HOA; trespassing rules

I think you may have a misunderstanding on your situation. You most likely own the house and the lot it sits on all other property outside of that is considered "Common area". Which you have exclusive use to but still need approval by the board. So translating that the property is owned by the owner should be it is owned by ALL the OWNERS. Meaning common area is property owned and maintained by ALL owners. Hence the reason the HOA can provide lawncare without trespassing and as a group.

This is how my HOA is setup so we can provide lawncare and the maintenace free environment. We all have interest in the property. Which no trespassing laws apply as it is HOA property I am a member of.

Your issue seems to be with someone noticing violations and enforcing them. The very thing you all want your board to do until it happens to you.

Stephen,

I live in a fee simple town home community. We had a similar situation a few years back where one member of the Architectural committee entered the property to perform inspections. A complaint (actually, several complaints) were filed with the Board. The Board asked the attorney and the attorney advised us to only perform inspections from the sidewalks or common areas as entering the property was in fact trespassing.

Some covenants state that if there is a violation that the owner has been notified of and has not taken care of, the HOA has the right to bring the property into compliance. That being said, I can not imagine why someone would think they have the right to enter someone's property to "inspect" it - especially when it is not a condo, but single family homes.

Unless a neighbor complained about something, such as a shed or change that was made and did not fit within guidelines (and if that's the case, going into the neighbor's yard, with their permission, of course, would be the way to go), no one from the HOA should go into your yard without permission.

Doesn't seem right to me that someone's trespassing on your property. Sounds like you've got Mrs. Kravitz on your board!

Thanks Melissa,
I think TimB said it perfectly. In my community, we pay part of our HOA dues for lawn care, and some for garbage collection....etc...just as Tim said, as though a bunch of owners got together and pooled our resources to negotiate with a lawncare vendor....that's what the HOA is doing for us...negotiating a price with an outside lawncare company and paying for them to cut our lawns..in addition to common areas like the area near the pool and the center island on our Blvd.

So, as was pointed out by Richard P, because we are talking about our lawn, on our land....not any common area...it's out land..
It would be trespassing if they venture onto our property without permission....I just think it would be helpful if the Statutes included legislation for a law that would remove any ambiguity.
Thank you for your input though....I hope others will join me in urging our legislators to write such a bill....and that others will support it.

go to court
petition for an enjoinder
otherwise known as an
order of protection

Thank you Melissa, but the issue here is simple; our HOA is not following the Covenants which clearly spell out what their purpose (as board members) is and what the homeowner's responsibilities are. If you are familiar with the Florida Statutes on HOA's you would see that there have been many new laws enacted over the past few years to deal with these renegade boards who ignore the by-laws or covenants and follow their own rules based solely on their opinions....often contridicting the covenants and / or state law.

In the case I specifically refer to ...or rather the question I raised; whether an HOA Board member has a "right" to enter onto private property...which the law clearly states they do not...and many if not all legal advisors to HOA boards would agree....that as board members, there is no instance where by a board member (or anyone else ) should ever enter onto a homeowners private property....for that would clearly be trespassing. What I was asking is if there was if anyone on the blog knew of a specific law being contemplated to clarify this even further for HOA's...than the more general definition of trespassing.

As to wanting the HOA to site my neighbors for violations, that's a whole new can of worms. All anyone wants is fairness. and that too is law...that the HOA board cannot apply the covenants unfairly..(i.e., they cannot give preference to their friends and come down hard on their adversaries...which is exactly what happens far too often.......another reason why Florida has adopted specific Statutes to deal with HOA issues...

Please understand, all I want is to have the Covenants followed, by everyone....neighbors and board members. Unfortunately, too often board members forget they serve at the pleasure of the community for the good of the community. If they are not there to help make the community a better place to live, and to insure that the covenants are followed as written or change covenants if the members want to change....then they should not serve on the board.

Sorry for my long and rambling diatribe. I hope I better explained what I sought help with. I'm simply trying to get answers ....as I myself have only one purpose....to get my wife set up and comfortable in this community which I beleive is a safe and consistent one..... Unfortunately, I am terminally ill, with 3 morbidities, at only 56 years of age...(never smoked but needed a double lung transplant which I am now rejecting, I've developed incurable inoperable colon cancer and cancer of the liver, and I am in end stage renal failure. I mention this not for pity or sympathy but to better explain why I am so interested in understanding our rights as homeowners....and insuring that our HOA board simply abides by the very covenants they were elected to uphold.

Thank you again for your thoughts....and thank you to everyone who has written on this subject. Due to my illnesses, I am unable to answer every comment, though I would have liked to....but I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and advice....and again I am hoping to find a source to contact the legislature members who have been working on the HOA Statutes to see if this trespass issue might be better clarified ....for the protection of my family...and other families in similar situations where out of control board members go on a rampage and begin walking onto peoples property in our back yards where perhaps my daughter or wife might be enjoying our Florida sunshine...and be startled by a stranger who thinks he/she has a right to just wander for no reason without any permission ....

Again I apologize for rambling....and hope you can interpret my meaning and purpose of my questions. I welcome any and all input....thank you.

Steve Durand

Glen's answer looks very good to me. Politely warn the Board first in writing and then follow through if need be.

In our high rise condo, our covenants state that no one including board members may enter any of our units without 24 notice. The only exception is for emergencies. In our case, that'd be water intrusion from a unit above.

In Florida - everyone knows the rules on "protect my property and myself" Board member is risking getting shot by trespassing onto a property without notifying homeowner.