Repeat violation question

Hello,

In a HOA in Florida you are not allowed to park overnight on the road.

Florida statute says that you must give 14 days notice before issuing a fine. If a unit owner parks on the road on a monday, is warned on tuesday and moves the car and then parks again on the street on thursday is that technically a new violation or can we warn them once and everytime afterwards that they park on the street fine them?

Leo,

This can be viewed as a second violation of the same restriction but the BOD should inform the member that this is how violations shall be handled. The violation notice should contain wording to the effect that a repeat of the same violation w/i a 30-day period will be treated as a second violation. Include the wording giving notice of a fine in each violation notice and you will be covered. In AZ the member must be given the opportunity of an appeal b/4 a fine can be issued. This is the procedure my assn's PM uses and it helps a lot to curb the tactics that some members like to employ to skirt receiving a violation or notice of a fine.

We have towed about ten times in the last 3 years. The frequency has dropped off dramatically since word got around.

You just have to follow proper steps of entrance signage, HO notification, violation logging (we use a thrid-party, late-night security patrol company, 12a.m. - 4a.m.), and of course a properly licensed and insured tow company.

No disasters in three years.

All out tows are on common property too.

Barbara

Mary, we can tow from the streets within the legally defined boundaries of the HOA, even though they are county owned.

Our CC&Rs (as well as just about every other HOA's CC&Rs in KY) define towing as one of the remedies of parking violations.

Some HOAs tow after the second notice. In fact, most of the HOAs neighboring ours do.

We have not resorted to that yet, however, and will only tow after we take the resident to court and get an injunction and a ruling that we can tow.

Fortunately we haven't had to do that yet.

Yes.

And the only reason we wait to get an injunction is because of the potential for the vehicle owner to claim damages made during the tow and sue us for those damages.

Now the vehicle owner may still do that, but s/he is less likely to prevail on the alleged damages if we have a court order allowing us to tow. In other words, damages such as those move into the "he said - she said" territory, and the claimant's credibility, among other things, is diminished if we have a court order allowing us to tow.

That we indicate we went the extra distance to cross Ts and dot Is makes a lot of difference in the outcome.

But he cannot sue for the tow, because legally it can be done, only for any alleged damages that may have occurred as a result of the tow.

I am in a HOA community in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Since the streets are public, we call the police department. OB states that from the side of the car to the middle of the road it has to be 12 feet. There is not a street in OB that one can park on. This was done for emergency vehicles. If they want to park their car on "common ground" they are required to get a permit from the office. The permit is good for only 5 days. If not moved after that, the vehicle is towed.