Pompano Beach junk and non-running cars

The Section 96.40 test

Subsection (A) bars parking, storing or leaving a vehicle in a "junked, discarded, or dismantled condition," attended or not. It applies on public rights-of-way and on public or private property. It also bars an owner from letting such a car sit on someone else's land, unless a business there is authorized to keep it.

Subsection (B) spells out which cars fall in. Any one of these is enough:

• partly dismantled
• no current, valid license plate that can be seen from outside the car
• not registered in the name of the person claiming to own it
• nonoperating, including one or more flat tires

That second item surprises people. The list names a missing current plate by itself, apart from any damage.

Streets, city lots and the 48-hour mark

Section 71.08 bans using a street, city parking lot or right-of-way for repairs except emergencies, and then the car has to be fixed or moved within 24 hours. Storing junk on one is banned outright. Code or police officers can tow a cited car that has not moved 24 hours past the citation. The same uses are off limits on private lots without the owner's written okay.

Section 70.13 gives police the power to tow from a street or right-of-way. A car left unattended there "continuously for more than 48 hours may be presumed to be abandoned." Police may also move one so disabled that it blocks traffic. When officers cannot reach the owner, they must try to track down the owner and lienholders and keep records of where the car went.

When the car is stuck at a shop

The zoning code has a rule for repair garages in Section 155.4219. A car abandoned by its owner "before or during the repair process" can stay past 30 days if the shop shows it has started legal steps to get rid of it. A business that regularly holds cars over 90 days, stacks them, or pulls parts for resale counts as a salvage and junkyard. If your car is sitting at a shop you cannot pay, selling it whole may be simpler; see missing parts if it has already been picked over.

Registration while it sits

A car parked in dead storage owes Florida no license tax for that stretch, provided a notarized or certified affidavit proves it. A lapsed renewal is another matter: once the due month ends, a flat delinquent fee between $5 and $250, set by the tax amount, kicks in on day 11 of the next month.

Title office and plate

Suite 101 at 1800 NW 66th Ave. in Plantation is the Broward County FLHSMV service center for Pompano Beach. The number is (954) 765-4697. Measured as the crow flies from mid-city, it is about 9 miles to the southwest. Most sellers can skip the trip: the seller completes the front of the title and hands it over, with no notary.

The tag stays in your hands when the car goes. Then put the sale on record with the state using HSMV 82050, the Notice of Sale, no later than 30 days out.

Nearby

Coconut Creek is 4.2 miles from Pompano Beach, Oakland Park 4.5, Margate 4.8 and Deerfield Beach 4.9. More Florida rules are on the Florida page.

Next step with the car

Start online or ring (877) 421-6008. Pompano Beach sellers can begin with our short offer form. Wondering where scrap cars usually end up? Read junkyard or scrap yard.