Private Parking Ticket

currer0409

Can you be issued a private parking ticket for parking on a private housing estate if there are no signs to tell you of the penalty??

As from today my management company have enlisted the services of a private company to issue £60 fines to anybody not parked in an allocated bay. There are 6 properties with no parking facilities at all and only 4 visitors spaces across an estate with 70-80 properties.:eek:

Am i right in thinking that if i park my husbands car he can not be fined and is under no obligation to tell them who parked there??

bargepole

currer0409 wrote: »

Can you be issued a private parking ticket for parking on a private housing estate if there are no signs to tell you of the penalty??

As from today my management company have enlisted the services of a private company to issue £60 fines to anybody not parked in an allocated bay. There are 6 properties with no parking facilities at all and only 4 visitors spaces across an estate with 70-80 properties.:eek:

Am i right in thinking that if i park my husbands car he can not be fined and is under no obligation to tell them who parked there??

These are not fines - only Councils and the police can issue those.

The only basis on which a PPC can make a charge is under the Law of Contract, and penalty charges can not be levied, only the liquidated loss of the landowner.

As you correctly say, if the PPC took this to court, they would have to prove that the driver of the vehicle entered into a contract, and they can't do that without knowing who the driver was. Also, if there were no signs, there is no basis for an implied contract in any case.

Ignore any rubbish letters they send you.

currer0409

Thanks for your reply

Does all this still apply if the management company responsible for the private estate have employed this company to manage the parking situation?

We have a contract with our management company and they have a contract with the private parking company! They have issued letters to tennants, but nothing else.

I have also been told that a property with 102 residential developments on it should provide a certain amount of communal parking areas and our estate only has 4 - do you know anything about this at all?!?

Thanks again.

Orford

I have also been told that a property with 102 residential developments on it should provide a certain amount of communal parking areas and our estate only has 4 - do you know anything about this at all?!?

Parking provision would have been part of the original planning permission and would depend on your local council's guidelines in their Unitary Development Plan and when the PP was granted.
Stautory provision for parking has been relaxed recently, especially for sites deemed to be town/city centre. But 64 parking places + 4 visitor for a 70 -80 development would normally be deemed more than adequate

bargepole

currer0409 wrote: »

Does all this still apply if the management company responsible for the private estate have employed this company to manage the parking situation?

We have a contract with our management company and they have a contract with the private parking company! They have issued letters to tenants, but nothing else.

This depends on the basis of your tenancy, eg is it leasehold or freehold, and what the terms of the tenancy contract say about entitlement to parking spaces. Also, who owns the land occupied by the parking spaces?

Did the Management Co. consult with the tenants before engaging the PPC, or have they done this unilaterally? There may be a case here for writing to the Mgmt. Co. stating that you do not accept their proposed change to the terms of your tenancy, and any items attached to your vehicle will be regarded as an Act of Trespass.

You may also want to peruse Martin's article on the whole question of enforcibility of PPC tickets, as well as those on other well-known sites, and send this info to the Mgmt. Co., stating that you do not accept any liability for any parking charges that may arise, as they would be in breach of Consumer Contract regulations.