Ontario Private Parking Enforcement Laws: Trespass, Municipal Tickets, and Towing

In Ontario, government-issued parking penalties on private lots come from municipal programs. The Municipal Act, 2001 lets cities ban parking on private land without the owner’s consent, deputize officers to enforce it, and provide for towing. Toronto’s penalty for parking on private property without consent is $75. A notice written by a private company outside those programs is a civil claim for breach of the lot’s posted terms. Since January 1, 2024, the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act, 2021 has required tow operators to hold a provincial certificate, and Toronto requires a penalty notice and a police tow card before any private property tow. Toronto also bans booting by private enforcement agencies and lot operators.

Summary

Ontario splits the work between the province and municipalities. The province certifies tow and storage operators and sets consumer rights for tows. Municipalities decide whether parking without consent on private land is a by-law offence, who can write tickets for it, and what has to happen before a car is towed or immobilized. That means the rules in Toronto, Oakville, and Waterloo are not the same, and the local by-law governs each lot.

Private parking notices and municipal tickets

The authority for municipal enforcement on private land is in the Municipal Act, 2001, as recited in local by-laws such as Oakville By-law 2024-187. Section 100 lets a municipality regulate or prohibit parking without the owner’s consent on land used as a parking lot, if a sign at each entrance clearly shows the rule. Section 100.1 covers other private land. Section 101 lets the municipality provide for removing and impounding, or restraining and immobilizing, vehicles parked in breach of those by-laws at the vehicle owner’s expense, and deems a car parked against posted conditions to be parked without consent. Toronto has parallel powers under the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

Cities then let private property owners bring in enforcement. In Waterloo, the Parking on Private Property By-law lets Council appoint private enforcement officers for specific locations; they issue penalty notices under the city’s administrative penalty by-law, but only City officers or police can impound. In Toronto, officers employed by private parking enforcement agencies are certified as municipal law enforcement officers and write penalty notices under Municipal Code Chapter 915. By-law 953-2023 raised that penalty from $30 to $75 effective December 1, 2023.

A notice from a private company that is not part of a municipal program is different. It is a demand for payment under the lot’s posted terms, the contract theory we explain in can private companies issue parking tickets. Toronto regulates these too. Under By-law 804-2015, passed after complaints about look-alike tags and inflated “fines,” a licensed commercial lot operator may issue a private invoice only if it:

• Clearly describes the alleged breach of the lot’s terms and matches the posted terms.
• Does not resemble a City of Toronto parking infraction notice in colour or design, and carries no City logo.
• States in bold, on the front and back, “This is not a City of Toronto Parking Infraction Notice” and “This is a private invoice issued by” the operator, with its licence number.
• Explains how to pay and how to dispute, and lists the operator’s name, licence number, lot address, hours, phone, and email.

The by-law also requires the operator to file a blank copy with Municipal Licensing and Standards before using it, and bars it from issuing parking infraction notices under the Provincial Offences Act or police tow cards.

What signs must say

For a municipal ban on parking without consent in a parking lot, section 100 requires a sign at each entrance clearly indicating the rule. Toronto’s 2015 rules for licensed commercial lots go further and call for:

• Identical signs at each public entrance and each pay station showing the rates, in letters at least 7.62 cm tall at entrances and 2.54 cm at pay stations.
• How to pay, the hours of business, and the operator’s name, licence number, phone, and email.
• Before any private invoice: “VEHICLES PARKED WITHOUT PAYMENT OF THE POSTED RATE MAY BE SUBJECT TO A DEMAND FOR PAYMENT” and the amount, at least 3.81 cm tall at entrances and 1.905 cm at pay stations.
• Photos of the signs filed with the City before they go up.

Toronto’s by-law also deems the operator not to consent to parking in an accessible space without a permit, a fire route, a posted no parking area, across two spaces, while blocking the lot, or without plates. Our guide to parking lot signage for enforcement covers placement and wording.

