The Common Law
Neighborhood parking battles
By Luke Ellis, Fri., Dec. 8, 2023
You look outside your window and there's a vehicle parked in front of your Austin house. You have no idea who owns it. The vehicle stays there for a long time and you start to get annoyed. Why would someone decide to park in front of your house? And why for so long? Now you are beyond irritated and start to wonder – is it legal? Listed below are Austin parking-related questions that "The Common Law" has received.
Someone in my neighborhood likes to park a camping trailer in front of my house for weeks in a row. It's not an RV. It's the type of camping trailer that gets towed by a truck. Can they use the public street for long-term parking of the camping trailer?
No. Austin's local ordinances prohibit this. Under § 12-5-10, a person is not allowed to park on a public street "a trailer or other non-motorized equipment designed to be towed by a vehicle or other self-propelled equipment."
My neighbor's great. Except ... he parks his really big motor home on the street for several months each year. We think it looks ugly. Is the neighbor allowed to do this?
No. According to Austin city ordinance § 12-5-11, a motor home should not be parked on a public street for longer than 72 hours. Specifically, the ordinance states "a person may not park a self-propelled motor home or other motor vehicle containing a permanently installed sleeping facility or human sanitary treatment or disposal facility on a public street or alley for longer than 72 continuous hours."
Lots of folks in my neighborhood drive up the side part of their yard and park on the grass alongside their house. Is that allowed?
Probably not. As a general rule, Austin city ordinance § 12-5-29 says that a person cannot park a car in the "front yard or side yard of a residential property, except in a driveway or a paved parking space." There are some exceptions to this ordinance, so to learn more, go to the city of Austin website (ci.austin.tx.us) and look up ordinance § 12-5-29.
Anyone dealing with neighborhood parking practices that don't comply with city of Austin ordinances should contact Austin's nonemergency line (311).
Please submit column suggestions, questions, and comments to [email protected]. Submission of potential topics does not create an attorney-client relationship, and any information submitted is subject to being included in future columns.
Marrs, Ellis & Hodge LLP, www.mehlaw.com.
The material in this column is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute, nor is it a substitute for, legal advice. For advice on your specific facts and circumstances, consult a licensed attorney. You may wish to contact the Lawyer Referral Service of Central Texas, a non-profit public service of the Austin Bar Association, at 512-472-8303 or www.austinlrs.com.
