Chapter 80: Abandoned Vehicles

§ 80.01 Definitions

The text in force on August 11, 2010, and every version since 2010.

Unofficial compilation built from the City's published 2010 Code chapters and the text of adopted ordinances. Effective dates are inferred from adoption records; scanned chapters were OCR'd. The City of Tiffin's adopted Code of Ordinances governs. Not legal advice.

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80.01 DEFINITIONS

For use in this chapter the following terms are defined:

(Code of Iowa, Sec. 321.89[1])

1. “Abandoned vehicle” means any of the following:

A. A vehicle that has been left unattended on public property for more than twenty-four (24) hours and lacks current registration plates or two or more wheels or other parts which renders the vehicle totally inoperable.

B. A vehicle that has remained illegally on public property for more than 24 hours.

C. A vehicle that has been unlawfully parked or placed on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property for more than 24 hours.

D. A vehicle that has been legally impounded by order of a police authority and has not been reclaimed for a period of ten (10) days. However, a police authority may declare the vehicle abandoned within the ten-day period by commencing the notification process.

E. Any vehicle parked on the highway determined by a police authority to create a hazard to other vehicle traffic.

F. A vehicle that has been impounded pursuant to Section 321J.4B of the Code of Iowa by order of the court and whose owner has not paid the impoundment fees after notification by the person or agency responsible for carrying out the impoundment order.

2. “Demolisher” means a person licensed under Chapter 321H of the Code of Iowa whose business it is to convert a vehicle to junk, processed scrap or scrap metal, or otherwise to wreck, or dismantle vehicles.

3. “Garage keeper” means any operator of a parking place or establishment, motor vehicle storage facility, or establishment for the servicing, repair, or maintenance of motor vehicles.

4. “Police authority” means the Iowa state patrol or any law enforcement agency of a county or city.

2010 Code (city website file), in force from August 11, 2010 · source page

Confirmed by the city's current text: the 2026 draft recodification (August 2026, not adopted) has the same words (§ 80.01, p. 185), apart from citations and number style.

In the 2026 draft (a comparison with a draft, not adopted): § 80.01 — wording changed, citations or formatting only · compare

History

FromToSourceHowDocument
Aug 11, 2010today 2010 Code base text · text p. 1

Dates: an Iowa ordinance takes effect when it is published after adoption. Where the clerk's certificate records the publication date it is used; otherwise the adoption date stands in for it. "Not yet consolidated" means the ordinance amends this section but its new text has not been checked into this compilation yet: read the ordinance.

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Data last updated October 22, 2026. Built from the archive's documents; see how the data is built.