La Habra, CA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- La Habra Municipal Code § 8.16.050
- Time trigger
- Inoperative, abandoned, wrecked or dismantled 3+ days
- Procedure adopted
- Cal. Vehicle Code § 22660 et seq.
- Owner notice
- 10 days' mailed notice before hearing
- DMV notice
- Within 5 days of removal
Summary
In the City of La Habra, Municipal Code Section 8.16.050(A)(5) declares it a public nuisance to leave an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle or its parts on private or public property, other than a highway, for more than three days. The city follows California Vehicle Code Section 22660 procedures, including ten days' mailed notice to the registered owner, before towing and disposing of the vehicle.
§ 8.16.050. Vehicles. ... A. The following conditions shall constitute a public nuisance: ... ... 5. Vehicles or parts thereof which are in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative condition upon any private property or public property not including highways within the city for a period in excess of three days. B. The following procedures are adopted from California Vehicle Code Section 22660 et seq. and are established as the procedures for the abatement and removal as public nuisances of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof from private or public property, not including highways, and for the recovery of costs of such abatement and removal.
Full Breakdown
Section 8.16.050(A) treats several vehicle conditions as public nuisances, most notably subsection 5: a vehicle or its parts left abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative on private or public property, aside from highways, for more than three days. Subsection B adopts the abatement and removal procedure from California Vehicle Code Section 22660 et seq., which takes precedence over the general Chapter 8.16 process wherever the two conflict. Under that procedure, the city must mail at least ten days' notice to the vehicle's last registered and legal owner unless ownership cannot be determined, and must serve the notice of determination on both the property owner and the vehicle's owner.
A property owner can appear at a hearing to deny responsibility for a vehicle placed on the land without consent, and if the hearing officer agrees, the city cannot bill that owner for removal costs. City-authorized staff can enter private property to inspect a suspected nuisance vehicle and remove it, obtaining a warrant when the law requires one. The rule exempts a vehicle completely enclosed in a building where it cannot be seen from the street, or one lawfully stored at a licensed dismantler, dealer or junkyard, so long as that storage does not itself create a nuisance.
Within five days of removing a vehicle, the city must notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of the removal and forward any registration documents, plates or title recovered.
Violations & Fines
The city can tow and dispose of a nuisance vehicle at a scrap yard, dismantler's yard or other authorized site once the Vehicle Code Section 22660 notice and hearing steps are complete, and can bill the removal cost to the registered owner or, absent the landowner's consent to the vehicle's presence, forgo assessing that cost against the property itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can an inoperative car sit on my property before it's a nuisance?
Do I get notice before La Habra tows my vehicle?
What if someone dumped a car on my land without my permission?
Are vehicles stored at a junkyard or dealer exempt?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in La Habra
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