Academy/Common Rules & Restrictions
Parking
Where a board's authority over parking actually comes from, and where it stops.
Parking rules for private streets, driveways, and guest spaces come from your Declaration and Rules, not from any federal or state law. Public streets inside or bordering your community are governed separately by your city or county's parking code. Read both before writing, or challenging, a parking rule.
Two rulebooks, not one
On the association's own streets, driveways, and lots, your Declaration and Rules set what is allowed: permits, guest spaces, where residents may park. Once a vehicle sits on a public street, even one running through the middle of the community, the association's authority stops at the curb, and city or county parking law takes over.
Which streets inside your community are public and which are privately owned by the association varies by community. Check your plat map or ask your manager.
Where the board's authority comes from
A board cannot invent parking rules out of thin air. Its power to adopt and enforce them, permit systems, guest limits, restricted zones, is delegated by the Declaration. Before adopting a new parking rule, confirm the Declaration's rulemaking or architectural clause actually reaches parking, rather than assuming a general "good of the community" power covers it.
How much rulemaking authority a Declaration grants, and whether a new parking rule needs an amendment first, varies by community. Read yours before drafting one.
Ownership does not change the deal
"I own my driveway" is a common objection at board meetings, and by itself it does not defeat a validly adopted rule. A recorded restriction binds every owner the same way regardless of who holds title, the same principle that lets an association limit paint colors also lets it limit where and how many vehicles you park, as long as the rule stays inside the authority described above.
When a car does not move
Most communities enforce a persistent violation with a fine first, then towing. Towing itself carries its own legal requirements that vary by state. Utah, for example, requires specific signage at every property entrance before a nonconsensual tow, while California requires notifying police within a short window after the vehicle is removed.
Signage requirements and police-notification windows are set state by state. Confirm your own state's rule, and see Towing, before authorizing a tow.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
An owner tells the board, "I own my driveway, you can't tell me what to park in it." Is the board's parking rule still enforceable?
A resident parks overnight on the public street that runs through the community, and the board wants to cite them under the HOA's parking rule. What actually governs that spot?
The board wants to adopt a brand-new resident parking permit system that the Declaration never mentions. Where would the board's authority to do that actually come from?
Sources
- Non-Police, Non-Consent (PPI) Towing Required Signage, Utah Department of Transportation
- Vehicle Towing Rights (FAQs), San Francisco Police Department
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Common Rules & Restrictions
Next, see how enforcement actually plays out when a car does not move: Towing.
Whether your Declaration allows guest permits, commercial-vehicle bans, or RV restrictions, and which streets in your community are public versus private, varies by community and by state. Towing signage and police-notification requirements are also state-specific.