dwelling laws

[darude]

after bumping into an interesting article about living in your vehicle. it seems that Alabama has no laws about someone living in there vehicle. are there any more states like this

 

[TMG51]

Someone tell me if I'm wrong, but, I get the sense that it's mostly people in the SoCal area that really get harassed with laws about vehicle dwelling. From what I've seen all around the east coast it's never been a problem.

 

[highdesertranger]

well you don't want to tell the BLM or FS that you are living in your vehicle. just tell them you are camping. highdesertranger

 

[darude]

Someone tell me if I'm wrong, but, I get the sense that it's mostly people in the SoCal area that really get harassed with laws about vehicle dwelling. From what I've seen all around the east coast it's never been a problem.

i see people do it all day long and there never bothered some have been in the same spot for months!! and that includes vans upto travel trailers on the side of the streets. i guess it depends on the neighborhood :huh:

 

[darude]

well you don't want to tell the BLM or FS that you are living in your vehicle.  just tell them you are camping.  highdesertranger

camping on the side of the street with the genset out in a 5th wheel :huh: . i can understand a Walmart parking lot

 

[VJG1977]

I believe most of the time it is city laws you have to worry about.  While Alabama may not have any restriction many of the towns do.  A couple of links to check.  

Find Local Stealth Laws??(Parking, Living, Sleeping, Camping)

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Municipal Code Library[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]State listing with towns and cities.  Search for "CAMPING" or "SLEEPING".[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Montgomery, AL[/font]
Sec. 18-152. - Sleeping or loitering without permission of owner or occupant of premises.
It shall be unlawful for any person to sleep in or on a motor vehicle or loiter in or about such motor vehicle while the same is parked on a public street, avenue or alley in the city or while the same is parked on the premises of another person in the city, without first obtaining permission from the owner, occupant or custodian of such premises.

Gulf Shores, AL
Sec. 11-2. - Sleeping in vehicles, out-of-doors or in nonresidential zones. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to sleep in an automobile, van, truck, camper, trailer, or other vehicle of any kind or nature within the corporate limits of the city or the police jurisdiction thereof, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

 

[BigT]

i see people do it all day long and there never bothered some have been in the same spot for months!! and that includes vans upto travel trailers on the side of the streets. i guess it depends on the neighborhood :huh:

I see it all the time in the SF Bay Area and especially in the South Bay (maybe just because I'm there more than other parts).
I too see multiple RV's parking on industrial/commercial streets, and they seem to stay there for extended periods of time.  So far I haven't seen the bright orange stickers the city likes to place on vehicles that park for more than 72 hours, but maybe I'm just not around to see that part. 

The people that I see in these RV's don't even try to hide the fact that they're in there either.  I see flickering lights from TV's and the glow of lighting and the movement of the dwellers themselves.  

Of course this activity doesn't mean it's legal, but nobody seems to be enforcing it.

 

[GrantRobertson]

The Nomadic Fanatic, on YouTube, says it la legal to live in your vehicle in Seattle, but you gotta move every 72 hrs.

 

[jimindenver]

I was looking for laws in Denver and from what I see is it is legal as long as you are not drunk. I guess they would rather have a chance at catching you trying to make it home than sleep it off. That would explain the numerous RV's and vans at Walmarts and some are not over nighters either. Near here is a group of up to seven RV's of all sorts including a Astro. They are tucked away from view of the surface streets but we see them from the highway. They have been there a few months but other than a toad being off the dolly, you would think they are just parked.

It's going to be 24 F and snowing in a few days, I wonder how many will still be there. I know I'd be out of here if I could not winterizing the trailer like I did today.

 

[VJG1977]

I was looking for laws in Denver and from what I see is it is legal as long as you are not drunk. I guess they would rather have a chance at catching you trying to make it home than sleep it off. That would explain the numerous RV's and vans at Walmarts and some are not over nighters either. Near here is a group of up to seven RV's of all sorts including a Astro. They are tucked away from view of the surface streets but we see them from the highway. They have been there a few months but other than a toad being off the dolly, you would think they are just parked.  

It's going to be 24 F and snowing in a few days, I wonder how many will still be there. I know I'd be out of here if I could not winterizing the trailer like I did today.

Looks like it is against the law but there are so many hoops the officer has to jump through that they probably don't want to bother.
 
Denver, Co Sleeping / Camping.

