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Apartment and HOA towing in Denver: the state's residential tow rules
Since August 10, 2022, Colorado has extra rules for tows from residential property, and a 2024 law added more. These rules come from the state, so they apply in Denver and across Colorado.
General information, not legal advice. The papers you got from the police, the tow company, the storage lot or a state agency control your dates. Agencies change phone numbers and steps, so check the agency's own page too.
1. Before the tow
Each tow needs signed permission from the property owner or its employee, on the PUC's form, within 24 hours before the tow. Standing or automated permission is not allowed, and the tow company may not patrol the lot looking for cars to tow.
In most cases the car must get a written windshield notice 24 hours before it is towed. The PUC lists the situations where no notice is needed: no permit where one is required, blocking a driveway or roadway, improper parking in an accessible (handicap) space, parking in a fire lane, or parking in someone else's assigned space without permission.
A private-property tow may not be made just because the registration has expired, unless police order it.
- Signs must be at least 2 square feet with 1-inch letters, in English and Spanish, at the entrance and inside the lot.
Sources: HB22-1314 (Colorado General Assembly); HB24-1051 (Colorado General Assembly); Residential Towing Information (Colorado PUC)
2. At the scene
If you reach the car before it leaves the property, the tow company must stop and release it. After a residential tow, no drop charge is allowed.
Before hooking up, the tow company must take at least four photos of the car and one of the reason for the tow, and give free copies on request. If it cannot produce them, the law presumes the damage was caused by the tow company or that the tow was not authorized.
Sources: C.R.S. 40-10.1-405 (C.R.S. 2024, title 40); DORA press release, August 10, 2022
3. Getting the car and your belongings back
After a residential tow you can get the car back by paying 15% of the total owed, at most $60, and signing the PUC's release form. The rest of the bill is still owed later.
Belongings can be picked up free after a residential tow if you ask within 30 days of the tow company's certified notice. Medicine, car seats, ID, phones and the cards or cash needed to pay must be handed over right away.
Sources: Residential Towing Information (Colorado PUC); Towing - Consumer Info (Colorado PUC); 4 CCR 723-6, Rule 6512 (Secretary of State PDF)
4. If the tow broke the rules
A tow company that breaks the towing law or PUC rules may not charge or keep any fees for that tow, and after a tow is found unlawful the car is to be returned within 48 hours. Breaking the towing law is also a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.
Sources: C.R.S. 40-10.1-405 to -409 (C.R.S. 2024, title 40); HB24-1051 (Colorado General Assembly)
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