A Toronto politician is advising students at York University not to pay parking tickets handed out by the institution.

Howard Moscoe, a city councillor, says the tickets are illegal — and he's further advising students not to give York any registration or licence plate information.

Moscoe says only the City of Toronto can issue parking tickets.

"It's not right people lose their rights," said Moscoe. "They lose their right to appear before a court."

York student Gabriela Gueorguieva accumulated $2,000 in parking tickets over four years.

She believed regulations at York were going to change, so she waited to pay her fines.

However, she got a surprise when she was ready to graduate. The university wouldn't handover her transcripts until she paid her tickets.

"I needed my transcripts because I am applying to teachers' college. So I need my transcripts. I was forced to pay — I had to pay the money," she said.

York University stands by its policy to issue parking tickets on its own property — and one of its ways of forcing payment is to withhold transcripts from students who haven't paid up.

"It's identical to when you renew your taxi or driver's licences. Unless you pay your fines, you don't get it [renewed] and that's because that's their last opportunity to actually get you before you depart. And I think we are in the same situation," said university spokesman Richard Fisher.

Moscoe warns that if York continues to issue fines the city may take it to court.