You can enforce parking rules without a tow contract by working up a ladder: record what you saw, give time to move, warn, cite, and escalate only for repeat or dangerous cases, writing down every step. Parken Lot keeps that record; it does not tow, and it does not collect fines.
Whether you may charge a fee, how you must give notice, and whether you may tow or immobilise a vehicle at all depend on your state and city and on your leases or governing documents. Check them before you enforce anything. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
The ladder
| Step | What it means | In Parken Lot |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Record | Write down the plate, the offence, the time and a photo. | Record a violation takes the plate and state, the offence, a note and photographs. |
| 2. Grace | Give the driver time to move. | Each offence has a grace period, fixed on the record when it is observed. |
| 3. Warn | Tell the driver that a rule was broken. | Warn records the warning, and emails the occupant when the plate is registered to one. |
| 4. Cite | Issue a numbered citation, with a fee if your rules set one. | Cite is refused until the grace period has run out, and until a warning has been given where the offence warns first. An occupant whose plate it is gets an email. |
| 5. Review | Hear the other side. | An occupant can dispute a citation from their own account; you Uphold, Reduce or Withdraw it. |
| 6. Escalate | For repeat or dangerous cases, whatever your documents and the law allow. | Outside the software. A patrol round shows how many times a plate has been in violation before. |
Not every offence should wait. Blocking access and Accessible space without a permit are starter offences with no grace period that can be cited at once. You can edit the starter offences or add your own, each with its own grace period, fee and warning rule.
Making it stick
- Enforce on a routine. Regular patrol rounds, recorded whether they find anything or not, show that the rules are applied to everyone.
- Keep evidence with the record. Photographs are stored with the violation, and nothing is deleted: a waived fee records what was charged and what was taken off.
- Let residents report. An occupant who finds a car in their space can report it from My parking, and the report reaches the property at once.
- Give the job to the right people. Enforcement staff can be given access to the enforcement pages without seeing the money. See Giving your team access.
What Parken Lot does not do
- It does not tow, call a tow operator or issue a towing notice.
- It does not collect citation fees. A citation is a record, not a charge: it is not added to the occupant's bill, and how you collect a fee is yours to arrange.
- It does not print tickets. A warning or citation left on a windscreen is something you write or print yourself.
The detail of each screen is in Recording a violation and issuing a citation.