Why won't the HOA enforce the CCRs?

My neighborhood HOA has the following rules in the CCR's. Violations are rampant with many garages used for storing junk while cars parked on streets. Also many violations of people parking on streets instead of in driveways or garages. Its so bad with cars parking on both sides of the street that only one vehicle can drive through at a time. When discussing with HOA we are told that the association has chosen not to hire an enforcing company and that most violations are after hours. Also stated that we can make reports of violations but our name must be included for legal reason. I don't want to start fights with neighbors but I do want them to follow the rules of the CCRs. How do we get the HOA to enforce the rules in place? I know anytime my trees are trimmed correctly I get a violation letter.

3.PB Vehicles and Parking. As used in this Declaration, the term "Motor
Vehicle" means a car, van, truck, motorcycle, all terrain vehicle, utility vehicle, pickup truck or
other motorized vehicle intended for non-commercial use, and the term '%ecreationaQ Vehicle"
means a recreational vehicle, motor home, travel trailer, tent trailer, boat or similar vehicles
intended for non-commercial use vehicle.
3.16.1 All Motor Vehicles not prohibited by the provisions of this
Declaration shall be stored in a garage so as to be concealed from view from adjoining
Lots, streets or Common Areas.
3.16.2 For those Lots which are not Alley Lots or Private Drive Lots,
Motor Vehicles may be parked upon the Driveway surface of the Lot when there are
more Motor Vehicles on a Lot than the number of garages constructed thereon.
3.16.3 If there are more Motor Vehicles than the number of' garages '
constructed on an Alley Lot or a Private Drive Lot, those Motor Vehicles must be parked
in areas designated in the Association Rules.
3.16.4 Parking andlor storing of Recreational Vehicles on a Lot or any
portion of the Property is prohibited unless such vehicles are nd Visible From
Neighboring Property or are otherwise permitted pursuant to the Design Guidelines.
3.16.5 Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3.16.4> Recreational ,
Vehicles may be parked on a Driveway (or, for Alley Lots or Private Drive Lots, in an
area designated in the Association Rules) for purposes of loading or unloading, but only
for short periods of time.
3.16.6 Any Motor Vehicles or Recreational Vehicles stored or ,parked on
a Lot may not be reconstructed, modified or rebuilt unless an emergency threatening
persons or property exists or unless such work is not Visible From Neighboring Property
or any Common Area or street. No Motor Vehicle or Recreational Vehicle may be
constructed on a Lot, even if such construction. were not Visible From Neighboring
Property.
3.16.7 No inoperable Motor Vehicle may be stored or parked on any Lot
or other property so as to be Visible From Neighboring Property or to be any Common
Area or any street.
3.17 Towine of Vehicles. The Board shall have the right to have any Motor
Vehicle or Recreational Vehicle which is parked, kept, maintained, constructed, reconstructed or

3.17 Towine of Vehicles. The Board shall have the right to have any Motor
Vehicle or Recreational Vehicle which is parked, kept, maintained, constructed, reconstructed or
485004.7 19
[Of31 1161
repaired in violation of the Project Documents towed away at the sole cost and expense of the
owner of the Motor Vehicle or Recreational Vehicle. Any expense incurred by the Association
in connection with the towing of any Motor Vehicle or Recreational Vehicle shall be paid to the
Association upon demand by the owner of the Motor Vehicle or Recreational Vehicle. If the
Motor Vehicle or Recreational Vehicle is owned by an Owner, any amounts payable to the
Association shall be secured by the Assessment Lien, and the Association may enforce collection
of said amounts in the same manner provided for in this Declaration for the collection of
Assessments.
- 3.18 Garapes and Drivewavs. Garages situated on Lots shall be used only for
the parking of Motor Vehicles and shall not be used or converted for living or recreational ,
activities without the prior written approval of the Architectural Committee. Garages may be
used for the storage of non-hazardous material so long as the storage of material allows sufficient
space for the parking of at least one (1) Motor Vehicle. No garage door shall remain open except
when necessary for access to and from the garage.

