apartment towed my car without notice

The lease clause, the signs posted on the lot, and your state's towing rules are what decide whether a property may have a car removed. This page does not decide that for any particular tow.

This is general information, not legal advice. Sign and notice rules are different in every state. Read your lease and your own state's statute. Texas is the example below because the rules are written in Occupations Code Chapter 2308 and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) publishes a consumer page on private property tows.

What to read

• • The parking and towing clause in the lease or rental agreement.
• • Every sign posted at the entrances and at the space, including the phone number and the hours printed on the sign.
• • Your state's towing statute. In Texas, that is Occupations Code Chapter 2308. A city or county ordinance can add local rules. Section 2308.208 allows a city or county to adopt an ordinance on unauthorized vehicles and towing, so check that ordinance for the place where the car was parked.

When a Texas property may have a car towed

Section 2308.252 says a parking facility owner may, without the consent of the owner or operator, have an unauthorized vehicle and property in it removed and stored at the vehicle owner's or operator's expense if any one of these is true:

1. Signs that follow Subchapter G, and that prohibit unauthorized vehicles, are on the facility at the time of towing and were there for the preceding 24 hours.
2. The owner or operator has received actual notice from the parking facility owner that the vehicle will be towed at the owner's or operator's expense if it is in, or is not removed from, an unauthorized space.
3. The parking facility owner gives the notice in subsection (b): a conspicuous notice on the vehicle, and, unless the vehicle is moved to another unauthorized spot, the mailed notice in subsection (b)(2) to the registered owner at the last registration address. That mailed notice warns that the vehicle will be towed if it is not removed before the 15th day after the postmark date.
4. On request, the parking facility owner gives the name of the towing company and the storage facility that will be used, and the vehicle is left in violation of section 2308.251 or 2308.253, or is in or obstructing a paved driveway or abutting public roadway used to enter or exit the facility.

Section 2308.254 says a parking facility owner may not have an unauthorized vehicle removed except as this chapter provides, under a city ordinance adopted as section 2308.208 describes, or at the direction of a peace officer or the owner or operator of the vehicle.

Apartment lots in Texas

Section 2308.253 applies only to a parking facility serving or adjacent to an apartment complex of one or more residential units, and to adjacent real property serving that complex. It says the owner or operator of a vehicle may not leave the vehicle unattended on that facility if the vehicle:

• • Obstructs a gate meant for pedestrians or vehicles.
• • Obstructs pedestrian or vehicle access to a shared garbage or refuse receptacle.
• • Is in or obstructs a restricted parking area or space designated under Subchapter G, including a space designated for employees or maintenance personnel.
• • Is in a tow-away zone, other than a fire lane covered by section 2308.251(c), that is brightly painted and marked "TOW AWAY ZONE" in contrasting letters at least three inches tall.
• • Is a semitrailer, trailer, or truck-tractor, unless the lease or rental agreement permits that vehicle to be left there.
• • Is leaking a fluid that presents a hazard or threat to persons or property.

The same section says a parking facility owner may not have a vehicle towed merely because it does not display an unexpired license plate or registration insignia, except under a contract described in subsection (e). That contract provision is valid only if it requires at least 10 days' written notice that the vehicle will be towed at the owner's or operator's expense if it is not removed. The notice has to state that the plate or insignia is not an unexpired one, that the vehicle will be towed at the owner's or operator's expense if that is still true, and a telephone number answered 24 hours a day. It has to be delivered in person, mailed to that owner or operator the way subsection (e)(2)(B) requires, or attached to the front windshield, the driver's side window, or another conspicuous part of the vehicle if those are missing.

Subsection (g) says a provision of an apartment lease or rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2004, that conflicts with section 2308.253 is void. Put the lease clause next to that section and read them together. This page does not apply them to a particular car or property.

