Chapter 8 - § 8.7 • TOWING PARKED VEHICLES

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 8.7 • TOWING PARKED VEHICLES

Many common interest communities are faced with unwanted vehicles parked on the property. The vehicles may be improperly parked in a space reserved for a specific unit owner or may be prohibited "commercial" vehicles, trucks, or "junk cars."¹⁹⁹ Associations have at least two means available for addressing unwanted or improperly parked vehicles: levying fines for any rule violation and having the vehicle towed from the property. The association may use its power to assess fines for any violation of the declaration, bylaws, or association rules,²⁰⁰ but it has limited, if any, authority to collect fines from a vehicle owner who is not a unit owner.²⁰¹ Regardless of whether the vehicle owner is a unit owner, the association may have the vehicle towed from the property,²⁰² but will want to be absolutely certain that vehicles the association wants to have towed are not actually on a public street.

If there are vehicles on the property in violation of the documents — for example, those without current license plates or registration or for commercial use — or that are improperly parked in an assigned space, the association will want them removed. If the association is unsuccessful in getting the owner to remove the vehicle, it will usually want the vehicle towed away. Statutes,²⁰³ administrative rules,²⁰⁴ and even local ordinances may apply in that situation, and the association should have formal policies and procedures in place before it ever attempts to have any vehicle towed from the property. Associations should always consult the association attorney when developing towing policies and procedures to be certain they are consistent with any applicable state or local laws and regulations and that they know how to properly implement them.

Practice Pointer
The association attorney should assume the association is unaware of, or at least unfamiliar with, the applicable law. The attorney should also consider that when an allegedly unauthorized vehicle is observed on the property, the association may simply call the management company to handle the problem, and the management company personnel may or may not be familiar with applicable legal requirements. The attorney may want to prepare a checklist for associations spelling out the proper procedures for having an unauthorized vehicle towed from the site.

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Notes:

^[199] Associations generally want to prevent abandoned or "junk" vehicles from being left on the property to...