Frustration at five-year wait for private parking regulations

Richard Aucock, Contributor
Fri, 10 Jan 2025

Five years after an act of parliament passed a code to stamp out rogue parking operators, the Private Parking Code of Practice is still not live.

More than 8 in 10 drivers have now expressed their frustration that the official code still hasn’t been introduced – due to legal challenges from both private parking operators and debt recovery companies.

The delay in introducing the law has led to the two major private parking trade bodies, the British Parking Association and International Parking Community, to launch their own code.

However, this is not backed by law and, says the RAC, differs substantially from the proposed official government code.

Nearly 9 in 10 drivers say they don’t trust the private parking industry’s code to be fair and the RAC said the industry's code 'takes irony to another level'.

"It is blatantly apparent from our research that drivers continue to have severe misgivings about the way private parking companies operate and are therefore very frustrated that the official government-backed code of practice has still not been introduced more than five years after it became law," says RAC head of policy Simon Williams.

"While this lack of trust may be partly addressed by the launch of the industry’s own code of practice, we suspect it’s unlikely to be enough as it’s not worded to be in the interest of drivers and, crucially, isn’t backed by law."

When it is finally introduced, the official Private Parking Code of Practice should put a cap on both parking charge notice ‘fine’ amounts and debt recovery fees. There will be a single independent appeals service for drivers.

It will also force operators to follow a code of conduct – those that don’t will potentially lose their right to operate.

Rules will include:

• A robust appeals process
• A means of identifying vulnerable customers
• Issuing parking charge notices lawfully and not misleading drivers
• Providing photographic evidence of contraventions
• Not engaging debt recovery companies too soon
• Providing clear signage and terms and conditions that are easy to understand

"We feel only the introduction of the real, government-backed code will bring much-needed fairness to the entire private parking sector," says Williams.

Ask HJ

Is the driver or owner responsible for a parking fine?

I have a Mobility car that my mother drives and she had a parking ticket from the council. They say I must pay it but I cannot drive and wasn't in the car?

The person driving the vehicle at the time of the offence is liable for the parking ticket, in the same way that they would be liable if they committed a speeding offence. You should inform the council or the company responsible for issuing the ticket of the person who was in charge of the vehicle at the time.

Answered by David Ross

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