Image via ABC Action News
A new law about to go into effect in Florida could make it so HOAs can no longer ban the parking of trucks, whether for personal or work use, in residents’ own driveways. There’s plenty of controversy surrounding the law and what it might mean for neighborhoods all over the state.
Semi-truck carrying Nikes robbed at a red light.
The law is apparently vague, as reported by ABC Action News, so legal experts aren’t quite sure how it will be enforced. All it says it HOAs can’t stop residents from parking personal vehicles in their driveways, even if it’s a truck.
Does that mean it will be applied retroactively to existing HOAs? Will this only apply to new HOAs? Nobody seems to know for sure.
Of course, some HOAs allow work trucks and vans to be parked in front of a home. Others allow personal pickup trucks to sit in a driveway overnight. But there are communities where such things are strictly prohibited.
Even though those utilitarian vehicles might be necessary for a person’s livelihood, there are people who genuinely believe having them sitting out would ruin the look and feel of the neighborhood. Call that snobbish if you’d like, it probably is, but some people buy houses in exclusive areas because the HOA has such a rule.
What you think about this law probably has more to do with your attitude regarding HOAs than anything else. Some people find HOAs to be wonderful guardians of their property value and sanity. Others believe HOAs are the devil always out to get them. And there are some who believe they’re necessary evils which go too far sometimes.
It’s likely this law will be challenged after it goes into effect July 1. From there, nobody is certain what will happen.
Image via ABC Action News
