Miami Beach just quietly increased towing fees. Here’s what it means if you get towed
The Miami Beach City Commission signed off on increased towing fees Wednesday without any discussion, granting a request by tow companies that claim they need to bring in more cash to keep up with new state regulations and rising insurance costs.
Beach Towing and Tremont Towing, the only tow companies allowed to operate in Miami Beach, will increase an “administrative fee” from $77 to $110 for non-Miami Beach residents and eliminate a three-day grace period for imposing it once a vehicle is towed. The increase will not affect city residents, who will continue to pay the $77 status quo.
The change means getting towed in Miami Beach is likely to cost non-residents a total of nearly $400.
Under Florida law, tow companies can charge an administrative fee of as much as $250 to release a vehicle from a lien, which is automatically created whenever a car is towed. In a June 4 letter to Interim City Manager Rickelle Williams, lobbyist Ralph Andrade wrote that the two companies “can no longer afford to so deeply discount the administrative fee” from what the state allows.
The administrative fees in Miami Beach are on top of a $250 towing rate for most vehicles, plus a $30 fee that goes to the city and $40 for outside storage beyond six hours, according to city records.
Andrade cited a new state law, HB 179, that placed added requirements on the towing industry, such as sending lien notices within five days rather than seven days. And he shared documents showing that Beach Towing’s insurance premium exceeded $400,000 for 2024-25, more than double the figure for the prior three years.
“The administrative fee was adjusted for non-residents to address the increased costs of complying with the new law and soaring insurance rates,” Andrade told the Miami Herald in a statement. “Even though Florida law allows for a $250 administrative fee, the tow companies voluntarily agreed to only $110.”
Along with the fee increase, a provision will be eliminated from the city’s towing regulations that said the fee could only be imposed after a vehicle had been stored for 36 hours.
Instead, the fee can now be assessed immediately, as long as the tow companies have prepared the necessary lien paperwork before someone arrives to pick up their car.
The fee increase appeared on the “consent agenda” for Wednesday’s meeting, passing unanimously along with a number of other agenda items after no commissioners asked to discuss it.
Williams, the interim city manager, recommended that the City Commission approve the increased fees. In a memo, she noted that the two companies are the only ones with towing permits in Miami Beach and that they provide “good and capable towing services to the city.”
City’s deal with the tow companies
The tow companies’ financial pressures are unlikely to draw sympathy from the public. The industry has been much-maligned in Miami Beach, where towing firms have previously been accused of imposing bogus fees and found by the city’s inspector general to have overcharged customers.
In negotiating with city administrators over the proposed changes, the companies made a few concessions.
They initially proposed a $150 administrative fee but settled on $110. They agreed to keep the fee at $77 for Miami Beach residents. And they pledged a $50 rate to tow city residents to locations within the city during flash floods.
“This item does not affect our residents’ pockets,” City Commissioner Alex Fernandez told the Herald in a text message. “And, at my request, the city has ensured for our residents a low $50 flat rate to be towed anywhere within the city should their car ever become stranded in a flood emergency.”
During severe flooding in Miami Beach earlier this month, the tow companies agreed to remove stalled vehicles for free to the side of the road or the closest safe location.
“While towing companies sometimes suffer from bad reputations, they’re a vital part of our community and are more than happy to assist in times of need,” Commissioner David Suarez wrote on Facebook after the recent flooding. “That should be commended.”
