Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

[david_hawj]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

*Here is an UPDATE. After exchanging words w/ my land lord...he called me the next day and proposed for me to store my boat at his landscaper's yard which is next door to our town houses. He still contended I am breaking his rules although I believe I have not but says he is willing to work w/ me...After speaking w/ my NCOIC, he recommended to just stay cool and go with it so I'd get my deposit back when I move. I didn't want to give in, a part of me really wanted to fight this mess because this land lord is ridiculous and thinks he can control everyone on this street. Anyhow I moved the boat today and am planning on getting out of this place ASAP. I'd warn any Military in the future about this guy...because he definitely does not understand Florida Tenant Laws, have an ability to write a lease and have the ability to tell the truth even when he lies.

 

[david_hawj]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Other than the fact ... The reason I was going willing to take this to court was due to the fact that the lease was written poorly and is open to interpretation, the lease did not state any restrictions on boats and the stupid by laws which I am not even a part of does not state any restrictions on boats.

The Lease stated I was entitled to two parking spaces...never does the lease say I myself need a motorized vehicle only to be parked there...the lease states my customer's and guests can park their motor vehicles....Since I am the tenant I can do whatever I please...

I was going to fight this in court but I don't have time for this guys war...We have bigger things to worry about...Deployment, Family, College.

Thank you everyone who gave your input! Much appreciated!

SrA David Her

 

[roscoe]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Sounds like the easy way out for all parties involved.

Thanks for your service, and stay safe.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

The Lease stated I was entitled to two parking spaces...never does the lease say I myself need a motorized vehicle only to be parked there...the lease states my customer's and guests can park their motor vehicles....Since I am the tenant I can do whatever I please...

Your contract may not be up to the standards of your English teacher, but there is nothing wrong with the context of the sentence from a legal perspective.

Moot point anyhow. Under Florida law, a boat (vessel) is clearly not a motor vehicle .

Florida Statutes 320.01 - Definitions, general

As used in the Florida Statutes, except as otherwise provided, the term: (1) "Motor vehicle" means: (a)  An automobile, motorcycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor and semitrailer combination, or any other vehicle operated on the roads of this state, used to transport persons or property, and propelled by power other than muscular power, but the term does not include traction engines, road rollers, special mobile equipment as defined in s. 316.003(48), vehicles that run only upon a track, bicycles, swamp buggies, or mopeds.

Florida Statutes 715.07 - Vehicles or vessels parked on private property; towing

(1) As used in this section, the term: (a) "Vehicle" means any mobile item which normally uses wheels, whether motorized or not.

(b)  "Vessel" means every description of watercraft, barge, and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a "documented vessel" as defined in s. 327.02(9).

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Well,,, that puts the landlord in the drivers seat. He is POed and our guy will need to move anyway.

 

[Pez Vela]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Since I am the tenant I can do whatever I please...

Good point. I think I'll incorporate that verbatim in my standard lease forms so that my expectations of tenant behavior are clarified.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

"he called me the next day and proposed for me to store my boat at his landscaper's yard which is next door to our town houses."

problem solved and sounds like he was reasonable about it after all.

One thing you don't know and may not understand is that often landlords have to send notices or otherwise tell a tenant he is breaking the rules, without ever intending to do anything about it. That notice will probably sound like a threat to evict but is no more than a "please move your boat somewhere else when you can."

There's a very real possibility that someone else complained. He may be concerned about you violating HO or zoning and he will get the fine. He may have had problems before with tenants storing eyesore big boats in the driveway.

When it comes to legal issues it's always best to see if there really is a fight before you make it one. And a good lawyer will start off by trying to keep it from becoming a fight. And you now see, your problem was easily solved without resorting to linquistic gymnastics over the wording of the lease.

 

[david_hawj]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Good point. I think I'll incorporate that verbatim in my standard lease forms so that my expectations of tenant behavior are clarified.

