Parking Fines

Written by Shlomo Sharon | 20 November 2004

The Toronto Star − Condo Living Section
Condo Living sent the following question to Shlomo Sharon, President, Taft Forward Property Management Group

Question

Our management company recently hired a parking service company to ticket visitors' cars not registered over the phone. Our property manager insists fines go to the City of Toronto. Can the city collect fines from a private property?

Answer

Until recently, private companies, which were hired to enforce parking regulations by companies, condo corporations and private institutions had a choice. They could participate in the city's official ticketing program or issue their own tickets.

Many of the privately issued tickets looked like City of Toronto tickets, and people would often pay the fines thinking the tickets were official. Many condo corporations that opted for private parking enforcement had an arrangement of sharing the fine revenues. If the ticket was issued by the city, all of the money collected goes directly to the city.

In July 2004, Toronto council passed a bylaw making private parking tickets illegal. Only the city may issue parking tickets, including on private property. All tickets must have the official Toronto city logo on the upper left side of the ticket, and the fines go to the city.