How do we write an HOA parking enforcement and towing policy?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 2, 2026

How an HOA board writes a parking enforcement and towing policy: warning steps, tow signs, notice rules and the tow contract, with TX, FL and CO law.

Part of the HOA board handbook: running the board.

What the policy has to do

A parking policy tells every household the same four things: where the association's parking rules apply, what each kind of violation gets (a warning, a fine or a tow), who is allowed to call a tow truck, and what signs and notices go up before any car is towed. Towing from private property is regulated by state towing law, and a tow that skips a required sign or notice can be undone in court with the fees refunded. So write the policy in two layers. The first layer is your community's rules, which have to rest on authority in the declaration. The second layer is the state towing statute, which you copy into the policy rather than paraphrase. Rules vary by state, by city and by the community's governing documents, and this is general education, not legal advice. Have the association's attorney read the final draft.

Start with the map, not the rules

First find out which pavement the association controls. Pull the recorded plat and the declaration and mark every street as private (owned by the association) or public (dedicated to the city or county). On a public street the board generally has no towing authority at all; that belongs to the city and the police. Walk the property with a site plan and mark fire lanes, guest spaces, assigned spaces, the pool lot and any spot where cars routinely block a driveway. The map becomes an exhibit to the policy. Next, check what state law puts off limits. Florida section 720.3075(3)(d) bars HOA documents from prohibiting an owner, tenant, guest or invitee from parking a personal vehicle, pickup trucks included, in the owner's driveway or anywhere else they have a right to park, and it protects a work vehicle that is not a commercial motor vehicle in the driveway. Colorado section 38-33.3-106.5(1)(d) protects a resident's emergency vehicle that their job requires them to keep at home, if the statute's conditions are met. Our guide on whether an HOA can tow your car shows how owners will read your policy.

Texas, Florida and Colorado tow rules to build in

Texas. Occupations Code chapter 2308 treats a parking area serving property governed by a property owners' association as a parking facility (section 2308.002(7)). Under section 2308.252, the association can have an unauthorized vehicle towed if compliant signs have been up for the preceding 24 hours, if the driver got actual notice, or if a windshield notice is followed by a certified letter warning that the car will be towed if it is not moved before the 15th day after the postmark. The signs must face drivers at each entrance, sit with the bottom edge 5 to 8 feet off the ground, measure at least 18 by 24 inches, and carry a red tow-truck symbol at least 4 inches tall, the words 'Towing Enforced' in 2-inch white letters on red, who may park, the days and hours of enforcement, and a phone number answered 24 hours a day (sections 2308.301 and 2308.302). A towed owner can ask a justice court for a hearing before the 14th day after the tow, not counting weekends and holidays (section 2308.456), so keep proof. Florida. Section 715.07 requires a sign at each driveway or curb cut within 10 feet of the road, 'tow-away zone' in letters at least 4 inches high, a statement in 2-inch reflective letters that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner's expense, and the towing company's name and phone number. The sign must be permanently installed with the 'tow-away zone' words 3 to 6 feet off the ground, and it has to be up at least 24 hours before any tow. Your city or county may also require a sign permit. Colorado. Section 40-10.1-405, added by HB22-1314 and tightened by HB24-1051 effective August 7, 2024, is the strictest of the three. For most tows, the towing company needs documented permission for that one tow, signed on the Public Utilities Commission's form within the 24 hours before it, by the association, its employee or an employee of its management company. Standing or automated approval does not count, and the tow company may not patrol the property looking for violations. Signs must be at least two square feet, in English and Spanish, posted both at the entrance facing the street and inside facing the spaces, 3 to 10 feet up, and must state the restriction, its hours ('Authorized Parking Only' if it runs around the clock) and the tow company's name and phone number. Most tows from a parking space or common parking area also need a written windshield notice at least 24 hours ahead that says what the violation is and when the car will be towed. That notice is not needed for a car blocking a driveway or roadway, in a marked fire zone, in an accessible space without a valid placard, in a resident's assigned space, in a lot marked for residents and invited guests only, or after two earlier notices for the same violation.

