Towing Issues: Towed illegally, professional premises, small claims court

Question
We are commercial business owners who lease our professional premises. Our lease provides us for 2 parking spots for the term of the lease, which is 5 years. Our landlord failed to update our parking tags for our cars. We discovered at 9:30 am on a Monday that one of our cars were to be towed and the other with a ticket to be towed.  We called the landlord, they got on the phone and had the tickets removed and the towed car returned. They advised that updated tags were on their way that would cover us for the entire term of our lease, and that a no tow was put on the lot until the problem was resolved.  2 weeks later, we came out at 10:00 pm on a Saturday night to find both our cars had be towed, the towing company would not budge, the real estate office was closed, the emergency number said too bad pay the fine, and the police refused to take a stolen car report.  We want our money back and no one will help us.  We are in PA and are very new to the area.  Any suggestions/advice?

Answer
Well from what I see here, the parking lot is "patrol - cruised" to find violations. And it appears that the tow company is very aggressive and does not keep up with the "guidelines" the management company has in place.

As to the stolen car report, that is true as Pennsylvania laws require that the tow company notify the police that the vehicle is towed, just to prevent the stolen car report from being filed. It does become a headache to clear a stolen report at times.

Now it appears that the management company or landlord has a problem with the tow company doing what they are supposed to do, and with the permits not being there (I guess) within the 2 weeks, it looks like someone dropped the ball...

As to getting the money back, I would say that small claims court is the route to go, but I have to ask when the vehicles were towed on Saturday night, were the new permits there and displayed properly?

If you had not got the permits yet, you might have a case, and if they were not displayed properly then you most likely will lose in court.

There are several factors in this issue which need to be worked out and the landlord - management company needs to step up to the plate and work it out before it becomes a potential lease breaker issue. Yes if the lease spells out what parking spaces are yours, and you have not got the required permits then you have grounds in court.

As to specific laws, well since I do not know where you are in Pennsylvania I can not point you to specific information but I know that a Internet search of "private property towing laws" in Pennsylvania and your city will help
Good luck and I hope this helps...