Car Booting in Florida: An Examination of the Law

What is Car Booting?

Car booting refers to the immobilization of vehicles by attaching a wheel clamp, also known as a "boot", to the vehicle’s wheel. Car booting has primarily been employed as a means of parking enforcement, particularly in areas where parking restrictions are strictly enforced, such as commercial zones and residential communities. The goal is to deter drivers from violating parking regulations, such as parking without a permit or exceeding the time limit.
In a broader legal context, car booting can be viewed as a mechanism to promote compliance with laws and regulations by removing the immediate benefits for non-compliance. In Florida, local governments are permitted to use car booting as a tool for enforcing any type of ordinance or state statute. However, Florida Statutes Section 715.07(3) expressly authorizes car booting of vehicles left unattended in violation of any of the local ordinances relating to unoccupied vehicles .
A booting of a vehicle is intended to serve the same function as towing the vehicle – i.e., to remove the vehicle from the property. The difference is that a booting is generally considered to be less cumbersome than a tow because the damaged issues involved in a car towing requiring the presence of a tow truck are not present during a car booting. Specifically, a vehicle does not have to be physically lifted to be booted, making it an easier option in many cases.
In brief, a car booting is generally viewed as a less invasive means of enforcing an ordinance. However, in addition to carrying out this practical function, Florida Statutes Section 715.07 permits a vehicle owner to challenge the validity or reasonableness of the imposition of boot on the owner’s vehicle and any fines associated therewith.

Vehicle Booting in Florida

Florida Statutes Section 715.07 outlines the legal requirements for vehicle immobilization, and other Florida statutes may apply (if the booting occurs on a highway, if a towing company is used, etc.). It does not, however, cover any association policies or any municipal ordinances.
For example, Miami Beach Ordinance 78-313 provides that:

(6) Payment of Fees and Towing Restrictions.

(a) No person shall attach, affix, or otherwise place a boot or other similar device upon a motor vehicle to prevent its movement or a set of two (2) or more boots or similar devices to prevent the movement of more than one (1) motor vehicle at one (1) time without first obtaining a permit….

(8) Registration and Penalty Fees. A parking- or property owner placing a lock on a vehicle in accordance with the provisions of this section shall register with the City, for administrative purposes only, the location and telephone number of every vehicle immobilized. A parking- or property owner who violates the provisions of this subsection shall be subject to a fine of $50.00 for each violation.

Miami-Dade County Code Section 30-13(f) provides:
It shall be a violation to boot a vehicle without providing the property owner’s name, address and contact telephone number in writing to the owner of the vehicle that was booted; provided, however, that notice shall not be required for vehicles booted by County police officers and for vehicles booted in a facility that has more than 400 spaces. The owner shall pay a notice fee of $250.00 to the nearest applicable fire-rescue service jurisdiction.
Section 30-13(f) further provides:
It shall be a violation to remove a wheel immobilizer from a vehicle and/or drive a vehicle with a wheel immobilizer in place before the payment by a vehicle owner of all authorized fees and fines. The removing of a wheel immobilizer or driving a vehicle with a wheel immobilizer in place shall be punishable by a fine of $1000.00.
Miami Dade County Code Section 30-13(i) provides:
No person shall, for compensation, be in the business of booting, other than a County police officer. Any person who violates this provision shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.00.

Role of Vehicle Owners

Upon having a vehicle booted in Florida, a vehicle owner has specific rights and the ability to remedy a wrongfully or improperly placed boot. The Miami-Dade County Code and Chapters 715, 316, and 325 of the Florida Statutes dictate the steps vehicles owners should take to address a booted vehicle:
"(1) Right of vehicle owner or lessee to remove boot.
(a) It shall be the right of a vehicle owner or lessee to have a boot placed on his or her properly-parked vehicle removed at any time by:

(2) Removal of boot by parking enforcement representative upon verification of payment of fine.

If the booted vehicle owner pays the fine due under this ordinance, and there is no indication that the vehicle owner intends to contest the fine, the parking control representative shall immediately remove the boot.

(3) Contesting Boot.