Write an escalation ladder owners can predict

Split violations into two lists. The tow-now list is for cars that create a hazard or take something that belongs to someone else: a fire lane, a car blocking a driveway or a street, an accessible space without a placard, and another resident's assigned space. The warn-first list is everything else: an expired guest pass, a car stored in a guest space for a week, a vehicle with flat tires or no plates, a boat trailer on the street. For the warn-first list, a workable ladder is a written windshield warning, then a second warning or fine notice, then a tow. Any fine has to go through the association's normal violation process, with the notice and hearing rights your state requires, so do not let the parking policy invent a separate fine track. Put numbers in the policy: how many hours a guest can park before needing a pass, how many nights a month a pass covers, how long a vehicle can sit before it counts as stored. Vague terms such as 'excessive' or 'unsightly' are the ones owners challenge.

The towing company contract

Sign one written agreement with one licensed, insured towing company, with the policy and map attached. In Texas, section 2308.255 requires either a request for the specific tow or a standing written agreement, and the company must be insured. The contract should name the directors or the manager who can authorize a tow, and it should say that the tow company cannot tow on its own judgment. In Colorado a patrol-and-tow contract is not an option at all, because the company may not patrol and each tow needs its own signed permission. Colorado already makes the carrier take at least four photos of the car, one from each side, plus one showing why it was towed, before hooking it up, and keep the signed permission form for three years; keep your own copy of every form too. Everywhere else, write that duty into the contract: require the company to photograph each car before hooking it, send the photos and the tow record to the association within one business day, and keep its rates within any state or city cap. Do not accept payments or rebates from the towing company. Florida section 715.07 makes paying or accepting money for the privilege of towing from a location unlawful.

Wording the board can use

A motion: 'I move that the board adopt the Parking and Towing Policy dated April 1, including the parking map as Exhibit A; direct the manager to install signs that meet state law by April 15; issue warnings only until May 31 and begin towing under the policy on June 1; and approve the towing agreement with the named company, with tow authority limited to the president, the vice president and the manager.' A windshield warning: 'This vehicle is parked in violation of the association's parking policy: stored in guest space G-4 since June 2. If it is not moved by 6:00 p.m. on June 5, it will be towed at the owner's expense. Repeating this violation may lead to towing without further notice. Questions: call the association manager at [phone].' A guest rule: 'A guest vehicle may park up to 72 hours at a time without a pass and up to 10 nights a month with a pass from the manager.'

A rollout timeline

Week 1: the board reviews the draft and the map at an open meeting and sends it to the attorney. Weeks 2 to 4: publish the draft to owners for comment, following whatever rule-adoption steps your declaration and state law require; our guide on how to adopt a new HOA rule and notify owners walks through that process. Week 5: adopt the final policy and sign the towing agreement. Weeks 6 to 7: install signs, photograph each one with a date stamp, and send the policy and map to every owner and landlord. Weeks 8 to 11: warnings only, no tows, for warn-first violations. Week 12: start full enforcement. From then on, keep a tow log with the date, time, space, reason, who authorized it and a link to the photos, and review it at each board meeting.

Mistakes that turn parking into a lawsuit

The most common one is towing from a street the association does not own. Close behind it: signs that are too small, placed inside the lot instead of at the entrance, or missing the phone number, which can void every tow made under them. Boards also let one director call tows at 11 p.m. with no written reason, which is how selective-enforcement complaints start. Others enforce hard against renters and never against a director's second truck. Some adopt a policy that bans pickups in driveways in Florida, which state law now forbids. If a Texas owner asks for a tow hearing, or a Colorado owner claims no notice was given, the association's photos, sign pictures and tow log are its whole defense. Review the policy each year, and check the towing statute after each legislative session. Colorado has changed its towing law twice since 2022, and nobody mails the board a notice when that happens.

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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