Winter Haven, FL Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Winter Haven Code of Ordinances Division 1, Sections 12-86 through 12-94, targets derelict and abandoned vehicles and vessels citywide, inside Polk County's Winter Haven city limits (not unincorporated Polk County, which runs its own vehicle-removal rules). Section 12-86 defines an abandoned, inoperative or derelict vehicle broadly: any vehicle or vessel in evident disuse, neglect or abandonment, wrecked or partially dismantled, missing a motor, engine, transmission or other major part, buried under vegetation as high as the frame, collecting refuse underneath, used solely for storage, missing inflated tires, or lacking a current valid license tag.

103, also applies. Section 12-88 covers private property: no owner, agent, tenant, occupant or lessee may allow an unlicensed, inoperative or derelict vehicle to remain unless it sits inside a completely enclosed building or on the grounds of a lawfully operating auto repair or storage business, and even there an inoperative vehicle cannot stay past 60 consecutive calendar days. Section 12-90 allows one covered, lawfully parked vehicle per property if the cover is a standard manufacturer-designed cover kept free of tears and holes. Enforcement officers designated by the city manager may enter private property in good faith to investigate under Section 12-89's trespass immunity, and Section 12-92 makes both the property owner and the vehicle owner jointly responsible for compliance.