In the event that the vehicle owner contests the placement of the boot within fifteen (15) days from the date of the contested booting, the restrictions provided herein shall remain in effect until either the hearing officer upholds the penalty and a fine is paid by the vehicle owner, or the hearing officer dismisses the fine. Upon such dismissal, the director shall immediately pay the towing service any fees owed to the service for the storage of the vehicle during the time the vehicle owner waited for a hearing date. Further, upon such dismissal, the director shall issue an order requiring the immediate removal of the boot by the agent of the finance director who shall be present, with a crew on call, to remove the boot at the behest of the hearing officer."

Penalties for Improper Booting

Factory-mandated fees for the release of the vehicle for all booting occurrences and incidents of trespass will be split between the City and the Contractor. That is, the City will receive 10% of the total fees collected by the Contractor. Such fees will be imposed at the following base rate schedule:
1st Offense Booting – up to 6 hours – $200.00
1st Offense Booting – (Plus up to 4 hours storage) – $275.00
2nd Offense Booting – up to 6 hours – $260.00
2nd Offense Booting – (Plus up to 4 hours storage) – $350.00
Subsequent Offense Booting – up to 6 hours – $500.00
Subsequent Offense Booting – (Plus up to 4 hours storage) – $575.00
Any cost for trespass enforcement shall also be evenly split between the City and the Contractor and shall be as follows:
Trespass Enforcement Notice on 1st Offense – $50.00
Trespass Enforcement Notice on 2nd Offense – $75.00
Trespass Enforcement Notice on Subsequent Offenses – $100.00
Trespass Enforcement Non-Authorized Emailed Notice – $25.00
Trespass Enforcement 48-hour (or less) Certified Letter – $50.00
Trespass Enforcement Certified Letter Only – $50.00
Trespass Enforcement 48-hour (or less) 1st Class Letter – $50.00
Trespass Enforcement 48-hour (or less) 2nd Class Letter – $50.00
Trespass Enforcement 48-hour (or less) 3rd Class Letter – $50.00
Trespass Enforcement 48-hour (or less) No Notice – $50.00
Trespass Enforcement Vehicle Removal – $125.00
Trespass Enforcement Vehicle Abandonment – $75.00
Trespass Enforcement Specific Revocation – $125.00
Trespass Enforcement Vehicle Removal and Specific Revocation – $200.00
Trespass Enforcement Non-Scheduled Use of the Impound Lot – $50.00
Trespass Enforcement Scheduled Use of the Impound Lot – $25.00
Occupancy Fees charged to a Parking Space i.e., Non-Scheduled Boots – $150.00
Occupancy Fees charged to a Parking Space i.e., Scheduled Boots, per occurrence (24 hour period) – $75.00
All costs associated with trespass violations, enforcement, parking space occupancy, etc., shall be evenly split between the City and the Contractor. Costs may be subject to change without notice to the City if changes to fee schedules are made by the City or via State Statutes.

Disputes and Contests

If a vehicle owner believes they have been wrongfully booted, the owner can submit a written dispute to the parking facility owner or property owner alleging the improper booting. Per statute, the "allegation must include facts sufficient to establish that the minimum requirements were not met and state the grounds for the dispute." Section 715.07(2)(c)1., Florida Statutes. We’ve seen servicers try to circumvent this procedure by ordering the boot removal without any investigation into the dispute. This has set off a storm of claims for return of funds, tort claims, and complaints to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Consumer Services. On receiving the written dispute, the Florida parking facility owner or property owner must provide the written disputes to "all interested parties" within 15 days of receipt of the dispute. Section 715.07(2)(c)2., Florida Statutes. All interested parties are required to respond within "10 days" of receiving the disputes. There is no indication what is to occur, if any, after day 25…except we can assume that some property owners will do nothing until they are sued. The disputed disputes may then be submitted by the parking facility or property owner to the Florida Department of Agriculture along with the required fee for a hearing. Section 715.07(2)(c)5., Florida Statutes. The Department of Agriculture officials will make every reasonable effort to complete the hearing within 90 days of the request. We did not find any case law or administrative rulings concerning the appeals process related to vehicle disputes. We did find one arbitration decision. Harrell v. udigroup, Inc . , 2006 FLALB 1596 (Fla. DBAH 2006) This case stemmed from a dispute arising from a parking boot removal where faults were claimed in the booting process and the vehicle owner and the booting company were both alleged to be at fault. The owner disputed the charges and paid for the boot removal under protest. After the Company refused to return the booting charge, the vehicle owner filed a claim in the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). The Company did not respond to the claim, and the vehicle owner’s claim was found to have merit. In the course of the arbitration, both parties were found to be at fault. Based on the evidence presented, the arbitrator, Jennifer K. Hazelton of the DBPR Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile Homes, held that the parking facility owner had made "every reasonable effort to present and explain [its] position and respond to the dispute," so the owner was not only entitled to retain the booting fees and enforcement costs paid, but was also entitled to "present and pursue its claim by way of the arbitration process." Mr. Harrell was ordered to pay: (1) the penalty of $200.00; (2) enforcement costs ($51.25); (3) the unreasonable garage charge ($150); (4) collection agency fees ($75); (5) attorney fees incurred ($250); and (6) hearing fees incurred ($75). The DBPR hearing officer found Mr. Harrell entitled to damages in the amount of $751.25 due to udigroup, Inc. for (1) the penalty and enforcement costs ($51.25); and (2) the unreimbursed cost of the booting charge arising from his assertion that udigroup, Inc. was liable for damages of $200.00 due to improper booting and/or removal of the boot.

