Fort Lauderdale, FL Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Fort Lauderdale treats an abandoned car, truck or boat as a public nuisance under Chapter 18. Sec. 18-4(a) sets a 24-hour limit for any motor vehicle or vessel left on public property, while Sec. 18-4(b) gives private property owners a 10-day window before an unmoved vehicle counts as abandoned. Separately, Sec. 18-4(c) bans derelict vehicles and vessels outright on public or private land, with no grace period, except as the Unified Land Development Regulations otherwise allow. Sec. 18-3 defines derelict broadly as a vehicle in a state of evident disuse, neglect or abandonment, one that is wrecked or missing a motor, engine or transmission, has vegetation grown up as high as the body or frame, lacks inflated tires, or carries no current license tag.

Removal duties fall on the registered owner of the vehicle or the property owner or occupant under Sec. 18-4(d); only a vehicle stored inside an enclosed garage is exempt under Sec. 18-4(e). Enforcement follows a notice-and-abate process: Sec. 18-5 requires the city to post or hand-deliver a written notice giving 24 hours (public property) or 10 days (private property) to remove the vehicle, spell out the right to contest, and warn that a referral to the special magistrate under Chapter 11 or direct city removal may follow. Under Sec. 18-6, if the vehicle is not removed and the violation is not contested, the director may refer the matter for a hearing or authorize the city to tow the vehicle, and the assessed removal cost is levied against the vehicle's registered owner.

Because abandoned or derelict vehicles fall under Chapter 18, Nuisances, a violation carries the civil penalty set in Sec. 11-25's schedule: $250 for an uncontested citation and $325 if contested, with a mandatory special magistrate hearing.