A homeowner is pursuing legal action against their HOA after months of being blocked into their own garage by a neighbor who won’t stop parking in a fire lane. The community’s two-car garages face each other across an alley that’s marked as a fire lane, they explained on Reddit. At least once a week, the neighbor leaves a car in that lane, which makes it impossible to get in or out.
The community’s CC&Rs are clear, the poster pointed out. They do list fire-lane parking as grounds for immediate towing. The homeowner admitted they’ve tried nearly everything to try and resolve the situation. That includes leaving notes on the car, contacting the HOA president and the management company, and calling the police and fire department to try and get the car moved.
The reason no one will tow, according to the post, comes down to a gap in who can act. The streets are owned by the HOA rather than the city, so police told the homeowner they could cite the car but not tow it from private property. The HOA could authorize a tow from a tow truck, but the homeowner says the board has declined to contract a towing company over the cost and hassle. The homeowner said one board member, a firefighter, brushed off the problem by saying crews would just walk around the obstacle in an emergency.
After another night of being blocked in, the homeowner confronted the HOA president, who again pointed them back to the management company. The exchange got heated, and board members later told the homeowner the president felt it went too far. The standoff has struck a nerve online, where it taps into a wider and surprisingly common problem with fire-lane enforcement in HOA communities.
Why Won’t Anyone Tow a Car From the Fire Lane?
HOA Refuses to Tow Cars in the Fire Lane, Blocking my Garage. I want to take legal action at this point.
by
u/Separate_Climate2194 in
AITAH
The catch is about who actually owns the street. On public roads, police and parking enforcement handle illegal parking, but on an HOA-owned street, the association takes over. Police can write citations, but a tow truck generally can’t remove a vehicle from private property unless the HOA has a standing agreement with a towing company.
A car left in a fire lane can keep firefighters, ambulances, or other emergency crews from getting to a house. That’s the reason the fire lane exists, after all. Most HOAs are required by their own governance to keep fire lanes clear, and an association that has the power to enforce its rules but chooses not to can expose itself to liability if something goes wrong.
What Can You Do If Your HOA Won’t Change Anything?
If your HOA won’t enforce a fire lane, you can try to fight it by putting everything in writing.. Document each violation with dated photos, and send the board a written demand that lines everything out, including what you’re asking. You can also have a fire marshal enforce the fire code directly and order a vehicle removed even on private property.
City or county code enforcement can be another way to get around something like this. It also helps to read your CC&Rs and your state’s HOA laws, which usually spell out the board’s duty to enforce its own rules. If the board still refuses, you might want to find an attorney to take you further.