Are HOAs allowed to ban street parking in NC neighborhoods? Here’s what legal experts say
There are thousands of homeowners’ associations across North Carolina who implement and regulate certain rules within communities. One common rule has recently caused controversy among some Charlotte residents: street parking.
Several Nextdoor social media posts about HOAs enforcing bans on street parking have sparked conversation among those both in favor and against the rule, and whether or not it’s even legal.
“Nothing like getting an email from HOA stating residents can no longer park on the street,” one post says. “What about those of us who have five drivers and five cars? Are they telling me my kids cannot come home? My parents who live out of town cannot spend the night?”
But other residents in different neighborhoods are upset about those who are parking on streets.
“l wish our HOA would enforce the no street parking along with no work trucks with ladders sitting in the driveways,” a separate Nextdoor post says. “If you can’t fit all your vehicles in the driveway...use the garage.”
Both posts have caught the attention of dozens of neighbors who engaged in the debate and asked if state law allows HOAs to ban on street parking.
The answer? In North Carolina, legal experts say HOAs do have that power, whether it’s a private or public street.
Power of HOAs in North Carolina
In North Carolina, subdivisions with HOAs established after 1999 are governed by the North Carolina Planned Community Act, but no state or federal agency oversees them.
“If you buy a home in a deed-restricted community, you’re obligated to abide by those restrictions,” Mike Hunter, an attorney who has represented HOAs for over 30 years, told The Charlotte Observer. “If the restrictive covenants say you can’t park on the street, the board really has the legal duty to enforce that,”
Hunter explained that while he understands frustrations from those who wish to park on the street, many HOAs enforce bans for safety concerns.
“Developers often put restrictions that prohibit or limit on-street parking in the CCRs for their communities because a street clogged with parked cars creates an eyesore and a potential hazard,” he wrote in a blog post originally published in The Charlotte Observer. “Emergency vehicles may have difficulty getting through, and pedestrians — especially children — walking into the street from behind a parked car could be hit by a car.”
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Could a new law be coming?
But that could soon change with a new bill that would impact the legal rights HOAs have, including regulating parking on public streets.
“What this pending legislation is going to do is say ‘it doesn’t matter if this is in your CCRs or not. It’s not enforceable,” Hunter explained.
If passed, HOAs would not be allowed to enforce parking restrictions on a “public street or public road for which the North Carolina Department of Transportation or a local government has assumed responsibility for maintenance and repairs.”
