Unauthorized Parking Levies in Business Areas: Consumer Protection, Limits of Business Actor Liability, and Law Enforcement

Unauthorized parking fees remain prevalent in various commercial areas, including minimarkets, restaurants, cafés, micro-enterprises, and other business premises. The phenomenon raises interconnected issues concerning consumer protection, the legal status of parking operators, business-operator liability, local-government authority, and law enforcement against unauthorized parking attendants. This study systematically examines the patterns underlying unauthorized parking charges in commercial areas, the legal boundaries of liability among relevant actors, and the enforcement mechanisms identified in previous research. A Systematic Literature Review was conducted using 30 verified studies and supported by primary legal materials, including the Indonesian Civil Code, Consumer Protection Law, Road Traffic and Transportation Law, regional taxation and levy regulations, and the current Indonesian Criminal Code. The synthesis shows that legal liability cannot automatically be imposed on every business owner merely because unauthorized parking fees occur near or on business premises. Liability depends on control over the parking area, the legal relationship with consumers, involvement in parking operations, knowledge or tolerance of unauthorized collection, actual loss, fault, and causation. Effective enforcement requires coordinated governance involving business operators, parking managers, local governments, law-enforcement authorities, and consumers.