Florida just passed two changes to its HOA law on the parking front. In this week's tip, we share details and ask other states' community association experts whether these are laws likely to spread beyond Florida.
The new law was passed in June, and it requires HOAs to permit pickup trucks and work vehicles to be parked in owners' driveways or parking spaces.
The law specifically states that HOAs can't prevent a property owner, tenant, guest, or invitee of the owner from parking their personal vehicle, even if it's a pickup truck, in the owner's driveway or any other area the owner has a right to park.
HOAs also can't prohibit those parties from parking work vehicles, even if they carry signage, in the owner's driveway, as long as the vehicle isn't a commercial vehicle (likely meaning one of heavier weight).
So far, there's little appetite for this type of legislation in other states, perhaps because condo and HOA boards might go into overdrive if their documents were overridden.
"I'm not aware of any trend toward this in Michigan," says Todd J. Skowronski, an associate at Makower Abbate Guerra Wegner Vollmer PLLC, whose firm advises nearly 2,000 association clients throughout Michigan. "Those types of restrictions are common in a lot of the documents, and we'll enforce them. We send violation letters and if necessary, impose fines.
"I'm not aware of any pending legislation on this, and I can't really predict what will happen," he adds. "I can't determine if this is a partisan issue that members of different parties would view differently. So I don't know where this type of legislation falls in that
sense."
Daniel J. Miske, CCAL, a partner at Kaman & Cusimano in Milwaukee who represents 800 associations throughout Wisconsin at any given time, has a similar take. "I think most associations are going to hold firm on parking
restrictions," he says. "It's the work vehicle in the driveway, cars in the driveway, and many say, ‘We want our community to look better than other communities.'
"I'm not sure other states are going to rush to follow suit," he adds. "These
types of parking restrictions are pretty common prohibitions in the documents, and I haven't seen people rushing to say, ‘Let's change that.' I'll be surprised if that happens."