Towing in a Community Off My Own Driveway

My question involves towing laws for the State of: Florida

Hello,

I live in a gated community in Florida in an appartment. The registration on my car is expired and there is no way to renew it right now (under my dad's name, he got a bad speeding ticket, waiting for court, can't renew it until it is resolved apparently...).
A couple of days the community people put a note on my car that they are gonna tow it because the registration is expired. At this time it was parked at a guest/overflow parking lot because I was visiting somebody else.
I talked to them and they said if I don't want it to get towed I have to leave it in my garage at all times.
I do understand that they can tow my car if parked on a guest/public parking lot, but can they tow it off my own drive way??
My name is on the lease, my car is registered with the community and has the community sticker/bar code.

Thanks...

the rules are the rules. It may be your property due to the lease but as in any community, there are rules that you must abide by and if one of those rules are no unregistered cars visible, then you need to put it in the garage. It matters not if it is on "your property" or not.


or they will apparently tow it, legally.

Since it's your car, why not have your dad transfer the title to you, then register and insure it yourself? You really shouldn't be driving an unregistered car around the community; it sounds like that's how you drew attention to the situation.

Yes, they can. State of Florida law (as well as most city/county ordinances) is very explicit that all vehicles require a current tag/registration unless the vehicle is stored in an enclosed garage.

"Your" driveway is the private property of the apartments. Even if you owned a stand alone home, having the vehicle sitting out visible from the street usually constitutes a violation of city or county ordinance and your local Code Enforcement folks could tow the vehicle too (expired registration/tags usually means the vehicle falls under "junked or abandoned vehicles" ordinances). To keep from being in violation, the vehicle would have to be enclosed or otherwise not visible from the street.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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Since it's your car, why not have your dad transfer the title to you, then register and insure it yourself? You really shouldn't be driving an unregistered car around the community; it sounds like that's how you drew attention to the situation.

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I agree, problem is he is out of the country for work and won't be back for months. So it's gonna be hard for him to sign a bill of sale.
Any other suggestions?

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Quoting icecore

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I agree, problem is he is out of the country for work and won't be back for months. So it's gonna be hard for him to sign a bill of sale.
Any other suggestions?

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Don't they have mail service in the country he is in?

They sure do. Court date is Dec 1st. Mail it there and back would with certainty take longer than that...
No matter what I do I will have to drive without registration for a while..if you have any suggestions how to solve it I will gladly do it...I have no problem paying for the registration..they just won't let me..

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Quoting icecore

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They sure do. Court date is Dec 1st. Mail it there and back would with certainty take longer than that...
No matter what I do I will have to drive without registration for a while..if you have any suggestions how to solve it I will gladly do it...I have no problem paying for the registration..they just won't let me..

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If you think getting the car towed was bad, just wait until the police catch you driving without a registration.

So, how long has this been going on?

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..if you have any suggestions how to solve it I will gladly do it...

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friends, family, taxi, bus, train....thumb:eek:

Have dad sell you the car for a dollar, write the amount of the sale on the title, sign the title and mail it to you. Take the title to the tag office and get it properly registered in your name. Nothing needs to be sent back to him, you just need a properly transferred title in your hands to bring to the tag office.

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Quoting aardvarc

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Yes, they can. State of Florida law (as well as most city/county ordinances) is very explicit that all vehicles require a current tag/registration unless the vehicle is stored in an enclosed garage.

"Your" driveway is the private property of the apartments. Even if you owned a stand alone home, having the vehicle sitting out visible from the street usually constitutes a violation of city or county ordinance and your local Code Enforcement folks could tow the vehicle too (expired registration/tags usually means the vehicle falls under "junked or abandoned vehicles" ordinances). To keep from being in violation, the vehicle would have to be enclosed or otherwise not visible from the street.

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I believe you're mistaken about if he is parked in his driveway in a house that he owns. Yes, "his" driveway probably actually belongs to the apt complex however, if he was a taxpaying homeowner he could park his unregistered, no tag, non-insured vehicle in his yard or in his private driveway. He'd only be in violation if he was out driving or parked on someone else's private property he would be violating rules/laws but not in his driveway, IF he owned a house.