HOAs Claim Exemption from New Florida Law Barring Pickup-Truck Parking Bans

The firm’s latest Miami Herald “Real Estate Counselor” column was authored by Christyne D. Santisteban. The article, which is titled “HOAs Claim Exemption from New Florida Law Barring Pickup-Truck Parking Bans,” focuses on the discussions and decisions taking place at some Florida communities over the application of the new state law barring them from banning the overnight parking of pickup trucks. Christyne’s article reads:

. . . Homeowners associations are now no longer allowed to restrict owners from parking their personal vehicles on their properties, including pickup trucks in plain sight on their front driveways.  Specifically, the new statute states HOAs are prohibited from preventing property owners, tenants, guests or invitees from parking personal vehicles, including pickup trucks, in their driveways or other areas where they have a right to park. It also specifically states that this applies regardless of what is stated in an HOA’s declaration of covenants, articles of incorporation, or bylaws.

However, even with the plain and definitive nature of the new law, the pickup-truck parking issue appears to be far from settled at many Florida communities. As demonstrated by a couple of recent news reports by the ABC affiliates in Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida, some enclaves with longstanding prohibitions against the overnight parking of pickup trucks and RVs are indicating they will not be adhering to the new Florida law.

“You can imagine how ecstatic I was,” says Ryan McIntire in the story that aired in mid-July by the Tampa Bay station (www.ABCActionNews.com) discussing how he felt when he first learned about the new law. He owns a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado truck and is a resident of The Meadows gated community in Sarasota, Fla., that bans pickups from overnight parking.

However, just a few days in advance of its going into effect, he and other Meadows residents received an email from the HOA indicating “all current parking rules and regulations will remain the same.”

The same goes for the Calusa Lakes community in Nokomis, Fla. According to the recent report by the ABC affiliate in Southwest Florida (www.ABC-7.com), the Calusa Lakes HOA sent a message to its homeowners that reads:

“The Association has a legal argument that has gained a sort of consensus among HOA attorneys over the last month or so that it can ignore this part of the statute and continue to enforce its declaration and rules regarding parking restrictions.”

These two associations were counseled by their attorneys that they do not need to adhere to the new law because they do not have what is known as the “Kaufman language” in their governing declarations. The Meadows’ email specifically states that the application of the new law depends on the governing documents of the association and whether they include the Kaufman language to automatically incorporate changes to Florida’s applicable association laws whenever they are amended. A Calusa Lakes owner tells the reporter it is his understanding the HOA is going to “. . . completely disobey state law, and I want to know who these people think they are that they can completely disobey state law because an attorney said there is no Kaufman language in the contract.”

Well, that appears to be a question that may be left for a judge(s) to decide.

Associations have taken similar stances in the past and indicated they would not be adhering to new laws because their documents lack the Kaufman provision. In fact, some governing documents for new communities are intentionally omitting it in order to provide leeway for the future owners.

The boards of directors for The Meadows and Calusa Lakes have apparently already considered their options and made their decisions on this issue, and many other Florida HOAs with pickup-truck parking restrictions and no Kaufman language in their documents may be doing the same. Afterall, the overnight parking of pickup trucks and other large vehicles or vehicles with official insignia has been deemed by many Florida enclaves to be an eyesore that negatively impacts property values and is best left avoided. Parking such vehicles overnight is often strictly banned, and fines at some communities are as high as $100 per night.

As this issue plays out at many Florida communities, there may be very few if any associations and owners willing to go to court over it. The case could easily snowball into highly contested and costly litigation, as the law calls for the courts to have the losing party pay the prevailing party’s legal fees and costs. . .

Christyne concludes her article by noting that associations and their volunteer leaders would be well advised to consider all their options and find reasonable resolutions. Rather than relying on the Kaufman omission exemption as the associations in these recent reports have done, she counsels that they may wish to take note of this new law and update their rules to allow the overnight parking of trucks without lifted suspensions or items in the beds. Afterall, she concludes, pickup trucks have evolved quite a bit in the years since the governing documents for many communities were first created, and they represent some of today’s most popular and desirable vehicles for both work and personal use.

Our firm salutes Christyne for sharing her insights into the questions surrounding the application of this new law at some Florida communities with the readers of the Miami Herald. We write about important matters for community associations in this blog and our Herald column, which appears every two weeks on Sundays, and we encourage association directors, members and property managers to click here and subscribe to our newsletter to receive our future articles.