As a landowner, there’s nothing worse than people abusing your site or taking advantage of it. After all, you pay for the land and it’s often private property with no public access. Some people may use your land for parking purposes, which is why it’s important to use parking management services to ensure only authorised people have access to your site.

Occasionally people may abandon their vehicle on your land, which can be a pain to deal with. It creates an eyesore and often attracts other people with bad intentions. If you have an abandoned car on your site, you may be wondering how to deal with it appropriately. In this blog, we’ll advise you on exactly what to do if there is a car abandoned.

Can the car be classed as abandoned?

The first thing you need to do is ascertain whether or not the vehicle can be classed as abandoned. You can’t continue on to the next steps unless the vehicle meets at least four of the criteria below:

• Has the vehicle not moved in 3-4 weeks?
• Does the vehicle have a missing number plate?
• Does the vehicle have 2 or more flat tyres or wheels missing?
• Are the windscreen or windows broken?
• Have doors or the bonnet been left open?
• Does the vehicle have visible internal damage or vandalism?
• Is the car covered in mould or rust?
• Are there litter and weeds under the vehicle?

Report the vehicle to your local authority

The first thing you can do is report the car to your local authority as they have a duty to remove abandoned vehicles from the land and from roads. They will determine themselves if the car is abandoned. If they do, they can issue a fixed penalty notice or choose to prosecute. They also have the right to dispose of the vehicle immediately if it is fit to be destroyed or doesn’t have a number plate. However, if not they must attempt to find the owner and give them 7 days to collect the vehicle before disposing of it.

Pay a company to remove the vehicle

If you have classed the vehicle as abandoned using the criteria listed above you can obtain a DVLA search of the registered keeper and write to the owner to ask them to remove the vehicle. If the owner does not respond, under the Torts Act 1977 you are allowed to dispose of the vehicle.  If the vehicle remains abandoned for more than 28 days after serving the notice you can then pay a recovery company to remove the vehicle. You will likely need a vehicle removal company that can legally support you with the process so you are not at risk and any monetary value from the vehicle will need to be returned to the registered keeper.

Looking for vehicle removal services? Get in touch with Park Direct UK today.