Question 1

Nuisance Car

Accepted Answer

Q. Since the New Year a car has been left in the corner of our private car park, occupying one of the spaces. On checking the registration on the DVLA website, we have discovered the vehicle has a SORN (Statement of Off Road Notification) dated 02/01/2015, therefore having no requirement for Road Tax, MOT or insurance. We have established that the vehicle is not the responsibility of anybody in the block. Are we under any obligation to track down the owner of the car (cost to us) and demand they remove the vehicle on the grounds that they are trespassing on our property and causing an obstruction (denying a resident/visitor access to the parking place), as well as charging them £5 per day for the time they have been parked. We could either move the vehicle back onto the highway, then report it to the DVLA/council for being on the public highway with no tax etc, or just treat it as an abandoned car on our property and have it removed? The vehicle does have a broken rear quarter light, so gaining access is not a problem. FPRA Committee Member Yashmin Mistry replies: Firstly I would advise not to tamper with the vehicle or attempt to remove the vehicle onto the public highway, not least because, in so doing, you might be committing an offence. There are numerous reasons why cars are ‘abandoned’ and one such reason could be that it has been used, possibly by someone other than the registered owner, in some form of criminal activity - and the fact that it has a broken rear quarter light might suggest that this could well be the case. To that extent it might reveal clues or prints useful to the police. Additionally the registered owner might be unaware of his car’s location and might be very anxious to retrieve it. It is my understanding that local authorities have a statutory authority/obligation to remove abandoned vehicles, whether on the public highway or on private land, and in my view it should be reported to the local authority without delay; they should then liaise with other agencies (police/DVLA) and with the owner of the vehicle as appropriate. There is the possibility that a charge could be levied should it cost in excess of £250 to remove; although, in the circumstances, I would think this unlikely, you might be able to make a claim under your block insurance policy (as ‘property deposited illegally within the boundaries of the building(s’)) and, in this regard, I would suggest you inspect your policy / discuss with your insurers. However if investigations by the council reveal that the car has been ‘dumped’ on your property by the registered owner they will almost certainly recover the cost of removal from the owner.

Question 2

Nuisance Car

Accepted Answer

Q. Since the New Year a car has been left in the corner of our private car park, occupying one of the spaces. On checking the registration on the DVLA website, we have discovered the vehicle has a SORN (Statement of Off Road Notification) dated 02/01/2015, therefore having no requirement for Road Tax, MOT or insurance. We have established that the vehicle is not the responsibility of anybody in the block. Are we under any obligation to track down the owner of the car (cost to us) and demand they remove the vehicle on the grounds that they are trespassing on our property and causing an obstruction (denying a resident/visitor access to the parking place), as well as charging them £5 per day for the time they have been parked. We could either move the vehicle back onto the highway, then report it to the DVLA/council for being on the public highway with no tax etc, or just treat it as an abandoned car on our property and have it removed? The vehicle does have a broken rear quarter light, so gaining access is not a problem. FPRA Committee Member Yashmin Mistry replies: Firstly I would advise not to tamper with the vehicle or attempt to remove the vehicle onto the public highway, not least because, in so doing, you might be committing an offence. There are numerous reasons why cars are ‘abandoned’ and one such reason could be that it has been used, possibly by someone other than the registered owner, in some form of criminal activity - and the fact that it has a broken rear quarter light might suggest that this could well be the case. To that extent it might reveal clues or prints useful to the police. Additionally the registered owner might be unaware of his car’s location and might be very anxious to retrieve it. It is my understanding that local authorities have a statutory authority/obligation to remove abandoned vehicles, whether on the public highway or on private land, and in my view it should be reported to the local authority without delay; they should then liaise with other agencies (police/DVLA) and with the owner of the vehicle as appropriate. There is the possibility that a charge could be levied should it cost in excess of £250 to remove; although, in the circumstances, I would think this unlikely, you might be able to make a claim under your block insurance policy (as ‘property deposited illegally within the boundaries of the building(s’)) and, in this regard, I would suggest you inspect your policy / discuss with your insurers. However if investigations by the council reveal that the car has been ‘dumped’ on your property by the registered owner they will almost certainly recover the cost of removal from the owner.

Nuisance Car

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