Unlicensed vehicle

Started by JoanG • 21 replies • 1605 views

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JoanG (Maryland)
Posts: 29

Posted:

At out most recent general meeting, a homeowner told me that her neighbor has had his unlicensed vehicle parked on the street in front of her house for months. She asked me to address this with him since our covenants do prohibit having an unlicensed vehicle on the property. I suggested that she talk to the neighbor, but she's concerned that it would make for a difficult situation and felt that since their is a prohibition in the covenants, it was the Board's responsibility to address it. Thoughts, anyone?? thanks! Joan

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Joan,

This is absolutely the easiest thing to fix. CALL THE POLICE DEPT!!!! Do not get involed in this as a H.O or Board until after the Police do something or nothing about it. You might try enforcement of the covenants but most times, this kind of owner will be defiant about the vehicle, seeing he is not even bothering to follow State licensing laws.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

agree with Donna, always try another authority when that is feasible. However, it is not illegal to have an unlicensed vehicle on the property (from the city's view)... only if driven does it become an issue.

An alternate method, for this or other situations when they complaining neighbor "doesn't want to get involved", is to tell the first party (the complainant) that the board will be happy to talk to the second party (the offenders), and then whip out a piece of paper, and start taking notes from the complainant. Make sure you get their name, address, and the exact complaint. When they ask "what are you doing", state that since they are making a complaint, you have a responsibility to document everything for the board and records. Also, make sure they know that you will go directly to the offender, with the complaint in hand, and confront them. Try to be eager/zealous when you say that. Make sure the complainant knows that you take this seriously, and will make sure the offenders get a copy of the official complaint and a deadline to comply. I always remind the complainant to tidy up their home, because "in my experience, this kind of thing begets retaliation", and you can bet the offender will be picking apart every rule that you break too.

I have found that sometimes, people will decide that maybe, just maybe, a gentle word from neighbor to neighbor is better than calling the HOA cops and escalating the incident.

Your mileage may vary.

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043

Posted:

Joan,

Donna is right on the money! This is definitely a matter for the P.D. as an unlicensed vehicle has no business being parked on a public street. They will come out, run the tags, and take swift action. Then, if the owner decides to park the unlicensed vehicle on his driveway the HOA will have to get involved; but not until that occurs. There is nothing wrong with the HOA passing on their resp. to enforce to the P.D.

JoanG (Maryland)
Posts: 29

Posted:

Thanks all!

JoanG (Maryland)
Posts: 29

Posted:

One other thought -- should I,as the HOA president, make the call, or should this be up to the neighbor?

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043

Posted:

Joan,

If I were in your shoes, and this indeed was a violation of the CCRs, as HOA Pres I would prefer to make the call. But, of course the neighbor can also call. You might want to tell the neighbor (who doesn't want to be "involved") that although the P.D. will ask for her name and address they are not going to give that info to the person with the unlicensed vehicle. They only want that info as a matter of reference and will, sometimes, call you back to let you know the results of their action.

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Joan,
You can make the call, it really is not that important who does it. Joe Schmo driving down the street could call it in but as a Board member, that gives the violation according to your covenants, some verification that the Board is doing it's job.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

You sure its the neighbors car? Its possible the car doesn't belong to anyone on your street.

I once lived in an apartment that had a stolen car in the parking lot for months. It wasn't until the plates expired that the police noticed it. Once they ran the plates, they realized it was stolen. The thiefs just ditched the car in our lot and everyone else just thought it was owned by someone in the apartment complex.

JohnK3 (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 967

Posted:

Good point, Steven. Also, I'm guessing by unlicensed the OP means no plates. But that doesn't mean it's not licensed, just that the tags aren't (maybe) afixed. I'd try to get more info - like asking the supposed owner of the status or checking the VIN number if it's visible (such as below the windshield).

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

The point here is that the car is parked without tags. Doesn't matter who, what , where, or when. Car's gotta go.

EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148

Posted:

It never ceases to amaze me to hear about people who are so helpless they don't even think about calling law enforcement.

MicheleD (Kentucky)
Posts: 4,491

Posted:

Yes, contact the police department first.

Yes, as HOA president, I would make the call first. Why would you want to push this (which will eventually be an enforcement issue for the HOA) onto the neighbor? Frankly, it would never occur to me to tell her to talk to the homeowner about it!

For the most part, we, the members of the board, prefer to enforce the governing documents. Homeowner members CAN enforce, but it's much more conducive to neighborly "get alongs" for the board to do it.

At any rate, unlicensed cars ARE illegal in Kentucky and must be removed from the street and stored in a garage. If they are "junked," meaning they cannot be registered for the road, they are to be properly disposed of and NOT stored on residential property.

