Rockwall County, Texas – A legal fight in Rockwall County is getting a lot of attention in North Texas as courts look at how far a homeowners association can go to enforce its rules, especially when those rules touch public roads.
The Shores at Lake Ray Hubbard Owners Association and a few residents are at the core of the dispute. They say the HOA went too far when it fined people for parking on streets that the city owns and takes care of.
The dispute started when people in the area got letters about cars parked on the curbs. The HOA said that its governing documents gave them the right to fine homeowners and renters for parking on the street, no matter who owned the road.
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Residents fought back, saying that the roadways are public property and that a private organization can’t enforce rules on them. That argument turned into a bigger legal battle over what HOAs can and can’t do.
The City of Rockwall became involved in the conflict as things got worse. City officials said that the HOA was trying to manage public streets, which is something only the local government can do. The city’s stance gave further weight to neighbors’ arguments that the HOA’s actions made it hard to tell the difference between private community rules and public law.
Brandy and Dwayn Lutz, who live in the neighborhood on a lease-to-own agreement, were caught in the midst. Court documents reveal that they were warned and fined multiple times for parking on the roadway. The problem got worse when the HOA called the corporation that owns the house and said that the leasing company was to blame for the unpaid penalties. The company told the Lutzes that their lease could be canceled if the parking problems didn’t stop.
Residents say that these methods went beyond normal enforcement. In their filings, they said that the HOA directors were not doing their jobs properly since they were collecting fines that they had no power to issue. They also said that the enforcement campaign put homeowners and renters at considerable financial risk, such as the potential of wrongful foreclosure due to penalties that were in question.
The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas heard the case because a lower court’s decision didn’t answer important questions. The appellate court made a decision on January 21, 2026, that changed the case but did not end the fundamental disagreement.
One of the most important things the court found was who has the authority to contest HOA activities. A lower court had already said that the Lutzes couldn’t sue because they were renters. The appeal court disagreed, saying that the HOA’s actions directly violated their rights and provided them with the right to file claims.
The court additionally addressed the main legal issue with parking on the street. The HOA said it wasn’t controlling public streets; it was upholding a contract between property owners. The court did agree that there is a difference, but it did not say if enforcing this goes too far and makes it unconstitutional to regulate public property.
The appellate court did not agree and sent the case back to the trial court for additional investigation. The next step is to find out if the HOA’s actions are an illegal attempt to control public streets.
The disagreement has effects that far beyond Rockwall. This case brings to light the continuing dispute between private neighborhood administration and public property rights in surrounding towns like Forney, where HOA laws are often debated. As Texas courts continue to look at these concerns, the outcome might change how HOAs across the state handle enforcement when it comes to public infrastructure.
