Can an HOA fine you for parking in your own driveway?

Quick answer. Sometimes, but it's narrower than most boards think. In many states an HOA generally cannot fine an owner for parking an ordinary, operable, registered passenger vehicle in their own driveway, because that's the owner's private property, not common area. What an HOA can usually regulate — if the CC&Rs authorize it — is what is parked there: commercial vehicles, RVs, boats, trailers, or inoperable and unregistered vehicles, and sometimes how a vehicle is parked (blocking a sidewalk, for example). A blanket fine for simply parking your daily-driver car in your own driveway is a frequent source of successful owner challenges, and some states protect that right by statute.

Private property versus common area

In many states an HOA generally cannot fine an owner for parking an ordinary, operable, registered passenger vehicle in their own driveway, because a driveway is the owner's private property rather than common area. A blanket fine for simply parking your daily-driver car in your own driveway is a frequent source of successful owner challenges, and some states protect that right by statute.

What an HOA can usually regulate

If the CC&Rs authorize it, an HOA can typically regulate what is parked in a driveway rather than whether you park at all: commercial vehicles, RVs, boats, trailers, and inoperable or unregistered vehicles are the common categories. It can also address how a vehicle is parked when it affects common area, such as blocking a sidewalk. Any such restriction still has to be properly adopted, noticed, and enforced consistently against every owner to hold up.