Condo Nosey Neighbor Strikes Again!

J.W. from Hartford County writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

Hi, Mr. Condo! I am staying with a friend temporarily at her condo and recently she was told we weren’t allowed to park in the driveway? She owns the condo. LOL. The driveway is 2 cars wide and goes to her garage. Can her local HOA enforcement nosey neighbor make this sensationalist claim? Thanks!

Mister Condo replies:

Hi, J.W.! Welcome to the condo world where your nosey neighbors can act as condo cops when they want to. The upside is that there is always someone watching over the place which deters crime and unwanted activity. The downside, as you have seen, is that you can also run into folks who are overzealous in reporting perceived violations. Let’s see which one you have here.

Have you or the friend you are living with reviewed the condo rules about parking? Most condo driveways are only wide enough for one car but it is possible that your driveway accommodates 2. Some condos allow garage parking and only one other car parked in the driveway. If that is the case and you are violating the rule then it really doesn’t matter that they both fit; the rules should be followed by you just as they are by everyone else who lives there.

On the flip side, if the rules are silent on the number of cars allowed in the driveway you probably needn’t worry. Nosey neighbors come with the territory when you get into any high density housing situation like a condo. As long as you are not breaking the rules, you have nothing to worry about. If you are breaking the rules, correct the behavior (i.e. – park in a visitor’s space, garage one of the cars, whatever it takes) and let the nosey neighbor worry about something else. Perhaps a neighbor will walk a pet off leash or carelessly litter. So many rules to break, so little time… All the best!