Last year, Connecticut lawmakers reformed the state’s towing law to make it fairer for low-income residents unable to pay the fees to retrieve their vehicles. Some residents occasionally watched their cars get sold after being towed for violating one of their landlord’s parking rules. The new law, effective since October, mandates that tow truck companies notify owners before towing vehicles for minor violations, such as not displaying an apartment complex’s parking permit or parking in the incorrect spot. They must now also be available outside regular hours so people can retrieve their vehicles. They must accept credit cards and give change for cash payments. But when Elias Natal arrived for work one evening in December, he found his Buick had been towed from his home at Sunset Ridge Apartments in New Haven. The towing company appeared to disregard the updated regulations. Although the law mandates that apartment complexes display towing warning signs, interviews with tenants and inspections at Sunset Ridge revealed no such signage at the property, which houses numerous residents receiving state or federal rental assistance. Lombard Motors, the towing company, informed Natal that his car was towed due to lacking a parking permit, despite his photos proving the sticker was visible on the windshield as directed by the apartment manager. When Natal and his partner, Jasmin Flores, located the vehicle and arrived to retrieve it, Lombard was closed with no one available, leading to extra storage fees. They gathered the funds to pay just four days later, and the tow incurred no high mileage costs since Lombard’s lot was only a few blocks away. Lombard’s fees added up to almost $500. The company required payment in cash, which the couple provided.