Vehicles and Parking: Vehicles of Owners, Lessees and Residents and their family, visitors,
guests and invitees shall be parked inside garages or on driveways and other designated parking
areas. On-street parking shall only be permitted in areas designated by the Association
when a unit owner’s garage and driveway are full of vehicles or in the event of an
emergency.
*Parking in side yards or other unpaved portions of a Lot is prohibited.

I have people like you in my association. They complain but don't want people to know they are the ones complaining. ARS 33-1242 says that complaints cannot be anonymous.

I act on all complaints if they use the complaint form and put their name on it. I think your board would do the same.

George,
People don't like their names mentioned for safety purposes. You never know when you will get the psycho neighbor. Also the law says the person or person who witnessed the violation which could be the HOA leaders who check on the complaint. For instance If I witness someone parking on the street and report it the HOA leaders verify the complaint and then the official violation would list the HOA and not the individual.

No Tim, I do not want "My neighbors" to enforce the CCRs. I expect the HOA board which is created to enforce the CCRs as well as the HOA management company which the HOA hired to maintain and enforce the CCRs. I am happy to talk to my neighbor because I know them and not worried about safety. A complete stranger down the road is much different.

In your experience how do other HOA's handle the parking issues? Do all HOA's ignore the parking rules?

Sorry Jim, you hit one of my buttons.
Remember, you also have the authority to enforce the covenants but are choosing not to.
Instead, you want someone else to do it for you.


Keep in mind that your Board is made up of your neighbors (well, at least those who are willing to become involved).


Jim,

Having looked at many many homes (as we are looking to retire), many garages simply won't fit a lot of vehicles that require 18 feet of space (due to the arrangement of steps leading from the garage to the home). Many garages that are side load do not have adequate swing space to make it into the garage easily. Additionally, I am keenly aware that many homes do not provide storage of any reasonable amount. I have found this to be true out west and back east. I have found this true for existing homes and new construction. I have ruled out many homes because I want to utilize the garage as a garage.

My Association doesn't have garages or driveways. Each have two assigned parking spaces and unassigned spaces are on a first come first serve basis.

As I stated earlier, if you want the Board to enforce and they are not, you need to become involved. You need to gather support from your neighbors and vote the bums out (so to speak).

However, prior to doing this, you may want to ask why they are not enforcing this covenant. Once they provide you an answer, you may have other options. For example: not enough time, volunteer to head an enforcement committee. Unrealistic (as there are so many violations), then have them amend the covenants so that requirement isn't there. Too costly, propose an increase in assessments. Don't want to make the membership angry, ask that they step down and appoint you to the position.

My suggestion, as stated earlier:

1) find out why they are not enforcing (there may be a reason you are unaware of)
2) If needed, gather support to vote the existing board out (if there isn't support, it likely won't happen).

These changes won't happen overnight (it took me three years to gather support for issues that were less controversial). Changes require you to become involved. If you don't have the time or are concerned being the one labeled as stirring up trouble, see if you can get someone else to do the work for you.

Melissa brings up a good point.

In Virginia, the courts have ruled that Associations may not impose monetary penalties for violations of the covenants unless the covenants specify that the Board may impose such penalties. Therefore, we have the following options to enforce our covenants:

1) Send a letter requesting they comply
2) Hold a hearing and bluff on a monetary charge by saying we will waive if corrected by mm/dd/yyyy
3) Spend $500 and have the attorney write a letter threatening legal action and hope they comply
4) Actually take the issue into the courts to seek an injunction

I expect that most Associations do not want to spend money on legal costs because someone didn't park in the garage. I expect that most attorneys wouldn't take that case to court for fear of the reputation they may get. Therefore, in reality, my Association won't enforce the small stuff. We will save legal action for more important issues.

You may want to search any large cases on enforcement within your County or State as well as see what real options your Association has to enforce.

Jim,

Many of the posters on this site are serving or have previously served within their HOA/COA. We often admit that Associations have issues. Many have resolved those issues or tried to resolve those issues. What is shared is more of what the realistic expectation should be. This simply comes from experience in serving.

I also had an issue that drove me to become involved. I thought I understood what the issues were and how to fix them. Then I was elected to the Board and found out that I actually understood very little. Fortunately, this site helped me a lot.

As others have said, every Association has to make their own decision on where they will put their focus.
Often, it boils down to how much time are you willing to give.

