Residential signs forbidding solicitation not enforceable

Q: I’m a regular reader who lives in Davis and who works nights and sleeps during most days. I live in a gated community that has a big sign out front of the gate that says “Door to Door Solic itation Forbidden.”

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to slow down the number of people who knock on my door wanting to sell me something or get me to go to their church. Several months ago a neigh bor suggested I put my own “No Solicitation” sign on the door. Sounded like a good idea so I tried it. Of course, it didn’t work any better than the sign at the gate. So my question is, are there any laws that limit or control the solicitors who come to your door? Is there anything I can do about it? Thanks.

A: We’ve all been there in one way or another. But I’m afraid I have to give you the typical lawyer answer, “Yes and no.”

Yes, there are regulations. But no, there’s likely nothing you can do about it absent buying a large angry dog who resides at the end of a chain that’s permanently anchored to your door knob.

Under the law, what you’re really asking is “when is trespassing trespassing?”

From a historic perspective, the front of your house isn’t considered to be the same type of private property that you would find in your back yard.

Trespassing, as a matter of law, occurs when someone enters your property without a legal right to do so. A legal right could be that you gave them per- mission, either expressly or by implication.

All kinds of people come to your door without your express permission. Mailmen, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, etc. all drop off packages. Neighbors stop over to borrow a cup of sugar or a bottle of Jack Daniels. That old guy down the street who everyone hates rings the doorbell to tell you your little Johnny just rode his bicycle over the dude’s

In other words, we recognize your front door is a portal by which you may be contacted.

For example, a guy who could be arrested for trespassing in your backyard may be perfectly within his rights to stand on your front doorstep. At least until you tell him to leave.

In theory, your No Solicitation sign could serve as notice that you’ve withdrawn your implied permission to bang on your door, and thus turned the solicitation into a trespass.

But alas, here’s where the right law school answer crashes into the real world.

The truth is nobody, including the police or the courts, are going to take any action against someone who rang your doorbell trying to sell you a magazine subscription so they can allegedly go to college. Or, for that matter, who bangs repeatedly on your door wanting to tell you about their upcoming church activity.

Going a little bit deeper: like many local cities, Davis does have an ordinance requiring

See Jones, Page 14

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