Assitance with Parking & Property Management PCN

hydro24

Hi,

Need some advice as to what I should do next in terms of a rejected appeal for resident parking. I received a PCN after parking for 9 minutes while loading a hire vehicle at my residential address of a private estate, which I'm a leasholder of.

They rejected my appeal, even though I stated in my appeal that my lease agreement, as a leaseholder, does not prevent me from parking a behicle, nor that I need to display a valid parking permit.

This was the repsonse for why it was rejected:

"The address is a leasehold property, which effectively means that although the leaseholder has a right to use both the property and any accompanying parking space, they must also adhere to the freeholder’s terms of use, which in this case have been set out in the contractual signage located throughout the site and in clear view of the vehicle. The signage in the area makes it clear that the restrictions apply to all vehicles parked at this site and that if vehicles park otherwise than in accordance with the terms a charge will be payable. The vehicle is seen stationary and securely parked in a no parking area with no hazard lights on and there are no obvious signs of loading and unloading. Vehicles are given a grace period of 5 minutes to enable drivers to read the signage and decide if they want to park on site. The grace period is also for drivers to read the signage and/or obtain a permit. Your vehicle was first observed at 13.44hrs and the final photo was taken at 13.53hrs – 9 minutes. However, as this is a no parking area, it was not necessary to leave the vehicle to obtain a permit. As a gesture of goodwill, the operative allowed a 5 minute grace period. Your appeal requests our contract with the land owner, however, it is not within our gift to provide such commercially sensitive information without the express consent of our client, however, the IPC hold copies of ALL contracts we currently operate. The PCN was stuck to the windscreen and, therefore, a notice to driver has been issued. PPM have not contacted DVLA for keeper details. We are not members of the BPA and do not use or operate a POPLA appeals service. We use the EU 2015 ADR accredited Independent Appeals Service details of which are outlined below"

Any help you can give me in using the IAS appeals process would be greatly appreciated.

Trainerman

The real experts will be along later, but if I were you I would have a look at the case law in Jopson v Homeguard 2016. Loading is not parking.

Le_Kirk

Check your lease and see what is states about parking (and where) also check what it doesn't state about parking, such as the need to display a permit.  Did the freeholder/management company initiate a consultation followed by a vote of residents before imposing the changes to your lease in line with the landlord and tenant act 1987 :- 
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/31/contents

D_P_Dance

Read thes and ignore the twaddle they have sent you

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2016/11/residential-parking.html

https://forums.landlordzone.co.uk/forum/residential-letting-questions/1053920-private-parking-companies

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/324523-ukpc-liable-for-trespass-success/

familiarise yourself with "Primacy f contract" and complain to your MP

Coupon-mad

Yep. appeal rejected as per usual for IPC firms.

We now advise to go through the farce of IAS 'kangaroo court' (so-called appeal) even though a win at that pointless stage is as rare as hen's teeth.

Do it for the laugh - and to look reasonable in trying to resolve the dispute - and because 20% of PPCs give up if you supply evidence such as your lease map or wording about your right to park/rights of way by vehicles plus the transcript of Jopson (persuasive Appeal judgment).

IPC firms like this ex-clamper bunch of chancers are notorious (going by all accounts on here over the years) for actively targeting residents.

They are not there for your benefit and if you have an allocated bay you are best advised to opt it OUT of so-called enforcement (for enforcement, read 'targeting of residents').

hydro24

Thanks all.

I don't have a parking bay with my property. Reading through my lease, it mentions only this for parking: "Not to use any parking space forming part of the Property or visitor space within the Common Parts for any purpose other than the parking of one private moter car or one private motorcycle which shall be in a roadworthy condition and shall have paid vehicle tax at the prevailing rate for the current period".

In the definitions "Common Parts" is described as: "All parts of the Development including the Main Structure (but excluding the Estate Roads and Estate Sewers) not comprised in the Leases".  The definition of Estate Roads in the lease: "All roads verges and footpaths now or hereafter constructed within the Estate which are intended to become highways maintainable at the public expense".

Only mention of parking permits being required is in a document titled "Guidance re: Sub-Letting of Flats" that the management company sent out in 2019. It mentions Parking Restrictions:  "Where there is a parking scheme on the estate, you must make sure that your tenants are provided with a parking card or disc, and to explain the consequences of parking without such card or disc being prominently displayed".

No consultation or vote by the residents ever took place. These changes where imposed by the management company and not the freeholder (Taylor Wimpey) when the parking signs went up in 2019. The freeholder changed this year, and only correspondence received from a company acting on their behalf, was that the managment company will remain the same. No changes to current lease, and no mention of changes to parking.

The lease also mentions Rights Granted for the tenant, to be able to pass with or without vehicles along the estate roads and any other roads connectiong thereto, to provide access to and egress from the public highway and the property.

Where I was temporarily parked is the estate roads, as I don't have a parking bay, and parking bays have bollards. Neither do I have a parking card/disc, nor can I have one.

Do I have primacy of contract, as my lease doesn't state that I require a permit to park? In the lease mentions I have a right-of-way "to pass with or without vehicles along the Estate Roads and any other roads"  mentioned in Jopson v Homeguard [2016]. Does this give me any footing?

Umkomaas

The definition of Estate Roads in the lease: "All roads verges and footpaths now or hereafter constructed within the Estate which are intended to become highways maintainable at the public expense".

Have the Estate Roads been adopted by the local authority?  Please check with the LA if you don't know for certain.

hydro24

Hi,

I'm looking for further advice with this PCN. BW Legal finally responded to my numerous emails pointing out that I have primacy of contract [Jopson v Homeguard], and that I have rights for ingress/egress from a vehicle to my property. I had already sent through a copy of my lease agreement, which they also ignored and requested it again.

They've apparnetly reviewd  this, and I've received their response to the above, saying that I'm still liable as I was parked in a no parking area. As in a previous post, there is only the estate roads (which haven't been adopted by the local authority) that can be temporarily stopped on (all double yellow lines).

I'm more than happy to take my chances, and continue this to county court if necessary, as I believe residents without a dedicated parking bay are disadvantaged/discriminated against, if they need ingress/egress from a vehicle to their property from the estate roads (as stated in their lease). Due to the fact that they've put double yellow lines on all estate roads, and aren't providing a temporary resident bay for these purposes. You are going to get a PCN no matter what.

Any help/pointers in right direction with this would be greatly appreciated.

KeithP

Last year @Umkomaas asked...

Umkomaas said:

The definition of Estate Roads in the lease: "All roads verges and footpaths now or hereafter constructed within the Estate which are intended to become highways maintainable at the public expense".

Have the Estate Roads been adopted by the local authority?  Please check with the LA if you don't know for certain.

hydro24

KeithP said:

Last year @Umkomaas asked...

Umkomaas said:

The definition of Estate Roads in the lease: "All roads verges and footpaths now or hereafter constructed within the Estate which are intended to become highways maintainable at the public expense".

Have the Estate Roads been adopted by the local authority?  Please check with the LA if you don't know for certain.

Yes, I've checked with the local authority. The local authorities response was "<road name> is private and not maintained by the Council as part of the pubicly maintainable highway".

Mouse007

hydro24 said:

... they've put double yellow lines on all estate roads

Double yellow lines? Derogation from Grant!

If those double yellow lines have been painted since you took your lease that could constitute a breach by the landlord - compain about that and suggest they take urgent legal advice. Demand they contact the management company to cancel the PCN or you will sue them for the actions of their agent