I didn't mean I'd do whatever I please...but I meant the entitlement meant I could park and put anything I needed in my driveway whether it be a trailer, sea doo, boat



Just to clarify w/ everyone...my Land Lord and I had a good relationship before the boat issue. He came over yesterday and we smoothed it over as much as we could. You see at first he told I couldn't have a boat because his insurance doesn't cover boats...that was a lie, secondly he told me the HOA has rules and he can't do anything about it...he is the president of the HOA and his lawyer wrote them...his by laws didn't state anything about boat restrictions, then he told me after I told him that I am not a part of his by laws through my lawyer...He realized he had no grounds to fight this w/ me over his by laws, after the fact of me moving my boat and I told him to stop nagging about the boat because its in the past. I already did what he asked. All in all...I told him for future endeavors, he needs to revise his lease and be specific and clear. Both parties are generally satisfied.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Your contract may not be up to the standards of your English teacher, but there is nothing wrong with the context of the sentence from a legal perspective.

Moot point anyhow. Under Florida law, a boat (vessel) is clearly not a motor vehicle .

Florida Statutes 320.01 - Definitions, general

As used in the Florida Statutes, except as otherwise provided, the term: (1) "Motor vehicle" means: (a)  An automobile, motorcycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor and semitrailer combination, or any other vehicle operated on the roads of this state, used to transport persons or property, and propelled by power other than muscular power, but the term does not include traction engines, road rollers, special mobile equipment as defined in s. 316.003(48), vehicles that run only upon a track, bicycles, swamp buggies, or mopeds.

Florida Statutes 715.07 - Vehicles or vessels parked on private property; towing

(1) As used in this section, the term: (a) "Vehicle" means any mobile item which normally uses wheels, whether motorized or not.

(b)  "Vessel" means every description of watercraft, barge, and airboat used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, other than a seaplane or a "documented vessel" as defined in s. 327.02(9).

Actually according to this the O/P would have been in the right... No a boat doesn't qualify as a motor vehicle but then the boat isn't parked in the space, the TRAILER is and the boat is simply cargo on the trailer... the law above clearly defines a trailer as a motor vehicle.

That said.... free parking next door = win win

 

[lostatsee]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Some uppity communities have rules/laws/ordinances against recreation vehicles in driveways. The last town I lived in was such...full of little nazi bureaucrats armed with clipboards and bad hair.

 

[david_hawj]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Actually according to this the O/P would have been in the right... No a boat doesn't qualify as a motor vehicle but then the boat isn't parked in the space, the TRAILER is and the boat is simply cargo on the trailer... the law above clearly defines a trailer as a motor vehicle.

That said.... free parking next door = win win

Haha the best one I've heard yet! Wish I could have shown that to him before we settled it...Boy, I can't wait til I buy a house...it'll be more stress free than having a land lord, living by his rules and paying for his mortgage on this place.

 

[Pez Vela]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

... the law above clearly defines a trailer as a motor vehicle.

Not so fast. A "motor vehicle" must have a motor, or as the statute says, "AND (be) propelled by power." So a boat trailer, having no power, can't be a motor vehicle. Makes more sense, don't you think?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Not so fast. A "motor vehicle" must have a motor, or as the statute says, "AND (be) propelled by power." So a boat trailer, having no power, can't be a motor vehicle. Makes more sense, don't you think?

nope it specifically says trailer propelled by other than muscle power... IE a trailer that is propelled by another vehicle pulling it would be a motor vehicle whereas a trailer designed to be pulled by a bicycle would not

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

I had a notice on a boat 20 years ago from the city stating it was against the law to park a boat trailer in the driveway. I live in a boating community where every 5th house has a boat parked out front. The city code office guy I called said they only send out notices and do not enforce anything, that they only send a notice if someone complains. Being the hard head, We pulled my brother's bass boat out of the garage and put our canoe on a utility trailer parked in the middle of the front yard for a couple weeks.
Never had another peep from anyone. I could never live anywhere with a HOA. I have a nice home, nice landscaping . I stil live in the same twon and park my boat on the side of the house under a shelter. There are 11 houses on my cul de sac and 4 have boats in front.

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

...Boy, I can't wait til I buy a house...it'll be more stress free than having a land lord, living by his rules and paying for his mortgage on this place.

