Drivers will get a guaranteed five minutes to decide whether to park and 10 minutes to leave after their parking session ends before they face a fine under new rules for private car parks that Andy Burnham said were designed to outlaw “rip-off” charges.
In the latest in a series of “everyday fixes” to ease the cost of living and give consumers a “fairer” deal, the prime minister said a new official code of practice for the industry meant motorists in England, Scotland and Wales would enjoy a range of new rights.
The consumer body Which? said the “long overdue” rules appeared to fall well short of what was needed to help drivers fight back against private parking “cowboys”, however.
Each year in the UK, private firms dish out millions of parking tickets, and the number has been climbing. In August, the RAC said the number issued rose 17% in a year to reach a record 16.9m in 2025-26.
Complaints about poor behaviour by some operators are rife, and campaigners say reform is years overdue. Legislation was passed in early 2019, and an official code of practice was unveiled by the then government in early 2022 – but lasted less than six months after legal challenges by several parking firms forced it to be withdrawn.
In a fresh push, a new private parking code of practice is due to be laid in parliament on Tuesday, though it is unclear when this will take effect. Ministers said they would look to bring the code into force “as soon as possible”.
New rights for drivers include “a guaranteed five minutes to decide whether to park, and 10 minutes to leave once their session ends”.
The government is sticking with the existing industry maximum parking charge of £100 despite calls to halve it. Which? said: “It is particularly concerning that the government has shied away from a £50 price cap.” The consumer body had called for a maximum £50 fine, and this was also the amount at which some charges were capped under the withdrawn code.
Meanwhile, fines will be scrapped on appeal for “honest mistakes”, such as stopping briefly to check directions, and for situations such as a medical emergency, vehicle breakdown or broken ticket machine.
For “smaller slip-ups”, such as forgetting to display a parking permit or entering the wrong vehicle’s registration, the government said drivers would face a maximum charge of £20 on appeal. This appears to be a less generous system than under the original rules: the code that was withdrawn required the cancellation of a parking charge “in all mitigating circumstances”.
Which? said the government had also shied away from an independent appeals body “that could rein in the industry’s worst practices” and had failed to take action on private parking debt recovery fees, which it said were regularly added without motorists’ knowledge and pushed unfair charges even higher.
On the latter point, the government has promised to consult on these fees – which are added when a fine becomes overdue – “as soon as possible next year”. These fees are currently capped at £70, and the consultation will look at whether they should be cut or scrapped altogether.
Burnham said: “Being a few minutes late back to your car or typing one digit of your number plate wrong shouldn’t end with a hefty fine landing on your doormat.
“These charges leave people feeling ripped off and out of pocket, so I’m putting a stop to them. We are introducing clearer rules, longer grace periods and lower charges for genuine mistakes.”
