The bizarre legal loophole which means anyone can park on your drive – and it could end up costing you money

A STRANGE legal loophole means anyone can park on your driveway – and there’s not much you can do about it.

There have been a number of cases in the UK where homeowners have been stuck with a stranger’s car on their driveway, only to be told neither police nor local authorities have the power to move it.

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In the instance of a stranger parking on your driveway, an issue arises when the line between criminal and civil law is blurred.

If a car is parked on a public road and it is blocking your driveway, local authorities certainly have the power to issue a fine.

But once the car moves onto your drive, it’s technically on private property – and local councils have no jurisdiction.

Councils are required to remove abandoned cars from both public and private property, but if the motor in question is taxed, insured, has a valid MOT and isn’t in a dangerous condition, they are unlikely to touch it on private land.

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Police will acknowledge the car is technically trespassing, but they will classify it as a civil offence, meaning you would need an eviction notice from the courts.

You would then be forced to start the lengthy- and expensive – legal process in the courts.

A solicitor would be able to obtain the civil court’s permission to track down the legal owner, and a judge would have to make its removal an order of the court.

Court enforcers would then be the ones to take action and actually have the random car moved.

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And all of this court action would be at your expense, which could end up costing you thousands just to free up your own drive.

If you don’t want to go through the court process, you only really have a few options.

You can park your own car on the drive, blocking in the stranger’s motor, as long as you don’t block any part of the public road.

You would then have to hope that you catch the owner returning to their car, and they oblige when you ask them to move.

Or you could hire a private tow truck to have it moved, which will see you fork out at least £100.

But keep in mind, any damage incurred when the car is being towed could be thrown back at you by the owner – and you would be liable to pay for it.

If the problem keeps occurring, installing a fence or parking bollard on your driveway to section it off could prevent other motorists from parking there.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “In a bizarre way, the system seems to favour the offender over the victim in this case.

“Because the offence of trespass is a civil matter the police cannot get involved, and as the vehicle is on private land the council cannot help either.

“So the only options available to homeowners seeking to get back what is rightfully theirs, costs both time and money.

“Thankfully this doesn’t happen very often, but if you are unlucky enough to be the victim you should seek legal assistance as soon as possible.

“A preventative measure would be to install a collapsible bollard on the driveway, but again this is an expense people should not have to part with.”