You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. Similarly, you can't create a well-ordered parking ecosystem in a multifamily community without consequences for people parking in spaces they shouldn't be in.

While the numbers are almost impossible to pin down for multifamily communities, there are approximately 12 to 15 million cars towed from private and commercial properties each year, according to a study by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund. In communities, towing is often a necessity with a small handful of violators continually creating parking issues, as a Zark Parking Solutions survey discovered.

Admittedly, towing is never going to sit well among those whose vehicles are hauled away. Regardless of the situation, and even knowing they were in the wrong, that group is always going to be unhappy. But, this is a small number of residents. Owners and operators can win overall parking satisfaction by allowing their residents to play an active role in maintaining order in their community.

Automated parking systems typically have an option that allows residents to play an active role in reporting illegal parking. A more recent study by Zark examined the parking satisfaction rates of residents who were able to play a part in towing scofflaws vs. those who had no involvement in the decision. Zark Parking communities that enabled this feature for towing had a parking satisfaction rate of 65%. For those who did not enable this feature, satisfaction was only at 20%. This can make a difference overall in property performance.

Without the option to report tows directly, residents are forced to contact the onsite teams to handle towing, which can increase frustration. Leasing and management teams are busy and can't always deal with the issue immediately and the resident may not always be informed of the progress of getting their space back. Additionally, this often happens when the office is closed making escalation unlikely.

When residents are able to address the problem immediately, they are able to deal with the tow company and they are more aware of progress on getting the illegal car out of their way.

I've spoken frequently in the past about how dissatisfaction with parking negatively affects operations and revenue, so I'll keep that part brief. It results in less happy residents and teams, lower reputation scores, fewer qualified leads and increased marketing spend. There are zero positives to ignoring parking challenges and not empowering residents.

It's not hard to find a survey that shows multifamily residents desire more convenience and control over their lives and communities. They've made that desire known in at least half a dozen surveys in 2024 alone, asking for smart features and a voice in the management of common areas in a community. It's only recently that technology has allowed more residents to have a voice in parking. The numbers show that residents who have better-managed parking and are empowered to help with that management are much happier with the option and much happier with where they live.