Private Parking Regulation
Private Parking Regulation
April 2022
It appears that for a long time motorists have been dissatisfied with private parking companies. RAC have reported hearing from a significant number of disgruntled drivers who claim they are being penalised for ‘totally unreasonable’ offences. These offences range from minor breaches of parking terms and conditions, such as overstaying by one minute to reasons that were simply inexplicable. As a result, the RAC has been working hard to introduce better regulation of private parking companies. In 2017, Sir Greg Knight MP introduced the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill and it is hoped this will significantly improve the experience of drivers whilst fairly punishing those that continue to breach parking terms and conditions. The range of new measures that have been put in place include the following:
- A maximum parking charge notice of £50 in most cases outside of London, with a 50% discount for early payment
- Parking debt collectors will be banned from charging additional fees when a parking charge is not paid
- There will be a compulsory 10-minute grace period before parking firms can issue a late fine
- There will be a compulsory five-minute cooling-off period – in this time a motorist can consider the terms and conditions and potentially change their mind about where to park
- There will be improved standards on signage that states the conditions of parking and the appeal process will be made clearer
- There will be a crackdown on parking firms using aggressive or pseudo-legal language to intimidate motorists into paying fines
Whilst these new measures are not intended to stop private parking companies from doing their job, they are intended to create a much fairer and more transparent system for everyone. So, be careful where you park.