Avoiding Illegal Booting

The laws in Florida controlling the use of restraints to immobilize vehicles are found in the Florida Statutes, Chapter 715, Subchapter II. This Chapter is dubbed The Florida Parking Lot Law, and its purpose is to regulate how vehicles can be booted, who can do it, charging no more than the legislature permits for the service, and to provide some liability protection to the guy doing the booting if he limits his liability by removing the wheel pad in a timely manner upon the payment of the charge. There are two kinds of wheel pads, used to immobilize a vehicle: the booted wheel, and the wheel lock.
The following practices are not authorized by Florida law and may be considered illegal booting practices: Consumers can protect themselves from illegal booting practices by being informed of the regulations contained in Section 715.07, Florida Statutes. First, it is illegal to boot a vehicle if it is not parked on a lot where the owner has posted warnings that a wheel lock or a wheel boot may be used to restrict access to the vehicle.
Second, the parking lot owner is required to enter into an agreement with the company that is going to act as the authorized agent of the owner so that the owner agrees to comply with the signage, the company agrees to return the wheel pad upon payment of the charge specified in the signage, and victims of the device proceed immediately to the designated area to pay the charge. The signage must indicate that the victim will pay the charge before proceeding to seek redress at the owner’s place of business.
Third, the fee for immobilizing the vehicle cannot exceed $75, and the sign must indicate what the fee is. As booting is a "nuisance abatement" under the statute, the owner is entitled to the first $25 of the revenue derived from the booting during any month, and the remaining $50 must be divided equally between the owner and the operator of the lot.
Fourth, the operator of the facility must remove the device within one hour after the operator receives full payment of the charge. If the officer is not at the parking lot to remove the device, then the owner can specify in the signage two local telephone numbers besides the number for the management office or other agent of the owner who shall also respond to remove the device. Failure to remove the device within one hour is considered the commission of a second degree misdemeanor.
Finally, the person acting on behalf of the owner is entitled to the administrative fee of $5 for the issuance of a citation, plus any other costs incurred in pursuing collection of the administrative fine.

Conclusion and Wrap-Up

In conclusion, a recap of the above is necessary for a reader without any previous knowledge of the lawful procedure for car booting in Florida. The law authorizes a business owner to have their customers’ vehicles removed from their property and placed in an impound lot. However, the business owner must first attempt to contact the owner of the vehicle and inform them of the trespass onto the property. Failing to do so will leave the business owner subject to civil and criminal liabilities.
It should be noted that booting is expressly legal within the state of Florida . As such, in the event that a property owner fears liability based on the fear of being sued, insurance should be obtained prior to booting any vehicles that trespass onto the property.
Finally, individuals should bear in mind that they have rights and remedies in cases where they are wrongfully booted. Section 715.07 of the Florida Statutes enables an aggrieved individual to recover factual damages, property damages, and attorney’s fees in the event that their vehicle is wrongfully booted. However, note that an aggrieved individual must bring a civil action within one year after the alleged wrongful act, or the statute of limitations will bar any action.