Towing Issues: Illegal towing?, inflated tires, state plates

Question
I currently live in an apartment building in Richmond VA which has a parking garage underneath the building.  I pay $50 a month for a parking spot (unassigned spots).  I went home for a week and half for vacation and when I came back, I saw that my car had been towed.  When I called the towing company they said that it had been towed because my New Jersey license plate (my permanent address is in NJ) did not have the correct stickers on the car.  However the NJ law does not require stickers.  So then he stated that there was a flat tire and that is why they towed it.  However, the day I left to go home (the 20th) there was no flat tire. Once I told him that there was no flat tire, he said that they left a notice on my car on the 18th. However I drove my car on the 20th and there was no notice on my car.  Now my question is, did the company have a right to tow the car? Also, even if there was a flat tire, can they tow my car? In my parking lease, the only reason a car can be towed is if the parking decal is not on the car (which it was). Also according to my apartment lease, the car can be towed if it is abandoned. Their definition of abandoned is if the car is not properly registered or insured (which the car is). In addition I pay extra for my car insurance to keep in it Richmond, even though my permanent address is in New Jersey, so my car is insured no matter what. Finally my last question is, can the management company be held responsible for this towing? In my lease it says that they will not be held responsible, however they towed my car without any notification and seems to me under wrong assumptions. Thanks for your help.

Answer
I would review the terms and conditions of parking in your lease very carefully. There might be a clause about vehicles being in acceptable condition and inflated tires might be mentioned. As for out of state plates, if everything is current on the vehicle, valid parking permit and listed in the rental agreement (if required), I don't see the problem. Think of all the college students at VCU, UR and VCC. Half the campuses or apartment complexes would be towed. The tow notice can be debatable for the both. Tow companies give notices and violators remove them when they leave or tow companies say they leave them and never do. Just too hard to prove for both sides. Even if the tow company tagged the vehicle while you were gone how could you fix the problem? What would management's answer be? Most parking/leasing management outsource parking/patrolling to tow companies and the tow company enforces the rules and regulations as per the lease not the management company. Find out if this is the case and if it's outsource explain the situation to management. Your situation is different than most because you have proper unexpired parking authorization, properly insured/registered vehicle and unclear terms on parking vehicles in acceptable condition. Maybe management will reimburse you for the tow expense or maybe they can contact the tow company for further investigation. Hope some of this information helps.