New Jersey § 56:13-16

§ 56:13-16.

It shall be an unlawful practice for any private property towing company or for any

other towing company that provides non-consensual towing services: a. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2009, c. 39 ) b. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2009, c. 39 ) c. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2009, c. 39 ) d. To give any benefit or advantage, including a pecuniary benefit, to any person

for providing information about motor vehicles parked for unauthorized purposes on

privately owned property or otherwise in connection with private property towing of

motor vehicles parked without authorization or during a time at which such parking

is not permitted; e. To fail, when so requested by the owner or operator of a vehicle subject to non-consensual

towing, to release a vehicle to the owner or operator that has been, or is about to

be, hooked or lifted but has not actually been moved or removed from the property

when the vehicle owner or operator returns to the vehicle, unless the vehicle subject

to non-consensual towing has been authorized to be towed by a law enforcement officer

of this State, or any political subdivision of the State, while in the actual performance

of the officer's duties and as deemed appropriate for public safety, or to charge

the owner or operator requesting release of the vehicle an unreasonable or excessive

decoupling fee. Such a fee shall be presumptively unreasonable and excessive if it exceeds by more

than 25 percent, or a different percentage established by the director by regulation,

the usual and customary decoupling fee charged by the towing company for a vehicle

subject to consensual towing, or if it exceeds by more than 50 percent, or a different

percentage established by the director by regulation, the usual and customary decoupling

fee charged for vehicles subject to non-consensual towing by other private property

towing companies operating in the municipality in which the vehicle was subjected

to non-consensual towing; f. (1) To charge a fee for a private property or other non-consensual towing or related

storage service not listed on the schedule of services for which a fee may be charged

as established by the director except as may be permitted by the director by regulation;

or (2) To charge an unreasonable or excessive fee; g. To refuse to accept for payment in lieu of cash or an insurance company check for

towing or storage services a debit card, charge card or credit card if the operator

ordinarily accepts such card at his place of business, unless such refusal is authorized

in accordance with section 4 of P.L.2002, c. 67 ( C.56:13-4 ); or h. To monitor, patrol, or otherwise surveil a private property for the purposes of

identifying vehicles parked for unauthorized purposes and towing a motor vehicle parked

for an unauthorized purpose from such private property without having been specifically

requested to tow such vehicle by the owner of the property. i. Nothing contained in any provision of the “Predatory Towing Prevention Act,” P.L.2007, c. 193 ( C.56:13-7 et seq. ) shall be construed to prevent a towing company from charging a reasonable fee for

storage of a vehicle that has been subject to non-consensual towing authorized by

a law enforcement officer of this State or by any political subdivision of this State.

Nothing contained in any provision of the “Predatory Towing Prevention Act,” P.L.2007, c. 193 ( C.56:13-7 et seq. ) shall be construed to prevent a towing company from charging fees for non-consensual

towing or related storage services in accordance with a duly-authorized fee schedule

established by a municipality or other political subdivision of this State with respect

to a vehicle that has been subject to non-consensual towing authorized by a law enforcement

officer of this State or the political subdivision, and there shall be a rebuttable

presumption that fees charged in accordance with a fee schedule are not unreasonable

or excessive. A towing company shall only require that reasonable fees, charged in accordance with

a duly authorized fee schedule established by a municipality or other political subdivision

of this State for towing, authorized by a law enforcement officer of this State or

by a political subdivision of this State, or related storage services be paid by the

operator, owner, lessor, or lienholder of the vehicle prior to the towing company's

release of the vehicle. In the event the owner or operator of the vehicle defaults on payments to the lessor

or lienholder of the vehicle, the lessor or lienholder shall be responsible for these

reasonable towing and related storage fees. Notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.1964, c. 81 ( C.39:10A-1 et seq. ), or any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a towing company shall notify

the operator, owner, lessor, and lienholder of a vehicle that has been subject to

non-consensual towing, authorized by a law enforcement officer of this State or a

political subdivision of this State, and related storage services within 30 days of

the vehicle being towed and arriving at the towing company lot. If a towing company fails to notify the operator, owner, lessor, and lienholder

of the vehicle within 30 days, the towing company may charge a maximum storage fee

of $750, and the towing company shall be responsible for all additional towing or

related storage services. Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection to the contrary, the maximum liability

for storage fees for matters pending prior to the date of enactment of P.L.2023, c. 132, shall not exceed $5,000. Towing fees for matters pending prior to the date of enactment of P.L.2023, c. 132 shall not be subject to any fee limitation, provided that such fees remain reasonable

and are charged in accordance with a duly authorized fee schedule established by a

municipality or other political subdivision of this State. For the purposes of this subsection, non-consensual towing shall be considered to

be authorized by a law enforcement officer of this State or a political subdivision

if the law enforcement officer or an agent or employee of the political subdivision

initiates, directs, orders, or requests the non-consensual towing of the vehicle;

and a municipal fee schedule shall be considered duly authorized if it has been established

by municipal ordinance or resolution or by contract between the municipality and the

towing company which conforms to the requirements of the “Local Public Contracts Law,”

P.L.1971, c. 198 ( C.40A:11-1 et seq. ) and any related regulations.