How do we remove an abandoned or inoperable car from HOA common area?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 30, 2026

How an HOA board removes an abandoned car from common area: finding the owner, police and towing routes, notice rules in TX, FL and CO, and a timeline.

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The short answer

A car that nobody claims can usually come off association pavement, but rarely on the day someone notices it. The order is the same almost everywhere. Photograph it and start a file, ask the police to check whether it is stolen, try to find the owner inside the community, put a written notice on the windshield, and then have it towed under your state's private-property rules or ask the police to take it as an abandoned vehicle. Where the car sits decides which of those tools you have. On a street or lot the association owns, the board can act. On a public street dedicated to the city or county, the board has no towing authority at all, so report it to the city and stop there. In an owner's own driveway, it is a covenant violation handled through the normal notice and hearing process, not a tow; our guide on whether an HOA can make you remove an inoperable or unregistered vehicle covers that side. Rules vary by state, by city and by your governing documents. This is general education, not legal advice.

Day one: build the file and look for the owner

Before anyone calls a tow truck, create a record you could hand to a judge. Take date-stamped photos from all four sides. Write down the make, model, color, plate number, plate state and the month on the registration sticker. Most cars show the VIN through the lower corner of the windshield, so photograph that too, from outside. Do not open the car, move it or pull off the plates. Note anything that shows it has not moved: flat tires, leaves piled against the wheels, a sun-faded cover, a dead battery light. Mark the exact space on your site map. Then look for the owner the easy way. Check the parking permit list and any guest pass log. Ask the manager about recent move-outs, rentals that turned over and owners who died or went into care, since an estate car sitting in a guest space is common and calls for a phone call to the family, not a tow. Send one short notice to residents with a photo of the car. Most abandoned cars in HOAs turn out to belong to someone's former tenant, a guest who left, or a teenager's project, and one email finds them.

Why the board cannot just run the plate

Boards often assume a friendly officer or an online search will give them the registered owner's name and address. It will not. The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. section 2721, bars state motor vehicle agencies from releasing personal information from vehicle records except for listed uses, and an HOA trying to reach a car's owner is not one of them. One listed use is sending notice to the owners of towed or impounded vehicles, which Texas repeats in Transportation Code section 730.007(a)(2)(G). That is the practical reason the tow company or the police, not the board, ends up finding the owner. What the board can do is call the police non-emergency line, give the plate and VIN, and ask whether the car is reported stolen. If it is, the police take over and the association's part ends there. Ask for the call or report number and put it in the file.

Texas: police custody or a notice tow

Texas gives the board two paths. The first runs through the police. Transportation Code section 683.002(a)(3) treats a motor vehicle as abandoned once it has stayed on private property for more than 48 hours without the consent of the owner or person in charge of the property, and section 683.011 lets a law enforcement agency take an abandoned vehicle into custody from public or private property. The agency then has 10 days to send the owner and lienholders a certified letter, and the owner has 20 days from that notice to claim it (section 683.012). Some departments handle private-property calls quickly and some put them at the bottom of the list, so ask the non-emergency line how theirs works. The second path is the private towing statute. Occupations Code section 2308.252 lets a parking facility owner, which includes an association, tow an unauthorized car if compliant tow signs are posted, or by attaching a windshield notice and then mailing a certified letter to the registered owner warning that the car will be towed if it is not moved before the 15th day after the postmark. Because the board usually cannot get the owner's address, the signed-lot route is the one most associations actually use. It only works if your rules make the car unauthorized, for example a 72-hour limit in guest spaces or a rule that every car must be operable and currently registered. Our guide on how to write an HOA parking enforcement and towing policy covers the Texas sign specifications.

Florida and Colorado

In Florida, section 715.07 lets the owner of private property have an unauthorized vehicle towed, without the signs, only when notice is personally given to the vehicle's owner, so for an abandoned car with no known owner the tow-away signs at each entrance have to be up first. The tow company must notify the police or sheriff within 30 minutes of the tow and store the car within 10 miles of the property in a county of 500,000 or more people, or within 15 miles in a smaller county. After that the tow company, not the association, sends a certified notice to the registered owner within 5 business days (section 713.78(4)(c)) and can sell the car after 35 days if it is an older model, or 57 days if it is a newer one (section 713.78(6)). In Colorado, section 42-4-2102(1)(a) defines an abandoned motor vehicle as one left unattended on private property for 24 hours or more without the property owner's consent, or for a different period if your city or county sets one by ordinance. Under section 42-4-2103(1)(b), the property owner or an agent authorized in writing may have it towed and impounded. The tow company must report the tow to law enforcement within 30 minutes, the agency checks whether the car is stolen, and the operator must notify the owner and any lienholder by certified mail within 10 days. Colorado's separate towing rules in section 40-10.1-405, including signed permission for each individual tow and a windshield notice at least 24 hours ahead in most cases, still apply.

Wording the board can copy

A resident notice: 'A gray Ford Focus, Texas plate ending 4K7, has been parked in guest space G-3 since about March 2. If it belongs to you or a guest, please contact the manager by March 9. After that date the association will treat it as abandoned and have it removed under the parking policy.' A windshield notice: 'NOTICE: This vehicle has been parked in guest space G-3 without authorization since March 2, in violation of the association's parking rules. If it is not moved by 5:00 p.m. on March 12, it will be towed at the owner's expense. For questions, call [24-hour number].' A motion: 'I move that the board authorize the treasurer to sign the towing authorization for the gray Ford Focus in space G-3 if it has not been claimed by March 12, and to place the photos, the police report number and the tow record in the association's files.' In Colorado, that last clause should name the person as the association's agent authorized in writing.

A sample timeline

Day 0: a resident reports the car. Day 1: photos, plate and VIN recorded, police asked to check for a stolen report, permit and guest lists checked. Day 2: resident notice sent. Day 7: if no one has come forward, the windshield notice goes on, with a date at least as far out as your state and your policy require; photograph it in place. Day 12 or later: the board or its authorized officer signs the tow request. In Texas, if the board chose the certified-letter route instead of signs, the earliest tow date is the 15th day after the postmark. Within a day after the tow, the association gets the tow company's record and photos and files them. Keep the whole file for at least as long as your records policy keeps violation files, because owners sometimes resurface months later asking where their car went.

Mistakes that cost associations money

Towing from a street the city owns. Calling the tow truck the same afternoon, before any notice or police check. Towing a car that turns out to belong to an owner's deployed spouse or a resident in the hospital, which a single email to the community would have caught. Letting a director push the car into a corner or remove the plates, which invites a damage claim against the association. Leaving a leaking car in place for months; if it is dripping fuel or oil, call the fire department or the city about the spill that day rather than waiting for the notice period. Towing without the signs your state requires, which can void the tow and get the fees refunded to the car owner. And skipping the paperwork. If the owner shows up angry, the dated photos, the police report number, the notices and the signed tow authorization are the association's entire answer.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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