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California: Tow from private property without Landlord involvement.

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What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Private Party apartment complex: Question for everyone,
Can a Tenant invoke a Tow company to tow a vehicle in their assigned parking spot without approval from the Property manager of a complex of approx. 60 unit?
Can an Owner of a Deed to the specific Apartment he bought leverage the Towing Contact of the Apratment complex he lives in to commit tows without the Complex property manager in his assigned parking spot?
Does being a Tenant or leassee qualify the person to be an Agent of the Owner / Landlord?
Is the Leassee delegated towing right without the landlord to their assigned parking spot?

This apartment is closed and gated and offers no public parking. It is unclear after reading below.
Thank you!!

(l) (1) (A) A towing company shall not remove or commence the removal of a vehicle from private property without first obtaining the written authorization from the property owner or lessee, including an association of a common interest development, or an employee or agent thereof, who shall be present at the time of removal and verify the alleged violation, except that presence and verification is not required if the person authorizing the tow is the property owner, or the owner’s agent who is not a tow operator, of a residential rental property of 15 or fewer units that does not have an onsite owner, owner’s agent or employee, and the tenant has verified the violation, requested the tow from that tenant’s assigned parking space, and provided a signed request or electronic mail, or has called and provides a signed request or electronic mail within 24 hours, to the property owner or owner’s agent, which the owner or agent shall provide to the towing company within 48 hours of authorizing the tow. The signed request or electronic mail shall contain the name and address of the tenant, and the date and time the tenant requested the tow. A towing company shall obtain, within 48 hours of receiving the written authorization to tow, a copy of a tenant request required pursuant to this subparagraph. For the purpose of this subparagraph, a person providing the written authorization who is required to be present on the private property at the time of the tow does not have to be physically present at the specified location of where the vehicle to be removed is located on the private property.
(B) The written authorization under subparagraph (A) shall include all of the following:
(i) The make, model, vehicle identification number, and license plate number of the removed vehicle.
(ii) The name, signature, job title, residential or business address, and working telephone number of the person, described in subparagraph (A), authorizing the removal of the vehicle.
(iii) The grounds for the removal of the vehicle.
(iv) The time when the vehicle was first observed parked at the private property.
(v) The time that authorization to tow the vehicle was given.
 


CdwJava

Senior Member
A tenant without any specific authority from the management/owner of the property should not be able to authorize a private property tow from an apartment complex.

However, since you use the terms "owner", "bought", and "deed" in your post, I have to ask whether these are individually owned condominiums? Or, are they rented apartments? If condos, then the answer may change.
 
A tenant without any specific authority from the management/owner of the property should not be able to authorize a private property tow from an apartment complex.

However, since you use the terms "owner", "bought", and "deed" in your post, I have to ask whether these are individually owned condominiums? Or, are they rented apartments? If condos, then the answer may change.
Yes, The Appartment complex appears to sign the Deed over from the individual Apartments from time to time to buyers who are intrested. I do not fully grasp the idea of how that effects the parking. Is it normal practice to sign the ownership over from a specific parking spot? I assume anything is possible but that just seems far fetched?
-Agent
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
This is either rental property as an apartment complex, or, it is a condo complex where the units are individually owned. The parking area might be a common property for either type of property unless the parking area is individually purchased with the condo. These can be treated differently depending on how they are set up. So, I can't really give an answer until we know what kind of property this is as different rules can apply.
 
This is either rental property as an apartment complex, or, it is a condo complex where the units are individually owned. The parking area might be a common property for either type of property unless the parking area is individually purchased with the condo. These can be treated differently depending on how they are set up. So, I can't really give an answer until we know what kind of property this is as different rules can apply.
Thanks for the quick reply, Sounds like I need to go to the county at this point and see who is on the deed for that parking space then move from there correct?
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
It's more than that, you need to find out what type of property it is! Apartment or condo, and how are the common area or parking areas handled? That should be easy. If there is a rental office then chances are this is an apartment complex. If you can purchase the unit (with a true deed of ownership) then they are condos. Next, you have to determine the parking lot situation.

Perhaps you can ask the person whose car got towed.
 
It's more than that, you need to find out what type of property it is! Apartment or condo, and how are the common area or parking areas handled? That should be easy. If there is a rental office then chances are this is an apartment complex. If you can purchase the unit (with a true deed of ownership) then they are condos. Next, you have to determine the parking lot situation.

