Towing Issues: Tow Issue ..., neighbor downstairs, tow operators

Question
I live at the Grand Reserve here in Tampa Florida, which is a condo community.  I have a neighbor downstairs, who rents from the owner of her unit.  One day she was returning back to her unit, after walking to get her mail only to discover that her vehicle was being towed.  According to the property manager, her tag had expired.  

She informed the property manager and tow guy that it had only been one day past the expiration date.  She also, informed them that she had the new tag inside and that she had forgotten to place it on the vehicle upon its arrival.  She wanted to know it that would release her car since she had proof she renewed her registration.

According to the property manager and tow guy, they said no since the tow company was in the process of towing the vehicle.  Is this legal?


Answer
Unfortunately the answer is yes. In my experience tow operators are not going to wait around for violators to find or retrieve the permits. The reason is too many times one minute turns into 5 minutes, 5 minutes turns into 10 minutes, see the pattern. If she immediately presented the new permit BEFORE the tow operator left a drop fee could apply depending how involved the operator was into the call. She would still have to pay for a drop service and only if the method of payment is accepted. Here is the Florida statue but I could not find any local ordinance if one applies. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_St... Hope some of this helps or gives some insight.