united-states civil-law property
Can an HOA block an unescorted guest at the gate?
<p>I have a friend whose HOA has threated to block their guests unless she personally escorts them in. They are doing this as an anti-renting strategy, but of course they have no way of knowing whether a guest is her sister, a renter or what.</p>

<p>Assuming the owner notifies the gate that the guest is authorized to enter their property, can the gate nevertheless refuse entry to the person?</p>

<p>I assume this would an actionable tort for denying the home owner the full enjoyment of their property. Am I correct?</p>

<p>My understanding is that if an HOA thinks an occupant of a house is there in violation of a covenant, then they have to go to court to get a remedy for that; they can't just block them at the security gate.</p>

<p><strong>UPDATE</strong></p>

<p>Further research indicates a couple of things: a renter who is denied access by a gate guard could apparently make a claim against the HOA for tort of nuisance and free enjoyment of the property to which they are entitled.</p>

<p>A visitor, however, could not make such a claim, so in that instance what recourse does the property owner have? In other words, if a party prevents a visitor invited onto their property from entering the property, does the property owner have a claim against the person blocking access?</p>

<p>user662852 has a good point -- whoever own the property has the right to make the rules.</p>

<p>Is the property, land+construction in fact your's or does it belong to the HOA who just grant you access as a lease holder?</p>

<p>Different states has different rules, but in my state it is illegal to maroon a property and there must be a access to public streets even when this necessitate passing over somebody else land.  However that is irrelevant if the HOA owns the land your house is build on.  </p>

<p>I think you will have to look at your HOA agreement and see what it says.</p>