Sec. 38-86.2. - Unauthorized camping on public or private property prohibited.
[font='Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](a)
It shall be unlawful for any person to camp upon any private property without the express written consent of the property owner or the owner's agent, and only in such locations where camping may be conducted in accordance with any other applicable city law.
(b)
It shall be unlawful for any person to camp upon any public property except in any location where camping has been expressly allowed by the officer or agency having the control, management and supervision of the public property in question.
(c)
No law enforcement officer shall issue a citation, make an arrest or otherwise enforce this section against any person unless:
(1)
The officer orally requests or orders the person to refrain from the alleged violation of this section and, if the person fails to comply after receiving the oral request or order, the officer tenders a written request or order to the person warning that if the person fails to comply the person may be cited or arrested for a violation of this section; and
(2)
The officer attempts to ascertain whether the person is in need of medical or human services assistance, including, but not limited, to mental health treatment, drug or alcohol rehabilitation, or homeless services assistance. If the officer determines that the person may be in need of medical or human services assistance, the officer shall make reasonable efforts to contact and obtain the assistance of a designated human service outreach worker, who in turn shall assess the needs of the person and, if warranted, direct the person to an appropriate provider of medical or human services assistance in lieu of the person being cited or arrested for a violation of this section. If the officer is unable to obtain the assistance of a human services outreach worker, if the human services outreach worker determines that the person is not in need of medical or human services assistance, or if the person refuses to cooperate with the direction of the human services outreach worker, the officer may proceed to cite or arrest the person for a violation of this section so long as the warnings required by paragraph (1) of this subsection have been previously given.[/font]

 

[jimindenver]

You're better than I am at this. I searched a few ways and didn't find that, just people talking about doing it. One said they may wake you up to see what you are doing and if you are drunk but no ticket.

 

[TMG51]

One said they may wake you up to see what you are doing and if you are drunk but no ticket.

Why can't I just be living there and drunk. :-/

 

[jimindenver]

It was a quick search but from what I saw if you are in the vehicle and drunk, they will assume you had the intent to drive. This is when I was searching sleeping in a car so a RV of some type where you would normally sleep in it may be looked at differently.

 

[TMG51]

It was a quick search but from what I saw if you are in the vehicle and drunk, they will assume you had the intent to drive. This is when I was searching sleeping in a car so a RV of some type where you would normally sleep in it may be looked at differently.

Haha yes I'd meant that as a joke.

I once had two LEOs roll up on me while I was sitting in the back of the van having a beer with a girl. Apparently I was on private property and didn't realize it. The owners had called them. The police were very polite and only asked me questions about why I was there and what I was up to. They pointed out they saw the beer but as long as I wasn't driving away drunk or with an open container they didn't care.

I'm hoping that any future encounter I have with police while enjoying a drink in the "house" portion will be as reasonable.

 

[akrvbob]

Having done this for awhile in many different places I've seen it's impossible to generalize about the legality of vandwelling and the need for stealth.

1) Parking laws are generally left to the local authority and rarely set by the state.
2) Just because it's illegal doesn't mean it will be enforced.
3) Even when it's enforced it'soften only selectively enforced and left up to the officers discretion. Often, it's only enforced at Walmart. Spend the night there and you will be rousted, park across the street at Target and no one will say anything
4) Just because it's legal does NOT mean you won't be rousted. If local people complain you will probably be told to move along.
5) Cities attitudes can change on a dime. Just because last year (or even last month) no one cared about vandwellers , doesn't mean you won't be rousted today.

If in doubt, use extreme stealth.
Bob

 

[GotSmart]

Last summer I stopped in Denver for a couple of days.  I was in the big central park and saw an ambulance taking someone out of a Hi top van.  The man was on a stretcher, and the woman got into a police car with a couple bags of things.  When most people had left I went up to the one LEO who was there doing paperwork.   

I asked about being able to park for a couple days while I got ready for the next portion of my trip.  He told me that the park closes at dark, and it is patrolled, but as long as I could find a place to park at night, such as the Big Box stores, I could stay there from dawn to dark. 

It seemed that Denver was taking a low key enforcement attitude.

 

[TMG51]

Was the LEO a squirrel?

 

[GotSmart]

Was the LEO a squirrel?

No, that was one of the friendly residents of Denver. I think the LEO may have been Hispanic.  Nice kid, with a compassion for people. 

I seldom have any problems with LEO.  It does not matter if they are Squirrels, I can get along with just about all of them.  

 

[jimindenver]

On a real side. DO NOT tick off a Denver LEO. They have a rather bad rep for a reason. I think they have made more people here millionaires with payouts than the lottery.

 

[GotSmart]

On a real side. DO NOT tick off a Denver LEO. They have a rather bad rep for a reason. I think they have made more people here millionaires with payouts than the lottery.

Yes I am nice to the Squirrels.  ^^^  I have no illusions and do not argue with a person who carries a gun for a living.  I put out the image of a retired grandpa traveling with his cat.  Non threatening, but dressed well enough to be taken seriously. 100% legal and insured. 

Denver was a short stopover for me.  I have a good friend in Black Forrest where I can rest this time.