In relation to private off-street car parks, the charges and Terms & Conditions of Use are essentially a contractual matter between the owner and the visiting motorist. No public body will remove vehicles or carry out enforcement against those who park on private land, whether or not vehicles are unauthorised or are causing an obstruction. Only in cases of emergency will the Police step in. The landowner must therefore control the use of their privately owned parking site.
Parking Charge Notices
Parking Charge Notices are issued on private land where a vehicle is parked in breach of the Terms & Conditions of Use of the car park/site. The charges and Terms & Conditions of Use are a contractual matter between the owner and the visiting motorist.
To enforce a charge the Terms & Conditions of Use must be clearly displayed at the place where the vehicle was parked. Consequences of and charges for failing to adhere to the Terms & Conditions of Use must also be notified clearly to those using the facilities.
Wheel Clamps
Private Security Industry Act 2001 introduced a statutory licensing scheme for the security industry, which includes wheel clampers.
There must be highly visible warning notices on display at intervals throughout the site that make it obvious that either:
a) Parking on a site will constitute trespassing on private property, or
b) Failure to adhere to the Terms and Conditions of use of that private property as a car park will mean that a vehicle is liable to be ticketed, clamped or removed.
If this is the case, then the law will infer that a user has "consented" to their vehicle being clamped and to payment of the stated release fee. Only if such warning signs are non-existent or hidden might the courts regard the clamping of a vehicle as unfair.
As well as the requirement for adequate warning notices, the amount of the release fee must be reasonable and arrangements must be in place to enable prompt release of the vehicle once motorists have indicated that they are willing to pay the release fee. Also a clamper must not do anything that might damage vehicles or detain them after their owners have indicated their willingness to comply with the conditions of the release.
Disabled Drivers
Where there is suspected misuse of marked out disabled persons' parking bays in private car parks, enforcing the parking restrictions is solely the responsibility of the landowner. It is, of course, in the interests of retailers to enforce their disabled persons' parking bays, as loss of trade occurs if disabled people are unable to shop at their stores.
Part 3 of The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 requires service providers to take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled people do not find it impossible, or unreasonably difficult, to enjoy the service on the same basis as non-disabled people. This has implications for car park operators, who must demonstrate that as well as marking out disabled persons' parking spaces, they have taken reasonable steps to ensure that they are available to disabled people.
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