What To Do When Someone Parked An RV In Front Of Your House

‍No one likes having a bulky RV taking up space in front of their house - especially when it’s not yours. But what do you do in this situation?

If you noticed that someone parked an RV in front of your house and are feeling frustrated, you are not alone. RVs can be a major nuisance for a lot of neighborhoods, as they take up a considerable amount of space and can make driving and parking impractical for all residents in the area.

When someone parks an RV in front of your house, you should determine whether the vehicle is violating any state or local laws. If the RV is breaking any laws, you can choose to notify the driver to move their vehicle or report it to the local authorities to have them take care of it.

RV travel is a way of life for so many Americans, and if these vehicles are being properly stored, they generally don’t cause too many problems. However, after the RV season is over, a lot of vehicle owners end up parking their campers on the street, which can be a headache for a lot of people in the community. This can be particularly annoying when a person chooses to park their RV right in front of your home - especially if they are living in it! You are probably wondering how to handle this situation. Are they legally allowed to park their RV in front of your house? And if so, for how long? The answer to these questions can vary given that each state and municipality have different laws on this matter. To help you understand this further, we are going to take a closer look at what to do when someone parks an RV in front of your house.

After extensively researching state laws for recreational vehicles, I have been able to gather enough information to determine what you should do when someone parks an RV in front of your property. My research has indicated that you should always confirm what the parking laws of your area are, as these will ultimately dictate the legality of leaving a recreational vehicle on public property.

‍Why Would Someone Park an RV in Front of my House?

To understand how to best approach the RV parked in front of your house, you should first try to consider why the vehicle is there in the first place. You can find a lot of RVs parked on public streets and this does not necessarily mean that they are breaking the law by doing so.

Depending on the conditions of the RV being parked in front of your house, the owners of the vehicle may or may not be within the legal rights. These are some of the reasons why an RV owner would park their vehicle in front of your house.

Parking

At the end of the day, the majority of RVs are classified as standard vehicles and do not require drivers to get a specialized license.

This implies that people can essentially park their RVs wherever they want so long as it does not violate any laws - including public streets.

Storage

As I mentioned, some RV owners struggle with finding a place to store their vehicles during the off-season. If they do not have adequate driveway space or a designated area on their property, they may resort to parking on the street.

In addition, some RVs are parked on the street because they are broken down and cannot drive. Long-term parking for RVs is usually not allowed in most states and municipalities without special permission - regardless of whether the vehicle is operational or broken down.

Living

Given that RVs are designed to be livable vehicles, don’t be surprised to find someone actually living inside of the camper. While using an RV as temporary housing is technically not illegal, local laws will dictate where people are allowed to do this.

Living in an RV on public property can fall into a gray area at times, but most states and municipalities do not allow it, particularly if it is long-term.

How Long Can Someone Park an RV in Front of my House?

The biggest factor that will determine whether the RV is allowed to be parked in front of your house is how long it’s been there. RVs, just like all cars, can only be parked on public streets for so long without special permission from the municipality.

With that said, the amount of time that an RV is legally allowed to be parked in front of your house can vary, as each state and city have different guidelines for this. Some places like Portland, Oregon have very strict laws and only allow RV parking for 24 hours before the vehicle needs to be moved.

Other states have laws that are more lenient and allow RVs to be parked on public streets for 72 hours. However, you can also find some municipalities across the country that do not have any laws that dictate how long an RV can be parked on a street.

This is generally determined by the parking conditions of the area and how invasive or problematic long-term parking has been in the past. The best way to figure out how long someone can park an RV in front of your house is to research the local parking laws of your area.

Should I Report the RV Parked in Front of my House?

If the RV parked in front of your house is leaving you frustrated, you are probably wondering if you should report the vehicle. Whether or not you should do it is up to you, as you need to consider how invasive the RV is to your life.

Before you report the RV, you should make sure that the vehicle is legitimately violating local laws. The most important law violation that would justify reporting the vehicle would be if you see someone living in the RV. Living in an RV on public property is illegal in many states and municipalities across the country and you would have a lot of grounds for complaint - provided this violates the laws of your area.

With that said, you also need to consider how long the vehicle has been there. If the RV is clearly parked long-term and is violating your municipalities laws for how long a vehicle can be parked, then you are in your full right to report it.

How Can I Notify the Driver of the RV?

If the RV has not been there for a very long time and the legality of its parking is obscure, you may not want to jump straight to reporting the vehicle right away.

You might want to particularly hold off on doing so if the owner of the RV is one of your neighbors, as you can avoid getting authorities involved and handle the matter on your own. There are a couple of different ways that you can go about this:

• Talk to them personally
• Leave a note on the RV

If you know who the owner of the RV is and they live in your neighborhood, the best way to approach this is to simply knock on their door and have a conversation. In case the owner of the RV is breaking any laws, you can simply let them know and ask them to move their vehicle.

If they are not violating any laws and the RV is simply a nuisance to you, explain your frustrations and see if they will move the vehicle anyways, as this would be the neighborly thing to do.

With that said, if you are having trouble figuring out who the owner is and whether or not they are a neighbor, your next course of action should be to leave a note on the RV with your complaint and perhaps contact information.

How Can I Report the RV Parked in Front of my House?

Once you have determined that the RV is breaking the law and you want to proceed with reporting the vehicle, you need to contact either the city code enforcement of your local municipality or the police.

Before you do so, I would recommend taking a closer look at the vehicle to determine exactly which laws the RV is violating so that you can provide a detailed report to the authorities. Ultimately, the more that you can address, the more responsive the authorities will be. Keep the following factors in mind when making your report:

• Parking duration
• Tags (expired or valid)
• Illegal living
• Vehicle condition (operational or broken down)

Given that this is not a very serious crime, you should avoid going straight to the police. Instead, contact your local city code enforcement. Each municipality has a code enforcement office that deals with minor offenses such as illegal parking. They will know how to take care of this issue and will usually start by issuing a fine.

If the RV stays parked without any change, the city code enforcement will have the vehicle towed. Alternatively, if you do not see any results from your city code office, contact the police yourself.