Posted signs, when the tow uses the sign path

The size, words, and placement rules in section 2308.301 and section 2308.302 apply to a tow under section 2308.252(a)(1), which is the path that relies on signs. They are not a description of every other path in section 2308.252. Except where sections 2308.304 and 2308.305 allow a different sign for a restricted area or an individual space, section 2308.301 says each sign prohibiting unauthorized vehicles must:

• • Face and be conspicuously visible to the driver of a vehicle that enters the facility.
• • Stand on the right or left side of each driveway or curb-cut used to enter, including an alley entrance. If there is no definite entrance and an entrance is wider than 35 feet, signs are placed so that no entrance is more than 25 feet from a sign.
• • Be permanently mounted on a pole, post, permanent wall, or permanent barrier, on the facility, with the bottom edge no lower than five feet and no higher than eight feet above the ground.
• • Be weather-resistant material, at least 18 inches wide and 24 inches tall.
• • Show the international symbol for towing vehicles.
• • Describe who may park there and prohibit all others.
• • Bear the words "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed or Booted at Owner's or Operator's Expense," or the towing-only or booting-only version of that sentence.
• • State the days and hours of towing and booting enforcement.
• • Include a telephone number, with area code, that is answered 24 hours a day so the owner or operator can locate a towed vehicle.

Section 2308.302 sets the color, layout, and lettering height for those signs, including a bright red international towing symbol at least four inches tall and the words "Towing Enforced" (or the towing-and-booting or booting-only line) in letters at least two inches tall. Section 2308.304 lets an owner mark restricted spaces on an otherwise unrestricted lot with a sign at the entrance to that area or at the end of the space. Section 2308.305 covers a further restriction on an individual space. Photograph the entrance signs and any sign or paint at the space itself. Section 2308.303 says that if the owner posts a sign described by sections 2308.301 and 2308.302, the owner of a towed vehicle must be able to locate the vehicle by calling the number on the sign.

Steps, in order

1. Confirm it was towed, and that the car is not simply missing

Call the telephone number on the posted sign. TDLR's consumer page says that is how you find a car towed from a lot, and section 2308.303 requires that the number work for that purpose when the sign path applies. Section 2308.2565 says a vehicle storage facility that accepts a vehicle towed under Chapter 2308 must, within two hours, report the vehicle to the police department of the city it was towed from, or to the sheriff if that place has no police department. Call that department's non-emergency line and ask whether a tow was reported for your plate. If no tow is on record, tell them the car is missing so they can take a report. That separates a reported tow from a missing car. It does not decide anything else about the tow.

2. Find the tow company

Use the 24-hour number on the sign, the storage facility named when you call the police department, and any towing company named in the lease. Write down the company name, address, telephone number, and any license number printed on the ticket or the truck.

3. Get the tow ticket

Ask the storage facility for the tow ticket and for any written notice about the removal. In Texas, section 2308.454 says that if you pay the removal or storage costs before a hearing, the towing company or storage facility that receives the payment must, at the time of payment, give you written notice of the rights in Chapter 2308. Keep that paper with the ticket.

4. Photograph the signage and the spot

Photograph the lot while the signs and the space still look the way they did. Take a wide shot of each entrance, a close shot in which every word on each sign can be read, the view from the space, and any paint or marking on the space. If you do not see a sign, photograph the entrances and the space from more than one direction. The sign photo guide lists the shots people take.

5. Pay and retrieve the car

TDLR's consumer page says that to take the car from the storage facility you provide photo identification, show that you are the owner or an authorized user, and pay the towing and storage fees. Paying those fees is how the facility releases the car. The receipt notes guide describes how people mark a receipt when they pay.

6. Keep the receipts

Keep the itemized invoice, the payment receipt, the card or bank record of the charge, and the written notice given when you paid. Write down each charge line on the invoice next to the receipt.

7. Request a hearing where one is available

Hearing rules depend on the state. If the vehicle was towed in Texas, the request steps — the deadline, the justice court, the filing fee, and what the written request must contain — are on the how to request a tow hearing in Texas page. If it was towed somewhere else, use that state's towing agency or court site. Nothing on this page says what a court will decide.

Documents to gather

• • The lease or rental agreement, especially the parking and towing clause.
• • Photos of each posted sign (where it stands and the words) and of the space, including paint and any sign at the space.
• • The tow ticket, the storage-facility paperwork, and the name, address, and phone number of the towing company and the storage facility.
• • Any notice that was on the vehicle, mailed, or handed to you, including the written notice given when you paid.
• • Payment receipts and the card or bank record.
• • A note of the date and time you parked, when you found the car gone, and whom you spoke with at the property, the tow company, the storage facility, and the police department.
• • Your state's towing statute. For a Texas tow, Chapter 2308. For another state, that state's official code.

A longer photo and receipt list is on the evidence checklist.