Margate, FL Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)
Key Facts
- Overnight window
- 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. of the following morning
- Covered vehicles
- Buses, truck tractors and utility trailers
- Where it applies
- Commercial zones and commercial portions of PUD zones
- Locations covered
- Public rights-of-way and private property
- Owner liability
- Landowner deemed in violation under Section 26-2(a)(3)
- Maximum penalty
- $500 fine and up to 60 days (Section 1-8)
Summary
In the City of Margate, Florida, overnight parking means leaving a vehicle at any time between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Section 26-2(a) makes it unlawful to park a bus, truck tractor or utility trailer in that window anywhere in a commercial zone, on public rights-of-way and private property alike. The landowner is liable too.
Overnight parking shall mean leaving the vehicle parked at any time between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following morning. ... (2)It shall be unlawful to park any bus, truck tractor or utility trailer overnight, in any area, including the public rights-of-way and private property, in any commercial zone of the city or commercial portion of a PUD zone, except as provided in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(4).(3)Any property owner shall be deemed in violation of subsection (a) if a vehicle as above provided has been parked or is standing on the property owned by him/her overnight.
Full Breakdown
The definition sits in Section 26-1 of the Margate Code: overnight parking means leaving the vehicle parked at any time between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following morning. A vehicle does not need to sit for the whole nine hours. Section 26-2(a)(2) then makes it unlawful to park any bus, truck tractor or utility trailer overnight in any area of a commercial zone, including the public rights-of-way and private property. Section 26-1 defines a commercial zone as property zoned B-1, B-2, B-3, B-2A, TOC-CC, TOC-G or TOC-C, and it excludes any TOC parcel developed 100 per cent residential.
A bus is a rubber-tired vehicle built for ten or more passengers. A truck tractor is a vehicle designed for or equipped with a fifth wheel hitch for drawing semitrailers, and pickup trucks with a fifth-wheel hitch are excluded. A utility trailer is an enclosed vehicular structure without its own motive power used to move goods or materials. Two exceptions soften the ban. Subsection (a)(1) allows a commercial vehicle that is an accessory use to a bona fide commercial use presently existing on the same site, and customer parking counts as that accessory use.
Subsection (a)(4) exempts vehicles in garages, service stations, repair shops, motel parking lots, and storage and parking areas of public utility facilities when the vehicles are being repaired, sold, rented or otherwise used for those businesses. Section 26-2(d) separately exempts emergency vehicles, utility service vehicles, vehicles serving a person or structure while the service is actually being performed, and any commercial vehicle in a wholly enclosed garage with no part visible or protruding. Subsection (a)(3) puts the landowner on the hook: the property owner is deemed in violation if a covered vehicle has been parked or is standing on the property overnight.
Section 26-2(e) also reaches the titled owner of the vehicle, the owner of the land according to the latest Broward County ad valorem tax record, and any tenant or person in possession and control of the rental property where the vehicle is found.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Chapter 26 is an offense under Section 1-8(a) of the Margate Code: on conviction, a fine not to exceed $500.00 and a jail term of up to 60 days. Each act is a separate violation and each day a condition continues counts as another. Section 1-8(b) also authorizes citations under Chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes, contested before the city's special magistrate, and every citation carries a $5.00 technology fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours count as overnight parking in Margate?
Does the overnight ban cover ordinary cars in Margate?
Is the property owner responsible if someone else leaves the vehicle?
Which businesses are exempt from the overnight ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Margate
How Margate compares: Cities with the Strictest Overnight Parking Rules·Florida rules heatmap·Compare Margate to another location·View the Florida parking rules overview
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Overnight Parking in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Broward County handle overnight parking.