Car towed from private property in Harvey
Your car got towed from a lot or apartment complex in Harvey. Louisiana law caps what that can cost and how it has to be done.
What Louisiana law says
Louisiana Revised Statute 32:1736 sets the rules for towing a car off private property without your consent. A tow truck operator can't remove a vehicle from a parking area unless law enforcement authorized it or the car is properly tagged for removal, and the property has to post a sign at its entrances and exits naming the towing company, plus its address and phone number, in lettering at least two inches tall. The operator also has to hand you an itemized invoice: date and time of service, the operator's name, and the law enforcement agency involved if there was one. Critically, the fee itself isn't up to the individual tow company. The Louisiana Public Service Commission sets a uniform statewide maximum for nonconsensual private-property tows: $152.50 flat for a standard car, or $186.00 if the operator had to reposition equipment, use a fold-down light bar, or bring an extra operator and can document it. A gate fee is capped at $64.50, and after-hours personal-property retrieval is capped at $64.50 too, free during normal business hours. Break these rules and the operator risks a fine as an offense under R.S. 14:68.4, and can lose its towing license; an overcharged owner can recover the excess fee plus attorney's fees and court costs. Quick Tow New Orleans is a private tow company, not the yard holding your car. We can't waive fees the state caps or the yard sets.
How it works in Harvey
- 1 Confirm it was a private-property tow
Private-property tows happen at apartment complexes, shopping centers, and other lots, not public streets. That's a different process than a city-ordered tow.
- 2 Check for the required signage
Louisiana law requires a posted sign at the property's entrances and exits, naming the towing company plus its address and phone number, in lettering at least two inches tall.
- 3 Get the itemized invoice
The operator has to give you a written breakdown: date and time of service, the operator's name, and the law enforcement agency involved if there was one.
- 4 Know the capped rate
The Louisiana Public Service Commission caps the standard private-property tow at $152.50 flat, or $186.00 if extra equipment or an operator was documented as required.
- 5 Watch for extra fees
A gate fee is capped at $64.50, and after-hours personal-property retrieval is capped at $64.50 too, with no charge at all during normal business hours.
- 6 Retrieve your vehicle and keep the paperwork
If the total doesn't match the posted signage or the LPSC schedule, you have a real basis to dispute it. Quick Tow New Orleans can't waive private-property tow fees since we're not the yard.
What this looks like around Harvey
Private-property tows in {c} often happen at Algiers Point's dense residential blocks or the Oakwood Center mall lot in Terrytown. Louisiana's statewide signage and fee-cap rules apply the same way whether you're in Orleans or Jefferson Parish.
The Harvey Canal is a working marine and oilfield-services waterway lined with tugboat, barge, and heavy-equipment operators, making this the metro's strongest heavy-duty and commercial-fleet towing market on the whole West Bank. Harvey sits in Jefferson Parish, where the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, 1233 Westbank Expressway, Harvey, (504) 363-5500, jpso.com/378/Payments, handles impound matters. The parish's own towing rate ordinance could not be confirmed, so the Louisiana Public Service Commission's statewide schedule governs instead: $152.50 an hour for Light Duty, 1.5-hour minimum, up to $430.50 an hour for Heavy Duty with a 1-hour minimum, and $299.00 an hour on top of standard recovery for rotator work, which requires photo or video proof under state rules. That heavier tier matters here given the canal's tug and barge traffic. Ordinary Westbank Expressway commuter volume adds to the industrial base, along with a Honduran and Central American population share that's grown fast in recent years. Harvey's population reached 22,236 in 2020, with a median household income of $41,559 and roughly 16.6% of residents below the poverty line. The area is also home to the Jefferson Parish Public School System's headquarters and the Jane O'Brien Chatelain library.
Harvey runs along the Harvey Canal, a working marine and oilfield-services waterway lined with tugboat operators, barge companies, and heavy-equipment yards, and that makes this the strongest heavy-duty and commercial-fleet towing market on the whole West Bank. Tugboats and barges aren't our call type, but the trucks, trailers, and fleet vehicles that service that industrial corridor are, and that work runs on a different schedule than residential towing, odd hours tied to shift changes and vessel schedules rather than a normal 9-to-5. Layer that on top of ordinary Westbank Expressway commuter volume along Peters Rd and Manhattan Blvd, and a Honduran and Central American population share that's grown fast in the last two decades, and Harvey is a market where both bilingual service and heavy-duty capability matter. We reach the Harvey Canal industrial corridor, Manhattan Blvd, and the Westbank Expressway in about 25 to 35 minutes, and we run the right truck for the job, wheel-lift for a stranded sedan, flatbed or heavy-duty for anything off the industrial yards.
Common Harvey questions
Is it legal to tow my car from a parking lot in Harvey?
Yes, if the lot posted signage naming the towing company with its address and phone number in letters at least two inches tall, per La. R.S. 32:1736. Without that signage, the tow may not hold up if you dispute it.
How much can a private-property tow cost in Harvey?
The Louisiana Public Service Commission caps the nonconsensual private-property tow rate at $152.50 flat for a standard car ($186.00 if extra equipment or an operator was documented as required). This is the state's regulated maximum, not any one company's price.
What fees can a tow company add on top of the tow in Harvey?
A gate fee is capped at $64.50, and after-hours personal-property retrieval is also capped at $64.50, with no charge during normal business hours. Any fuel surcharge only applies to the tow itself, never to storage.
Does Quick Tow New Orleans do private-property tows in Harvey?
Yes, we tow for property owners and managers with a signed agreement on file. If your own car got towed, we can also help with transport once it's released.
Related help for Harvey
Private-property tows in the rest of the West Bank area
Need your car towed once it's released in Harvey?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can tow it home the moment it clears.