Car Parks are still one of those high value assets in a building. And as public transport isn’t about to have a generational change or will our major cities be inundated with driverless cars in the near future car parking will continue to be a problem, especially parking on common property.

We all know this problem and we all know it’s staying but what can you do?

Like everything, preventing illegal park is the best option but if bollards and restricting access don’t help, you are probably at the point of considering towing the vehicle. But can you do it?

Yes, you can tow a car.

For this answer, we are referring to advise from Colin Myers Lawyers – read it all here. Below is the punchline:

An Owners Corporation can move a vehicle that blocks an exit or entrance or otherwise obstructing the use of common property. An Owners Corporation can only move the vehicle after it has placed a notice on the vehicle (which is at least A4 in size and weather-proof and contains the same content as the notice required for removing abandoned goods).

The Owners Corporation can move the vehicle to another area of the common property or to the nearest place that it may be lawfully moved. The Owners Corporation should take due care not to damage the vehicle. The Owners Corporation can apply to the Tribunal to recover the costs that would typically be involved in moving the vehicle.

Would I suggest it, no. Maybe if someone was blocking the entry or exit, but be extra careful. Instead, work on preventing people from parking on common property and getting into the building at all.

Best way to Preventing Parking on Common Property

As with all my recommendations, prevention is better than a fight. To stop towing vehicles your best solution is to stop them from coming into the building and parking in the car parks and on common property. These are three simple options to reduce illegal parking in your building:-

Bollards are great for blocking off car parks, and areas of common property – see our checklist and start using it today.

Anti-passback – This prevents people from bringing multiple cars into the basement. Simply you need to swipe in and out of the car park. No more swiping in two cars, without one leaving.

Licence plate recognition on roller doors – this removes the need for swipe cards and gives complete control and knowledge of who’s in your car park.