How to get Abandoned Car moved

Wittykitty10

Hello

We have had a car with foreign Bulgarian number plates left outside our house for 5 coming up to 6 months the car is broken down we saw the people leave it by rolling it down the road with boot fully open and bonnet fully open.  

They did come back to the car every two weeks trying to fix the car kept a we record, they came in another car which had no road tax and always blocked our drive kept asking them to move.  

They have not been back for 2 months as it has been there for nearly 6 months there are weeds growing round it.

We have reported to police it's of no interest to them and can't check insurance as it has foreign plates and the police would not check the other car although it had no tax.

The local council have traced the owner who wants to keep the vehicle and it is road legal until 2026.  So the council can't treat it as abandoned. Also the council have said because we live in a new build estate the developer still owns the land so the car is on private land but I don't think that matters if it's on private land according to the government website.  

But if the owner has not been near the car for 2 months and it is broken down surely they should be made to have it recovered.  

la531983

Roll it into the middle of the road. Soon get moved then.

Mildly_Miffed

Wittykitty10 said:

Also the council have said because we live in a new build estate the developer still owns the land so the car is on private land but I don't think that matters if it's on private land according to the government website.

It very much matters.

The car needs to be road legal (and it seems that it is) to be parked on private land that is publicly accessible.
It is not the council's job to remove abandoned cars from private land - it's the landowner's.

We had a similar thread the other week.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6629584/private-road-abandoned-car-sorn-and-ownership-query

Car_54

Mildly_Miffed said:

Wittykitty10 said:

Also the council have said because we live in a new build estate the developer still owns the land so the car is on private land but I don't think that matters if it's on private land according to the government website.

It very much matters.

The car needs to be road legal (and it seems that it is) to be parked on private land that is publicly accessible.

It needs to be insured. It doesn't need to be taxed.

Mildly_Miffed

Car_54 said:

Mildly_Miffed said:

The car needs to be road legal (and it seems that it is) to be parked on private land that is publicly accessible.

It needs to be insured. It doesn't need to be taxed.

Given it's foreign-registered, it needs to be road legal in its home country to be road legal here.

Wittykitty10

It seems it may be there for a while as the developer of our estate are useless they have nearly finished the estate they have had there money anddont care.

rowan222

la531983 said:

Roll it into the middle of the road. Soon get moved then.

This happened to us. Someone abandoned a car with door left open across the bottom of our drive. Police were not interested as on private property. Then a funny thing happened late at night. The hand brake must have "slipped" and it rolled out into the road. It was soon taken away!

Ectophile

Mildly_Miffed said:

Wittykitty10 said:

Also the council have said because we live in a new build estate the developer still owns the land so the car is on private land but I don't think that matters if it's on private land according to the government website.

It very much matters.

The car needs to be road legal (and it seems that it is) to be parked on private land that is publicly accessible.
It is not the council's job to remove abandoned cars from private land - it's the landowner's.

We had a similar thread the other week.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6629584/private-road-abandoned-car-sorn-and-ownership-query

The law says otherwise https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/3/crossheading/abandoned-vehicles-and-other-refuse. Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978, section 3 (1).

If the car is on open land in the council's area, then they are responsible for removing it.  Of course, they will do anything possible to deny that it's abandoned, as the value of the scrap car will be less than the cost of recovering it. And if the landowner objects, then the council won't take it.

Bigphil1474

It's not an abandoned car. For the council to move it, it has to actually have been abandoned - "The local council have traced the owner who wants to keep the vehicle and it is road legal until 2026". Wait until it isn't road legal, then ask the police. Even if it's not road legal, the council cannot remove it as an abandoned vehicle unless the owner no longer wants to keep it.

jimjames

Mildly_Miffed said:

Car_54 said:

Mildly_Miffed said:

The car needs to be road legal (and it seems that it is) to be parked on private land that is publicly accessible.

It needs to be insured. It doesn't need to be taxed.

Given it's foreign-registered, it needs to be road legal in its home country to be road legal here.

Isn't there a 6 month limit for using a foreign vehicle in the UK? So if the car has been parked for over 6 months on a public accessible road then that has been reached.
https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/temporary-imports

Titus_Wadd

Hi OP I feel your pain.  I started the other thread but I'm no nearer getting our abandoned sh!theap removed in five years!
Just wanted to clarify: if the car is dumped on private land then the council has to give the landowner notice, and if they object the council cannot remove it. BUT if it is on a road INCLUDING Private Roads! Don't let the council interpret the Refuse Disposal act to suit their ends I.e. to spend no money!  Be a thorn in their side...ask them how it's not abandoned.
When I spoke to DVLA they pointed out that there's  no fixed definition of "Abandoned" but your local council and police force websites may list tell-tale indicators, and may qualify if one criterion is met!  The DVLA also pointed out that the car need only "appear abandoned" which potentially is a lower bar.
Explore every angle.. safety access for emergency vehicles, nuisance and anti-social behaviour...report to any council dept. you can think of and keep asking for help.
If your new estate has a management company they should act to relieve residents from a potential nuisance, but if that extends to raising a civil injunction the management company would most likely pass on their legal costs to the residents.  We used the legal protection which is part of our house insurance to get an injunction (on a no win no fee basis) but that's a whole other chapter  Well-worth using legal protection, if you have it, to send the car owner a Cease and Desist Letter, if they are able to trace the owner...not sure I'd spend my own money to do this.  If you don't have legal protection I'd add it at your next renewal...cos you never know when you might need it.
OP I hope you succeed faster than 5 years..and in the meantime, if I find the silver bullet I'll let you know