Report an Abandoned vehicle

We have a duty under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 (RDA) to remove abandoned vehicles. This includes vehicle parts, as well as vehicles.

The vehicle must have been unmoved for at least 21 days and untaxed before we can remove it.

Unless we think it is dangerous (for example, if it has been burnt out) then we can remove it immediately.

If we think a vehicle is abandoned, we can take steps to identify and prosecute the legal owner.

We take into account a range of things when deciding if a car is abandonned including tax and condition or the car.

What happens to abandoned vehicles:

• If we decide a vehicle is abandoned, we will service notice by attaching a sticker to the side window of the vehicle.
• The owner/keeper will have either 24 hours (an orange notice) or 7 days (a white notice) to claim it before we remove and destroy it.
• We may prosecute, even if the car is claimed.
• We are entitled to recover costs incurred in dealing with or removing vehicles.
• The RDA Act is supplemented by the Clean Neighbourhood Environment Act (CNEA) 2005 (s10-14) permits us to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for the offence of abandoning vehicles.

If you are the owner of an abandoned vehicle:

• Contact us if your vehicle has been stickered by us as a potentially abandoned vehicle as soon as possible.
• Contact us if your vehicle has been removed, you may be able to get it back if you provide a current V5C registration certificate and documentation to confirm your identity as the registered keeper.

Ask us to remove an unwanted vehicle

We can remove and destroy unwanted vehicles on behalf of registered keepers of vehicles if they are with the borough.

To request a removal complete the owner request form and return this to us with the correct fee.

There is a charge of £55 for this service.