with a QR code pass thingy we stick on the window. Homes with a 2 car garage can have a max of one parking permit. So 3 cars max can park in a garage or assigned parking space. Got more cars than that, park on the street.
3. Every few years or so I have to show proof of my car in our 1 car garage. This so ppl don't just try to get 2 passes for 2 cars and use the entire garage for just storage. This is fair to me, if you have a 2 car garage, 2 cars and decide to use your entire garage for stuff, you don't get to have 2 assigned parking spaces.
4. Email the make, model, license plate #. I don't think they ever asked for registration.

 

[Butch]

Back in the day… I was in a condo with an HOA. I went to the board meetings, I joined the board. Perhaps you could do something as your landlord’s proxy.
You could certainly ask them to explain their formula.

 

[TheRobSJ]

I noticed in my townhome community that there are more cars lingering in guest parking and on the street. The past couple years saw a huge uptick in two things. People who now work from home primarily so their car hardly ever moves. And more relevant to this subject, people turning their garages into home gyms, taking up one or both parking spots which of course displaces those cars outside. My HOA has really tried to crack down on residents abusing the guest parking spaces, since I’ve been seeing the same car parked for days sometimes weeks in a spot.

 

[Eldritch]

What I'm looking for if this is something anyone else has dealt with anything remotely similar. Maybe some anecdotes about how it eventually turned out.

Don't like some of the HOA rules we have here but they aren't THAT bothersome. I AM concerned about a rule that has anything to do with what we have going on in our garage/home. We are renters so we have less "rights" but this applies to home owners as well.

Why does the HOA need to know the complete details of vehicles in our garages? Enforce whatever they want outside. But inside your home, would you be cool with that, Eldirty?

No, I have never lived under one, because I would LOSE MY FUCKING MIND.

But like I said, unfortunately, these arrangements vary pretty wildly based on how it is defined in the HOA Charter you are stuck with, so the experience of others probably doesn't mean shit here, sadly.

With my Mom's, which I do have a little experience with, pretty much it is fucking absurd. Everyone of the scores of home owners under the agreement are subject to the whims of the 5 petty tyrants who are the board of directors, who are literally able to make most rules up on the fly as they see fit, subject only to an election by the Home Owners every 3 years with no term limits on the people who hold the seat.

Maybe if you post the terms that actually apply to your situation people could give some handy advice?

Back in the day… I was in a condo with an HOA. I went to the board meetings, I joined the board. Perhaps you could do something as your landlord’s proxy.
You could certainly ask them to explain their formula.

Because of the nature of the business I am in, I have seen some situations (quite a few) where dickless Tenant Associations get into beefs with some of the other tenants about how to spend their limited resources and that ha sbeen the only model for success I have seen. If you are willing to play the politics with your neighborly tyrants and get elected to the ruling body, you can steer things your way, but in my experience, only retired people have the time to wage those kinds of weird social wars.

 

[bojangle]

Our HOA for our townhomes have had the following rules for many years. Overall it makes sense to me because our complex does have a parking problem.

1. Each home has either a 1 car or two car garage.
2. Homes with a 1 car garage can have a max of two parking permits with an assigned parking spot along with a QR code pass thingy we stick on the window. Homes with a 2 car garage can have a max of one parking permit. So 3 cars max can park in a garage or assigned parking space. Got more cars than that, park on the street.
3. Every few years or so I have to show proof of my car in our 1 car garage. This so ppl don't just try to get 2 passes for 2 cars and use the entire garage for just storage. This is fair to me, if you have a 2 car garage, 2 cars and decide to use your entire garage for stuff, you don't get to have 2 assigned parking spaces.
4. Email the make, model, license plate #. I don't think they ever asked for registration.

Most likely, at any given time of sale, a unit with a two car garage, all other things equal, would sell for more than a unit with a one car garage. Seems finda fucked up to me that people who pay for more parking end up getting screwed with less permits, and thus the same number of parking spot, as those who did not pay for extra parking.

I gonna guess the majority on the HOA board had one car garages when that bullshit was voted in. IMO, all units should get the same number of permits.

So glad I don't live in an HOA place. For a few years I owned a townhouse that was HOA. Never had any issues duing that time. It was actually a pretty good deal for what they charged and that it covered water, garbage, landscaping, common area insurance and maintenance.

 

[CDONA]

Living the RV life full-time, some parks want registration on file for monthlies.
This info is wanted by the county, so the deputies don't have to inspect every license plate for current registration.
They make it the problem of the RV park, some how.
Sheriff also inspects the sewer hookups, or makes the mgr. liable/ do it.

 

[Kurosaki]

Back in the day… I was in a condo with an HOA. I went to the board meetings, I joined the board. Perhaps you could do something as your landlord’s proxy.
You could certainly ask them to explain their formula.

I could try that but I'm not sure it would help. Even before this new policy, I had the landlord apply for a 2nd parking pass for our home with the HOA board because I was shopping for a 2nd car and they told him no. I didn't understand. Like... why... How is one more car parked in the community not acceptable when it never fills up?

I've been to a board meeting and it's just a bunch of old people talking about the most mundane topics. I doubt they're going to overturn their policy because of the opinion one one renter. Maybe I could get a group of others together that aren't happy with the new policy because the parking lot turning into a ghost town makes it clear I'm not alone on this.