JoanG (Maryland)
Posts: 29

Posted:

While I continue to appreciate the responses, I am taken aback by the judgmental tone. I just wanted to tap into the experience of other Boards and ask for advice. Statements like "Frankly, it would never occur to me to tell her to talk to the homeowner about it!" sure don't encourage that! (Michelle, maybe it's the challenge of cyber-communication which omits all the tone-of-voice shaping of how a message is heard, but I sure heard judgment!) This is a small community, only 61 houses, and my thought was like what one does when kids come to you to complain about another child -- you first suggest they talk directly to the other child before you, as the parent -- or teacher, etc., intervene. I already wrote that I would call the police -- no need to chastise me!

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

I always add the "little lady who bakes cookies and gives out the best candy at halloween" tone to everyone's written words... As you noted OP, tone is impossible to read in e-comms, so I just add the most non threatening I know, and it makes everything sound like Aunt Bea from Mayberry.

Typically, people don't try to be judgemental or nasty here, so forgive any words that seem that way until they repeat them twice.. mostly, folks like Michele are just typing and trying to help.

JoanG (Maryland)
Posts: 29

Posted:

Thanks, Brian. I will keep that in mind..."assume good intentions, assume good intentions..." Thank you all!

DJ1 (Ontario)
Posts: 798

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BrianB on 04/06/2009 7:49 AM
agree with Donna, always try another authority when that is feasible. However, it is not illegal to have an unlicensed vehicle on the property (from the city's view)... only if driven does it become an issue.

An alternate method, for this or other situations when they complaining neighbor "doesn't want to get involved", is to tell the first party (the complainant) that the board will be happy to talk to the second party (the offenders), and then whip out a piece of paper, and start taking notes from the complainant. Make sure you get their name, address, and the exact complaint. When they ask "what are you doing", state that since they are making a complaint, you have a responsibility to document everything for the board and records. Also, make sure they know that you will go directly to the offender, with the complaint in hand, and confront them. Try to be eager/zealous when you say that. Make sure the complainant knows that you take this seriously, and will make sure the offenders get a copy of the official complaint and a deadline to comply. I always remind the complainant to tidy up their home, because "in my experience, this kind of thing begets retaliation", and you can bet the offender will be picking apart every rule that you break too.

I have found that sometimes, people will decide that maybe, just maybe, a gentle word from neighbor to neighbor is better than calling the HOA cops and escalating the incident.

Your mileage may vary.

I can kind of see where you are coming from Brian, but on the other hand, it isn't the complainants that made up the rules nor is it their duty to enforce it, it is the HOA's. It is always 'nice' to try to first resolve a concern at the lowest level but people also have justified reservations in doing so. Something like this can get the back up on the person who is breaking the rules and end with tit for tat, or worse consequences.

It also reminds me of the HO apathy we often see complained about in the forum and scaring a legitimate complaint off will lead to apathy. Seems like a lose lose for the complainant.

DJ1 (Ontario)
Posts: 798

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SteveM9 on 04/06/2009 8:44 AM
You sure its the neighbors car? Its possible the car doesn't belong to anyone on your street.

I once lived in an apartment that had a stolen car in the parking lot for months. It wasn't until the plates expired that the police noticed it. Once they ran the plates, they realized it was stolen. The thiefs just ditched the car in our lot and everyone else just thought it was owned by someone in the apartment complex.

Good point. On the other hand it might just be a car containing the body in the trunk of the last HO that complained.

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043

Posted:

If the Board Pres is going to report it to the P.D. it really doesn't matter who the car belongs to. In fact, if you're not sure who the owner is, it's really better to report it to the P.D., as they will tell you who the owner is. If it's someone living in the community then you can also send them a violation notice. Since the car is unlicensed, it'll be a double-whammy for the owner and perhaps give him pause the next time he wonders where to park his unlicensed car!

MicheleD (Kentucky)
Posts: 4,491

Posted:

Joan:

Just to clarify, there was no "judgment" or chastizing in my comment. It was just an observation.

I can't think of a thing that is in our CC&Rs that I would ask a homeowner to handle themselves.

Now, if it's not in our governing documents, then by all means. We are not the Friendly Neighbor Control board.

But we do prefer to handle any alleged CC&R violations since it makes it easier for us to track contact and requests for compliance.

We would also prefer to keep it from being "personal," which can happen quickly if we push it back out to the complaining or reporting homeowner to address.

But that's us.

I'm keenly aware of how other HOAs' mileage may vary.

That doesn't make one "right" and the other "wrong." Just different.

JoanG (Maryland)
Posts: 29

Posted:

Thanks, Michele -- I'm learning!

AnneH2 (Florida)
Posts: 82

Posted:

If it's on a public street, then the police can issue a ticket. May take working with the city to have it eventually towed. Remember the one in Gainesville (I think)? They put like seven tickets on it and as it turned out, there was a dead person inside of it.

If it's a private road, the PM should put a 48 hour notice on it and have it towed in two days. In my HOA, no sticker is required, as we have the towing signs. But we still give 48 hours. Something about folks seeing that day-glo sticker and then the tow truck....helps others get with program that we enforce parking violations.

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