Homes can also be in an HOA community; ours is. I would occasionally park my Maxum in the driveway over-night due to the hours the storage facility and when we wanted to head out and never had an issue with the HOA. Would I think to park it in the driveway permanently instead of storing it at a facility; no way. Cost of the storage facility is part of the cost of owning the boat.

Choose your potential home location wisely.

Landlords have to pay for stuff when it breaks, wears out, roof leaks or if a disaster strikes you simply go find another place to live. Own (which is subjective because the bank owns it until you pay it off or sell it) your own home and all that stuff is up to you to pay for. Yes, insurance can help to some degree but the "stress" can just be different.

Mark

 

[KingsBluff]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

My only thought is if there is an association or covenant pertaining to it. Often times, especially in town homes, there is a set of rules for the purposes of keeping them looking nice and conformity. Of course you think your boat in the driveway looks good, but maybe your neighbor, landlord, association doesn't. Then of course there's the question, how badly do you want to upset your landlord. My first house was an association in Surprise, AZ. The first week I moved in I was fined $50 for a few weeds in my yard! Moved back home to Chisago City, MN, and I'm pretty happy to not live in association.... Good Luck!

Josh

 

[Harritwo]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Not sure what area you are in, However in Jax and Mayport, there is RV storage on base and it is run by MWR. The fee is $60.00 at JAx, not sure what it is at Mayport, However in JAX and Mayport, You cannot store a vehicle at the hobby shop unless you are working on it at the hobby shop.

Good Luck in whatever you decide to do, however, remember one thing. Regardless of what your lease says about a boat, If a landlord wants you out of his house, He can and will find a way.

George

 

[kahuna123]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

Never, never, never, live anywhere there is an HOA. I will NEVER put myself in a position again where someone has the right to tell me what color I can paint my house. What kind of mailbox I can have. That my children have no right to have a swing set in their yard. (and this was a $400,000 waterfront home). If your landlord has that mentality which buying into that development says he does just get OUT.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

After living in several homes I don't have a problem with HOA's we have had neighbors that had a rusting metal shed next door, another with gutters hanging down and a car seat on the front porch, another that put a 10ft sat. dish 25ft off our deck ( no sat dish were allowed in our sub. they didn't care and ended up getting sued and lost )

We personally don't want to live in a sub that looks like a garbage dump. Our home is our biggest investment and we don't want to watch the value go down because of neighbors who could care less about their lifestyle.

 

[Chris_94_Sprint_TX]

Re: Parked my boat in my driveway...Land Lord threatens to evict me!

After living in several homes I don't have a problem with HOA's we have had neighbors that had a rusting metal shed next door, another with gutters hanging down and a car seat on the front porch, another that put a 10ft sat. dish 25ft off our deck ( no sat dish were allowed in our sub. they didn't care and ended up getting sued and lost )

We personally don't want to live in a sub that looks like a garbage dump. Our home is our biggest investment and we don't want to watch the value go down because of neighbors who could care less about their lifestyle.

I can definitely understand your point but I also HOAs should possibly look at things on a case by case basis, I see a boat in a driveway as mush less of an eyesore than a huge dish or gutters hanging down. Un-maintained houses or lots are a pet peave of mine, I don't see how a person can let there house go like that when they have a family living there. To me that just puts them in jeopardy, kids could be playing and a gutter fall and hit them. Then again setting some rules like color of a house, if you have a few weeds, things like that I see as a way to make things more complicated than they have to be.

When I first moved out to Texas I lived with my parents and the HOA said I couldn't work on a vehicle in the driveway. I didn't have the money to take it somewhere and I have a big problem paying somebody my hard earned cash to do something I can do myself. It didn't go well for them, I gave them 2 choices and then filed a harassment suit since there were a lot of other people that had cars torn down and other things way worse than me just changing front brakes and doing an oil change. The HOA dissolved a few weeks after that because a friend of mine (a PI) started doing an investigation into some the people on the HOA that did not have a job at the time but ended up with a new vehicle and 2 new ATVs. I have no faith or trust in HOAs, I can see a reason for them but I will not live in one. It also really irks me when city people want to move out to the country in then try to get an HOA started because they don't like rednecks working on cars next to their house. My thought is if you want an HOA stay in the city, if not move to the country and keep the city stuff in the city.

Chris