If a resident or guest disputes a tow, boot, or citation at your property, the next steps depend on why the action occurred and who initiated it.
This article is a quick decision tree for handling a dispute call. For the comprehensive end-to-end workflow — including timelines, decision criteria, communication scripts, and the full dispute lifecycle — see Citation Disputes: A Complete Workflow Guide.
Disputes are time-sensitive, so respond promptly — see Property Manager Quick Start: Your Daily Playbook for the recommended cadence.
Step 1: Find the Violation
Open the violation report from Reports → Violation/Payment/Dispute Report or by clicking the disputed violation directly from the resident's profile.
On the violation report:
Review the enforcement reason and details.
Check the timestamps for the relevant permit/vehicle and enforcement events at the bottom of the report.
Confirm which parking rule applied at the time.
Verify whether the vehicle was properly registered, permitted, or exempt.
Your property's parking rules ultimately determine whether the enforcement action was valid.
Step 2: Resolve Based on the Situation
The action was valid (rule was broken)
The dispute is resolved directly between the property manager and/or tow vendor.
ParkingPass provides the software but does not override enforcement actions.
The action shouldn't have happened — Property Management error
Contact the tow vendor directly.
The property accepts responsibility for resolution.
The action shouldn't have happened — Tow Vendor error
Contact the tow vendor directly.
The vendor is responsible for resolving the issue.
The action shouldn't have happened — Software issue
Contact ParkingPass Support.
ParkingPass will investigate and coordinate if a confirmed system issue contributed.
You can also request an investigation directly from the action dropdown on the violation report.
A fee was triggered by an account management error (vehicle deleted instead of edited)
If a resident or your staff accidentally deleted a vehicle or account entry instead of editing it, and the resident is now being charged a re-registration or permit fee as a result, treat this as a property management error:
Re-add the vehicle or account entry to restore the resident's authorization.
Contact ParkingPass Support to review the associated fee and request a waiver. Include the resident's name, unit, and the date of the deletion so support can locate the record.
Document the error in the resident's profile so there's a record if the fee generates a dispute.
If the resident has already paid a fee caused by this error, include that detail when contacting support — it affects what remediation is available.
Step 3: Prevent Future Issues
Two tools reduce future disputes:
Do-Not-Tow (DNT) list for vehicles that should always be protected — see Managing the Do-Not-Tow (DNT) List.
Patrol Holds to temporarily pause enforcement during special circumstances — see Placing and Managing Patrol Holds.
Important Things to Know
ParkingPass does not issue tows or manage tow vendors.
Violation reasons cannot be changed by ParkingPass.
Each property chooses its own patrol vendor and is responsible for that relationship.
For unresolved disputes, request an investigation from the action dropdown on the violation report.
Disputes have time-sensitive deadlines — letting one expire without a response can affect the outcome.