Curfews In Associations

Community associations often appeal to families with children because of the amenities and sense of neighborhood, among other things. That being so, children tend to be outside later in the day during summer break, and are sometimes left unsupervised.

Association boards frequently handle repairs to common areas after vandalism. For this reason, many boards want to impose curfews for children to prevent vandalism when these children are left unsupervised at night. Unfortunately, fair housing laws prevent discrimination against families with children; therefore, the association cannot impose curfew laws. The association can only impose rules that mitigate any possible harm to children, such as a rule preventing children under the age of 10 from using the association’s playground without the supervision of an adult. Ohio law, however, allows municipalities to enact their own legislation regarding curfews. Some cities/townships have enacted these laws, others have chosen not to.

For example, the City of Euclid curfew laws include 1) No child under 12 may be in a public place between 9pm and 5am, 2) No child between age 12 and age 15 shall be in public between 10pm and 5am, 3) No child ages 16 or 17 shall be in a public place between 11pm and 5am, unless these children are accompanied by an adult. Many municipalities that have curfew laws impose fines and/or penalties on the children (depending on their age) and the parent. The curfew laws usually extend to minors driving motor vehicles after hours. Other curfew laws, such as those of Lakewood and Cleveland, apply to minors during school hours, as well. “Public place” usually refers to a sidewalk, park, street, or other public place.

If you are unsure about curfew laws in your municipality, most cities/townships offer websites containing the city’s ordinances. Otherwise, many of these ordinances are available in paper form at municipality administration offices.

If there are violations of any curfew laws within your community, the simple remedy is a call to your police department and inform them of the curfew violation. This allows the police to deal with the situation, and does not become an association issue. However, the police may not consider common areas of the association “public” places, because the common areas are owned privately by the association. Therefore, the police may choose not enforce curfew rules on common areas.

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