Perhaps you can ask the person whose car got towed.
Thansk Cdw!
It makes me wounder, I am leaning twards the true Deed of Ownership but I will confirm today. If the True Deed of ownership includes a Deed to the parking spot, would the owner of that parking spot inhairt the contact that the rental office is in with the tow company. It would seem to me that if they have a Deed of ownership they are their own entity and would require their own contact with a tow agency but maybe that's a can of worms topic because then they would need to post their own custom sign on the parking space as well? I'm shotting in the dark here but just some thoughts that ran through my head.
Thanks for the Guidance.
-Agent

Post Script: Quick Question
A towing company shall not remove or commence the removal of a vehicle from private property without first obtaining the written authorization from the property owner or lessee
When refering to Lessee are they only refering to a lessee that is in an apartment complex of less then 16 units or the Lessee of the vessel / Vehicle? The way they word this is super confusing. I think They are saying that You can't touch the car without the
Written Concent of the person who owns the car OR the Landlord / employee of the Landlord.


*Update*
I'm not sure if I am heading down the right path but would the HOA be the person to contact to check the deed on the parking spot?
I checked the Country Clerk and they don't keep records of parking spots just REAL property's. I figure Parking spots would of been recorded as well if there is a deed it would of been kept there.
 
Last edited:
So I contacted my own title company and got the Condominium Plan Certificate.
What I think I need to do next is contact the HOA obtain a CCNR "Conveyance and Conditions" of the said condo. Try to reverse lookup who owns the spot that the towing took place perhaps is the best move is possible?
It appears Deeds for parking are not recorded at the County/City level...
 
Team,
I pulled the CC&R from the public record, I want to confirm that the CC&R states the information I am looking for.

1: Ownership of the Condo's does not provide for deeded parking, or does it. I am not sure or it does and thats in another form called the Codominium Plan I'm not sure.
2: Ownership of a condo is still subject to the same "Parking Regulations"

I hope I am getting warmer. Anything else that I need?

"Delegation of use: Any owner entitled to the right and easement of use and enjoyment of the association Property and the Common Area may delegate such owners’ rights provided in this Declaration to use and enjoyment of the association property and the common area to his or her other tenants, contact purchasers or subtenants who reside in such Owner's Condominium, subject to reasonable regulation by the board. an owner who has made such a delegation of rights shall not be entitled to use or enjoyment of the association property and the common aarea for so long as such delegation remains in effect, other than such access rights as are directly related to the owners’ rights and duties as landlord"

“Parking and Vehicular Restriction
Authorized Vehicles. The following vehicles are “Authorized Vehicles”: standard passenger vehicles, including automobiles, passenger van designed to accommodate ten or fewer people, motorcycles and pickup trucks having a manufacturer’s rating or payload capacity of one ton or less and vehicles which are the principal source of transportation for an owner, authorized vehicles may be parked in any portion of the project intended for parking of motorized vehicles subject to sections 7.8.3 and 7.8.4 below; however no owner may park an authorized Vehicle in a manner which the association determines either restrict the passage of pedestrians or vehicles over streets, driveway, sidewalks in the project or extends beyond the limits of the space where the authorized vehicle is parked. The association has the power to identify additional vehicles as authorized vehicles in the association rules to adapt this restriction to other types of vehicles”

“General Restrictions. Subject to the restriction on Prohibited Vehicles, all Vehicles owned or operated by or in the control of an Owner or a resident of an owner’s Condominium and kept in the Project must be parked within such Owner’s Exclusive Using Parking Space or in such Owner’s Exclusive Use Carport.”

“Parking Regulations. The board may establish additional regulations regarding parking areas not assigned to Condominiums, including designated “parking,” “guest parking” and “no parking” areas. The board may take all actions necessary to enforce all parking and vehicle use regulations for the Property, including removing violating vehicles from the project pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 22658.2 or other applicable laws. If the board fails to enforce any of the parking or Vehicle use regulation, the County may enforce such regulations”

“Ownership of Condominium. Ownership of each Condominium within the Project shall include I(a) a Residential Unit, (b) an undivided interest in the Common Area located within the residential Module in which the Residential Unit is situated, as shown on the Condominium Plan and the deed to the Condominium, (c) a membership in the Association, and (d) subject to the terms of the governing Documents, any exclusive or non-exclusive easement or easements appurtenant to such Condominium over the Common Area and/or Association Property as described in this Declaration, the Condominium Plan, and the deed to the Condominium.

“No Separate Conveyance. The interest of each Owner in the use and benefit of the Common Area and Association Property shall be appurtenant to the Condominium owned by the Owner. No Condominium shall be conveyed by the Owner separately from the interest in the Common Area or the Right to use the Association Property. Any conveyance of any Condominium shall automatically transfer the interest in the Common Area and the owner’s right to use the association property and common area as provided in this Declaration without the necessity of express reference in the instrument of conveyance”
 

Dave1952

Senior Member
Your post of 6/29 does have parking rules which suggest that the parking lots are common areas. Why do you think that you own a parking spot or two?
 

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