Parking permits

Where the rules actually come from

Search for a state statute on parking permits and you will not find one. Research for this Course turned up no state law anywhere that sets how many permits a unit gets, how a waitlist works, or how an owner appeals a denied permit. Check your own state statute before assuming otherwise, but plan on this being governing-document territory.

That means the permit program lives in two places: the declaration (also called the CC&Rs), and any rule the board adopts under the rule-making authority the declaration actually gives it. A restriction recorded in the declaration gets a strong presumption of reasonableness. A board rule gets deference too, but only when the board acted in good faith, within its granted authority, and after reasonable investigation.

"Where a duly constituted community association board, upon reasonable investigation, in good faith and with regard for the best interests of the community association and its members, exercises discretion within the scope of its authority under relevant statutes, covenants and restrictions to select among means for discharging an obligation to maintain and repair a development's common areas, courts should defer to the board's authority and presumed expertise."

Source: Lamden v. La Jolla Shores Clubdominium Homeowners Assn., Supreme Court of California

This is California Supreme Court case law. It is widely cited elsewhere as persuasive authority, but confirm your own state's standard for reviewing a board rule before relying on it.

A permit is not a deed

An owner who has parked in the same spot for years under a numbered sticker will sometimes assume that spot is legally hers. It usually is not. A parking space becomes a real property interest, called a limited common element, only when the declaration itself records it that way for the exclusive use of specific units. A space handed out through a permit program or a board policy is a license, not a recorded interest, and the board can generally reassign or revoke it.

The difference matters at renewal time and at resale. A limited common element runs with the unit and shows up in title work. A permit does not, and a new board can redesign the whole program, cap counts, or reshuffle assignments, as long as it stays inside its rule-making authority. If a permit was meant to give someone lasting rights to one specific space, check whether that assignment was actually recorded in the declaration, not just written into a policy. See limited-common-element parking and assigned parking for the full distinction.

Enforcing the permit once it exists

A permit program only works if a vehicle without one can actually be moved. Towing is where state law reappears, and it is a patchwork. Florida sets a minimum sign lettering size and lets a condominium association's designated representative authorize a tow directly. Texas instead requires the towing company itself to hold written verification of compliant signage before towing without consent, and California generally requires the person authorizing the tow to be present and personally verify the violation. Before a permit rule threatens towing as the consequence, confirm your state's signage, notice, and authorization requirements, and check your towing contract against them.

"in not fewer than 2-inch high, light-reflective letters on a contrasting background, that unauthorized vehicles will be towed away at the owner's expense"

Source: Florida Statutes §715.07, The Florida Senate