HOA's Use Of Gate Access Restrictions As Debt Collection Tool To Squeeze Unpaid Maintenance Fees From Non-Paying Homeowners

In Lake Mary, Florida, the Orlando Sentinel reports:

• A standoff of sorts has occurred at the gates of one of the region's most prestigious country clubs.
  
  Alaqua resident David Acosta owes as much as $100,000, possibly a record for the Orlando area, in homeowner-association fees. The exclusive Seminole County community has responded by trying to limit others' access to his home and by forcing Acosta to stop and get permission each time before passing through the subdivision's entrance gate.
  
  The fight over those pending restrictions has gone to court, where Acosta has been representing himself against lawyers for the association.

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• Gate restrictions are a debt-collection tool advocated by Winter Garden lawyer James Gustino, who represents not only Alaqua's homeowner association but also those for Stoneybrook East, Stoneybrook West and Lake Butler Sound. The gate-access question pending before Circuit Judge Marlene Alva in Acosta's case could determine whether such communities can restrict homeowners' use of common areas.
  
  "Anyone who is a full-time member of the family can get access, but not guests," Gustino said recently. "It's not that draconian in that sense. When you enter into a purchase contract, subject to covenants, conditions and deed restrictions, you enter into a contract with everyone else in the community, and their fortunes are impacted based on whether you comply."

For the story, see Court weighs whether gated communities can restrict access over HOA debt.