Trespassing Question

The HOA isn't the police nor has any policing authority. Call the police if you see a law broken. It doesn't have to be a HOA issue. Get your own restraining order if you don't want the person near ya. Don't look at the HOA to resolve this issue. It's legal issue.

Have you talked to the HOMEOWNER about any of this? Are you sure the man was shooting up heroin (perhaps it was insulin or some other medication?)

If the man's not breaking the law (if he is shooting heroin, call the police) or making a nuisance (e.g. harassing the neighbors), there may not be much you can do. If he's homeless, perhaps someone could call Adult Protective Services to check it out.

Jenn,

In a condo, the association owns no real estate. The common areas are owned jointly by all the unit owners. Your association, as a non-owner, has no authority to take action against a visitor. You, however, by virtue of having a property interest, have some standing to demand that this person leave. You should call the police directly, report what you have seen, and demand that they remove this person from the property.

The trespasser may claim to have been invited by one of your fellow owners so someone will have to verify that statement. If, in fact, he is an invitee there may be little you can do unless you are willing to initiate legal action against the owner who invited him onto the property.

Now that you mention it Bob, I recall when I was on the board we did have a situation where a homeowner’s sister was literally living in her car which would sometimes be parked in her parking space or in one of the visitor parking spots.

I don’t remember the particulars now, but some of the neighbors noticed and it made them nervous because the lady and her boyfriend would sleep dress (and undress) and sometimes fight in front of everyone. Whatever went down between the sisters was enough that the owner wouldn’t even allow the sister in her home.

Anyway, our association owns the parking lot and our security officer (also an off duty cop) told our president he could file a complaint and the lady could be cited for trespassing since she wasn’t an owner. The president and security officer then went to the owner and discussed the matter – soon after that, the woman and her car disappeared and that was that.

Apparently, the fact the the association owned the lot was enough to warn the homeowner about creating a nuisance or something and that's how the problem was resolved. Maybe JennB should talk to the cops again (maybe some sort of a community relations person this time) and they can come up with a solution.

Thanks for all the help! This is actually the best answer thus far. We've already called the police and are working closely with them and the HOA to get the problem resolved. We've gotten the States Attorney's office involved and are hoping to get the gentleman served with a no trespass order. We've researched some case law and are hoping with the help of the SAO we can get him out of our neighborhood for good.
Thanks again for all the help! Really appreciate it. Just trying to keep our neighborhood safe!