Under Section 239 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, a leasing company has the ability to transfer the liability for parking summonses received while operated by their lessees. This is the primary benefit derived from enrollment in the Rental Program, for the Leasing Company.
Advantages for Leasing Company
Parking ticket debt follows the Registrant. The Rental Program permanently transfers liability to the Lessee.
Advantage for Lessee
Provides protection from towing due to unpaid/judgment parking tickets.
Disadvantages
Administering the program is burdensome and can be costly for the Leasing Company. However, this expense may be well worth it for leasing companies to avoid responsibility for their customer’s parking ticket debt.
Step 1: NYC Department of Finance/PVB must send a weekly report of newly issued parking tickets to the leasing company.
Step 2: The leasing company must research each parking ticket and enter the name and address of the lessee operating the vehicle. The report must be completed and sent back to the NYC Department of Finance/PVB within 37 days of receipt.
Step 3: The liability is transferred to the lessee via this weekly report. This report, called the “220 Report” generates the notices of outstanding that may fill your mailbox every week. The NYC Department of Finance/PVB officially updates and assigns the parking ticket debt to the lessee reported by the leasing company.
Generally, when this process is completed, the ticket may be anywhere from two 30 to 45 days old before the lessee receives notice. Late receipt of notices makes it difficult for the Lessee to provide an affirmative defense for their parking tickets if the vehicle operator does not bring in the original parking ticket.
The cost charged to the leasing company by New York City Department of Finance is $1.00 per vehicle per month. This cost is passed on to the lessee.