Our HOA for our townhomes have had the following rules for many years. Overall it makes sense to me because our complex does have a parking problem.

1. Each home has either a 1 car or two car garage.
2. Homes with a 1 car garage can have a max of two parking permits with an assigned parking spot along with a QR code pass thingy we stick on the window. Homes with a 2 car garage can have a max of one parking permit. So 3 cars max can park in a garage or assigned parking space. Got more cars than that, park on the street.
3. Every few years or so I have to show proof of my car in our 1 car garage. This so ppl don't just try to get 2 passes for 2 cars and use the entire garage for just storage. This is fair to me, if you have a 2 car garage, 2 cars and decide to use your entire garage for stuff, you don't get to have 2 assigned parking spaces.
4. Email the make, model, license plate #. I don't think they ever asked for registration.

That's the stickler for me. When I talked to my landlord, he was on our side about this. We've only been here for 4 years but he bought the home when it was new in the 90s. There's never been parking problems.

But those rules, even though I don't like those as well make sense if you're dealing with a community that has extremely limited parking availability.

 

[Kurosaki]

No, I have never lived under one, because I would LOSE MY FUCKING MIND.

But like I said, unfortunately, these arrangements vary pretty wildly based on how it is defined in the HOA Charter you are stuck with, so the experience of others probably doesn't mean shit here, sadly.

With my Mom's, which I do have a little experience with, pretty much it is fucking absurd. Everyone of the scores of home owners under the agreement are subject to the whims of the 5 petty tyrants who are the board of directors, who are literally able to make most rules up on the fly as they see fit, subject only to an election by the Home Owners every 3 years with no term limits on the people who hold the seat.

Maybe if you post the terms that actually apply to your situation people could give some handy advice?

No it doesn't but again, I just wanted to know if this was something that others have to deal with. I have friends and family that live in HOA communities and I've never heard of anything like this from them.

Honestly, we didn't even know until my roommate's car got towed a month or so ago while having what we thought was a valid parking pass. The landlord dropped the ball on even telling us about this. Apparently the new policy was effective January 1st and he's just been getting lucky they didn't tow him sooner.

 

[Eldritch]

No it doesn't but again, I just wanted to know if this was something that others have to deal with. I have friends and family that live in HOA communities and I've never heard of anything like this from them.

Honestly, we didn't even know until my roommate's car got towed a month or so ago while having what we thought was a valid parking pass. The landlord dropped the ball on even telling us about this. Apparently the new policy was effective January 1st and he's just been getting lucky they didn't tow him sooner.

Yeah, that is what I am saying though, these deals depend so much on how things are written in the individual HOA, because it is a private arrangement.

Like, if your HOA Rules have a line approved that says, "This is Niner Country, any resident observed not wearing Red and Gold at the Property on Sunday will be subject to a fine of $150" Then they can legit fine you $150," they can legit stick you with that debt that they can enforce by sending it to collections and fucking up your credit or sue you for it in small claims court.

The shit is that CRAZY. When I was shopping for my place 2 years ago, there were a couple of potential options I saw that had an HOA mentioned in the listing and i just crossed them out, full stop, without even looking at the HOA charter.

You can complain to the state if the HOA has violated your rights as defined in the bylaws or state/fed requirements (for example an HOA may not restrict a display of the American Flag in a "No Flag/Banner" Policy) but most of your rights around stuff like parking access I think are defined in the bylaws of your HOA, not the State/Fed stuff.

So I would say post up the rules and see if any BARF Lawyers might be able to help.

 

[MC BumSlap]

I hate HOA's too. I live in one. But, my neighborhood doesn't look like a shit hole and my neighbors can't park their cars on their front lawn.

 

[Kurosaki]

Yeah, that is what I am saying though, these deals depend so much on how things are written in the individual HOA, because it is a private arrangement.

Like, if your HOA Rules have a line approved that says, "This is Niner Country, any resident observed not wearing Red and Gold at the Property on Sunday will be subject to a fine of $150" Then they can legit fine you $150," they can legit stick you with that debt that they can enforce by sending it to collections and fucking up your credit or sue you for it in small claims court.

The shit is that CRAZY. When I was shopping for my place 2 years ago, there were a couple of potential options I saw that had an HOA mentioned in the listing and i just crossed them out, full stop, without even looking at the HOA charter.

You can complain to the state if the HOA has violated your rights as defined in the bylaws or state/fed requirements (for example an HOA may not restrict a display of the American Flag in a "No Flag/Banner" Policy) but most of your rights around stuff like parking access I think are defined in the bylaws of your HOA, not the State/Fed stuff.

So I would say post up the rules and see if any BARF Lawyers might be able to help.

I’d be glad to post the entirety of the application but I am not home at the moment. Will do that tomorrow.

 

[Wolf]

And more relevant to this subject, people turning their garages into home gyms, taking up one or both parking spots which of course displaces those cars outside.

Ah. Yup. Using garage for storage/gym/AirBnB [] rather than parking your car in it.

 

[mercurial]

If you don't own the property, the HOA has a direct relationship with your landlord, not you. This may give you additional optionality you haven't totally considered.

 

[ctwo]

One HOA says you have to park in the garage, at least overnight, two vehicle max.