Abandoned motor vehicles

You can report unlicensed vehicles online through the DVLA website, see website in related information.

You can also contact Police Scotland. In some areas you will have to contact the local authority direct as they have a responsibility to remove such vehicles. In other areas you need to contact the police first who in turn will contact the local authority. Your local police station will be able to advise you.

In all cases you will need the make and model of the car, the registration number and the location.

You should contact the police who will in turn contact the appropriate organisation to remove the vehicle as soon as is practicable.

If you witness this happening then call the police on 999 with as much as information as possible.

If it has happened over a period of time, then contact the police with details of the vehicle and when it first appeared and details if possible of what has been taken from the car.

If the car is fully taxed, insured, isn't causing an obstruction and is not in breach of any parking restrictions, the police can't take any action. A car can park on any road (restrictions permitting) for any length of time. However, if the car hasn't moved and has been in situ for a number of weeks, then it may have been abandoned - you can report abandoned vehicles via the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/report-abandoned-vehicle

If the vehicle is blocking access to your driveway then you should first make enquiries with the neighbours to see if they know whom the car belongs to. If no one knows, then you should contact the police who will attend to the matter as soon as they are able.

If you rent the land, we would suggest that you speak to the landlord/council with a view to them taking action. If you own the land, you could consider employing a private parking company to issue parking tickets. However, practically speaking, using the law to deal with unauthorised vehicles that are parked on private land can be both time consuming and expensive. Usually, it is far more practical to take steps to restrict access using gates/barriers/fencing etc., to ensure that only those who are entitled to enter gain access. If the gates/barriers/fencing are damaged, then it may be possible to take action against those responsible for the offence of criminal damage.