Towing from private property

The Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act, 2021 took over licensing of tow and storage operators on January 1, 2024. The province’s guide, Know your rights when getting a tow, says operators must hold a certificate and show the company name and certificate number on trucks, consent forms, and invoices. It says the vehicle owner’s consent is required unless police or an authorized official initiated the tow, and that without consent the operator cannot charge for towing. Oakville’s by-law cites section 20 of the Act for the same rule and states that towing without consent in Oakville must follow the by-law, the Act, or the Trespass to Property Act.

Toronto kept its own private property rules when the province took over licensing. By-law 970-2023, in force January 1, 2024, says no tow operator may tow a car from private property without the owner’s consent unless:

• A penalty notice has been issued and served (except for a car with no plates).
• A Toronto Police Service tow card has been issued by the officer who wrote the penalty notice, or by a police officer, cadet, or police-employed municipal law enforcement officer.
• Any waiting periods and other by-law preconditions have been met, and the required signs are posted.

The by-law requires the storage garage to post a sign with its fees and a 24-hour phone number, stating that it has no lien on the vehicle unless a police tow card was issued first, and to forward the tow card to the Toronto Police Service Parking Enforcement Unit on receipt.

Booting

The Municipal Act lets a municipality provide for restraining and immobilizing cars parked in breach of its private property by-law, so booting is a local question. Toronto answered it in 2015: By-law 804-2015 bars anyone acting for a private parking enforcement agency from restraining or immobilizing a vehicle in any manner, and bars commercial parking lot operators from doing it too, citing consumer protection and public safety. Outside Toronto, each municipality’s by-law governs. Our comparison of booting vs. towing covers the tradeoffs between the two.

Fees, caps, and driver remedies

According to the provincial guide, an operator must give its maximum rate schedule before towing, post its rates, and may not charge more than those maximums or add fuel surcharges. The guide says drivers are entitled to an itemized invoice, can pay by credit card, debit card, or cash, and can retrieve belongings from storage free during business hours. If a storage operator fails to notify the owner within 15 days, charges are generally limited to that period. Complaints go to the Ministry of Transportation.

In Toronto, private property tows of vehicles with a gross weight rating of 6,000 kg or less are capped at the Toronto Police Service contract rate for towing, release before towing, and storage. Municipal penalties are disputed through the city’s administrative penalty process. A private notice is disputed with the company that issued it, and if the company sues, the claim is heard in Small Claims Court, where the signs and the evidence are at issue.

Municipal bylaws to check

• Toronto Municipal Code Chapters 545 (licensing of agencies and commercial lots), 610 (penalties), and 915 (parking on private or municipal property). The 2015 by-law has been amended since, so the current text may differ.
• Each municipality’s private property parking by-law and how it appoints private enforcement officers, as Waterloo does.
• Any by-law on towing without consent, such as Oakville’s 2024-187.
• Rules on booting, which vary by municipality.

Questions to raise with your attorney

Ontario’s rules come mostly from municipal by-laws, so these are questions an operator may want to bring to a lawyer licensed in Ontario:

• Does our municipality run a private property parking enforcement program, and how would our officers be appointed or certified under it?
• In Toronto, do our private invoices meet each By-law 804-2015 requirement, including the “not a City of Toronto Parking Infraction Notice” statement and the blank copy filed with Municipal Licensing and Standards?
• Do our entrance and pay station signs meet Toronto’s letter heights and wording, and have photos been filed with the City?
• Does section 100 of the Municipal Act apply to our lot, and does our signage clearly show the rule at each entrance?
• Is our tow operator certified under the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act, 2021, and in Toronto, how are the By-law 970-2023 penalty notice and tow card steps handled?
• Does our municipality’s by-law address immobilization, and how does Toronto’s By-law 804-2015 ban affect our Toronto lots?

Lotably works with operators in Ontario. Its enforcement tools attach photo evidence and let drivers pay or contest online. Booting and towing records start switched off in Lotably and are turned on when the operator asks. Lotably does not check whether booting or towing is allowed where an operator enforces; the operator is responsible for following the law and assumes all risk of using them. Canadian accounts are billed in CAD at the same plan prices, and online signup is not open in Quebec yet. For other provinces and states, see private parking enforcement laws by state.