Owner ticketed for parking in handicapped spot in FL

I have been living in my condo community now for just over 9 years. I purchased my place right before the housing crash.

I was one of the few in the complex that did not foreclose. I scraped pennies together and I consistently paid both my mortgage and my homeowners association fee every single month while every condo around me was foreclosed on.

Things got really bad for awhile in the community, but we powered through and we have filled the complex up to capacity again.

The problem with this is that there is not enough parking for the people that live here. When it was built, the first and second floor apartments were built with garages and driveways which left the rest of the parking lot for the third floor units who do not have garages or driveways.

However, recently the first and second floor renters and owners have refused to use their driveways and garages saying that they should be able to park wherever they want.

Because this has become such a problem, the board voted that each of the third floor units should receive 2 assigned parking spaces to alleviate the problem of not being able to find a parking spot. We received a letter saying that it would happen within 2-3 weeks.

It has been over a month, and it has still not happened.

Last night, I got home from work around 9 p.m. knowing that parking would be a problem. Sure enough, after driving around the lot 4 times (after a 13 hour day of work), I finally gave in and parked in the handicapped parking spot.

I went upstairs and told my husband where I was parked, and asked if he could go back down in half an hour and see if a spot had opened up and move my car. He said he would.

When he went back down, the security guard had already called the cops and there was a $250 ticket on my car. I am wondering if I have any recourse against the homeowners association for not providing enough parking. I feel that they should pay for the ticket as it is their fault.

To be more to the point, it is the fault of the property manager for not following through (this is a pattern with her) and for telling the security guard to call the cops in that scenario (knowing full well that it was something we do when we can’t find a spot).

I understand that I am the one that parked in the spot, and I will suffer the consequences if I have to. I just want to know what my options are as I feel I was backed into a corner and after years of feeling harassed by my association (even though I faithfully pay the fee each month), I guess I have reached my last straw.

Any advice would be appreciated. I really can’t afford a lawyer.