What does the driver in Puerto de la Cruz report?
A driver on the r/Tenerife forum says the portable sign was not there when they left the car. The post is dated 9 November 2026, according to the forum feed.
Only the headline is available. The street, the date, the fine, the towing costs and the comments cannot be read.
Whether the car was a rental is not confirmed. No statement from the Ayuntamiento (town hall) or the Policía Local (local police) has turned up.
Can the town hall tow a car over a portable sign?
Town halls handle towing on urban streets, under Article 7(c) of Real Decreto Legislativo 6/2015, Spain's national traffic law. The text comes from the BOE (the Spanish official state gazette).
Article 105.1 lets the traffic authority tow a vehicle if the owner does not move it. The list covers vehicles that obstruct or endanger traffic, and those in zones reserved for certain users or for loading and unloading.
Temporary bans and roadworks signs have no separate entry on that list. How Puerto de la Cruz treats such cases is not documented.
What do towing and fines cost?
The owner, the renter or the regular driver pays for towing and storage, under Article 105.2. The money is due before the car is released, subject to any appeal.
Whoever paid can try to recover the money from the person actually responsible. Rental drivers should check their contract to see who covers fines.
Fines run up to 100 euros for minor offences, 200 euros for serious ones and 500 euros for very serious ones, under Article 80.1. Article 81 allows a surcharge of up to 30% in certain cases.
The town hall usually sets parking fines in its own bylaw. No Puerto de la Cruz amounts for towing, the pound or tickets turned up, and figures from other towns do not apply there.
How early must a portable sign be in place?
No fixed notice period for portable signs in Puerto de la Cruz could be confirmed. A consumer article mentions a 48-hour rule, but no checked source backs it up.
According to a summary, the Reglamento General de Circulación (general traffic regulations) requires eight working days' notice of restrictions, except in unforeseen cases. The original wording of Article 39 is not quoted here, so treat the figure with care.
At roadworks, the builder is responsible for the signs, not the driver. Under Article 77, building without a permit or leaving out the signs is a very serious offence.
A ruling by the Procurador del Común (the Canary Islands ombudsman) concerns a car towed on 29 June 2018. It stood under a portable R-308 sign with a dated note stuck on it.
The town hall saw the added text as a valid use of the ban. The extract names neither the place nor the outcome.
What should travellers do if their car is gone?
Anyone missing a car should first ask the Policía Local of Puerto de la Cruz where it is and what release costs. Under Article 105.3, the authorities must tell the owner about the tow and the pound within 24 hours.
When you park, photograph the street and every sign with the time showing. Such photos are the best evidence in a later dispute.
Consumer sources usually advise paying the fee first and appealing afterwards. You should also request the full file, including the report and the time the sign went up.
The deadline to appeal a penalty is normally two months, and the notification states it. A 2005 ruling by the TSJC (the Canary Islands high court) kept the two apart: a cancelled fine does not automatically make the towing unlawful.
What is still open in Puerto de la Cruz?
The street, the date and the amounts of the case are open, as is a statement from the town hall and the Policía Local. No towing tariff and no fee schedule from the town turned up either.
Local figures exist only for abandoned vehicles, not for portable signs. In February 2024, 42 abandoned vehicles stood on public streets, according to the figures published then.
In 2023 the Policía Local was called out 68 times over abandoned cars, and in 26 cases the owners collected them voluntarily. It opened 19 cases under Article 86 of Law 18/2009.
For comparison, 40 cars were removed in the first half of 2021, and 108 in 2022 excluding December. Residents can report abandoned cars through the “Línea Verde” app.