As Treasurer, Website administrator, Maintenance Officer and Director for my Association, I put in far more time then I really should (as it takes time away from my family). Unfortunately, nobody has stepped forward willing to do these jobs. Hence, I do them. We have a covenant enforcement issue to deal with at our next meeting. There are two violations listed. In my opinion, one of them is a personal taste issue vs. an actual violation. However, we have to go through the process. This is causing me to take even more time to do research and bring forward proof that it's not really a covenant violation. Translation, if there were more volunteers, I'd be happy to do more enforcement if that is what people want. Until then, I'd rather spend time with my family.

As for making a difference - if you decide to serve, you will make a difference (providing you are willing to put in the time and effort). I have found most individuals are happy to sign off on things just so long that they don't have to put the work in to make it happen.

As for changing the CC&Rs - the fact that parking is such a divisive issue is a main reason the CC&Rs won't get changed. Typically you need 2/3 to 100% agreement to amend the CC&Rs. Getting this number, especially if the membership is apathetic or divided, is difficult at best and impossible at it's worst.

Jim

When our BOD receives a complaint someone on the BOD will investigate it. If we find the complaint valid, we turn it over to the MC and they deal with it. No mention is made nor any record is ever kept as to who the original complainer was. When we hired the MC they agreed they would play "the heavy" for us.

We had parking issues. Our streets were not wide enough to have 2 cars park on BOTH sides of the road and a car to pass through. We had an ambulance get stuck once and the guy died of a heart attack. (Prior to me moving there). Plus our garbage routinely had to be skipped being picked up because they could not get through. Something we wanted to charge the owner of the vehicle for doing so but could not.

Our streets were turned over to the city and were no longer PRIVATE roads. Which meant even though our documents had rules of enforcement on the streets we could NOT enforce them. That is because we gave up our rights to the roads. They were now part of the city responsibility. Which meant they were controlled by the city not us.

I eventually worked with the city to have red painted curbs put in on one side of the street for no parking. That is because we did not allow signs except for sale/rent. If the city put signs up, we would have had them every 25 feet or so. A lawnmower and eye sore. We had to go to the city for them to write up an ordinance special for us.

Make sure your streets are Public or Private. If they are public, then most likely no matter what your documents state, your HOA can't touch them. It's most likely due to lack of upgrading the documents the references to the street is still there. May need to concentrate on updating/upgrading your documents...

This is the problem with HOA's -- it allows rogue BOD's to get into positions of "power" and instead of doing their "job" they just want to be popular. And they can get away with it due to the items listed by TimB4 on 4-11-16 at 931PM. We would like to enforce our governing documents ourselves since the BOD will not but it would require a lot of $ out of our pocket and the rest of the neighborhood will not support us. The 3 HOA attorney's I spoke with noted it would cost us a minimum of $15k plus/minus....

Well said.

Wow I need to check my typing. I don't see an edit post option.

Meant to say City Police...not policy.
And you had to report...they didn't just wander the neighborhood on their own.

In the past there had been suggestions of placing pictures of the violation (poor street appearance, parking problems, etc.) on the HOA website, but someone said that could cause legal problems. Another suggestion was including a list of the violations/violators in the regular newsletter. Somehow, being on the BOD and not doing anything to enforce pretty basic, non-onerous rules, seems like we are doing an injustice to all the homeowners.

Tom,

Welcome to the forum.

Yes, some may see covenant enforcement as nagging.
Keep in mind that the enforcement is required because the member had chosen not to comply or to comply later.

I suspect those same individuals who constantly need to be told to keep their property kept up are the same individuals who had parents have to constantly tell them to take out the trash or comply with the rules of the home.

Our documents have similar language. However, we were advised by an attorney not to enter the property to do anything unless it's causing an immediate safety issue to others. If we want to enter the property for a non-safety issue and do the repairs/maintenance, we should seek a court order otherwise we could defending ourselves on trespassing charges.


Governing documents typically specify that failure to enforce does not invalidate the rule. However, there have been court cases that have ruled both ways. Therefore, it will depend on your State (and perhaps just your County). However, you only have to worry how the courts will rule if an enforcement action is challenged (unless there is a clear cut decision that is setting precedence).