Broken Down Car Parking Lot

Before I moved to my community, there were people living in the community (along with people in the apartment complex next door) who seemed to use our parking lots as some sort of junkyard. Our community adopted the county's parking regulations as community rules and then hired off duty police officers to help identify and ticket those cars (and tow them, if necessary). It took a little time, but today, that issue is fairly rare.

The county regs state that vehicles parked in the open (e.g. on a city street) have to have current tags and be operable. Since you have a private lot, you'd have to set your own rules about parking, but requirements like having current plates could enable the board to take action such as towing the car away.

In this case, your city ordinance might trump association rules, so you may want to talk to an attorney about your options. This may take some doing because as you say, this guy owns half the units and so even if everyone else objects to the car, you're at a stalemate as far as voting goes.

Then again, is there anything in writing about this 2 unregistered car business? By anything in writing, I mean your documents (CCRs and Bylaws). If not, the man can't just make up rules to suit him, even though he owns half the units. There are another 6 to deal with and he'd have to convince at least one owner to go along with him. If there's nothing in writing, covenants can be enforced by one homeowner against another, so there's nothing wrong with the rest of you banding together and suing the man to get rid of the car or at least make him clean it out and put current tags on it.

Well, broke down cars can also serve as habitats for rats and other vermin, besides looking extremely tacky, so it appears you and your neighbors will have to get together and sue the guy, perhaps calling this thing a nuisance. Check your documents to see if there's anything about that. Of course, if you use that argument, you'll have to explain why you think the car should go and what makes it a nuisance. For example, is it hindering guests or building contractors from parking so they can visit other residents? Have you seen any signs of rats, possums, etc.? Have other tore up cars appeared because people see this car and think "why not?" Can you prove any of this stuff with photos (time and date stamped, please)?

A nastygranm for an attorney representing all of you may be enough to make the car go away, but if not, off to court you go and a judge will have to make the call. If you go this route, it's vital that EVERYONE is willing to participate and help pay the legal fees (as part of the lawsuit, you can ask for reimbursement). Time to sit down with them and see who's willing to put their money where their mouth is....

Most condo CC&Rs I've seen prohibit inoperable or junk vehicles on the common elements, so this is very likely a violation.

Also many condo communities are tow-away zones - you need to have the proper signage displayed at the community entrance, and you should notify the police that the vehicle has been towed and not stolen. However, that's the quickest way to deal with it. We slap a warning notice on the vehicle giving the owner 10 days to move it, send a warning letter to the owner if we know who it is, and after that we call the towing company.