DVLA untaxed vehicle fine. when car is SORN

[zombie]

Hi I've just received a Penalty for an untaxed vehicle which i think is wrong

My car has been registered SORN. & is parked in my own parking space. I live in a group of 4 terraced houses & we all have are own allocated parking spaces.
I've checked my property register both my house & parking space are mentioned in it. Also the map with the registry shows both locations with a red boarder.

So I presumed that it was classed as off road. Am I right? I want to Dispute but don't want to end up in court with huge costs. The fines already £500

[atticus]

Where exactly is this parking space?

[zombie]

its out the front of the house its in a cul de sac

[R0b]

Making a SORN declaration means that the car will not be used on a public road, including private roads that are accessible to the public. If the vehicle was on private land as you claim, I am struggling to see how the fine can be upheld.

Has the DVLA supplied any evidence to back up their right to issue a fine?

[atticus]

It seems that this may be a private road that is accessible to the public. The OP should investigate this further.

[HandyAndy]

To be clear, the SORN regulations apply to keepers of vehicles who do not "....for the time being intend to use or keep the vehicle on a public road."

So is where you kept this vehicle a "public road?"

[PallasAthena]

To be clear, the SORN regulations apply to keepers of vehicles who do not "....for the time being intend to use or keep the vehicle on a public road."

So is where you kept this vehicle a "public road?"

And just to add to that, the vehicle tax legislation includes this definition:

"public road"

(a) in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, means a road which is repairable at the public expense

[R0b]

Correct, I think I was also incorporating the no insurance offence which if I recall refers to a public space.. broader than the public road definition.

[R0b]

* place not space

[zombie]

Making a SORN declaration means that the car will not be used on a public road, including private roads that are accessible to the public. If the vehicle was on private land as you claim, I am struggling to see how the fine can be upheld.

Has the DVLA supplied any evidence to back up their right to issue a fine?

The road itself is a normal road (cul de sac), but at the end you have the allocated parking spaces separated by a path. (orange car) at the moment i've just sent the form back appealing, they have said they have evidence but havent sent me any?

[HandyAndy]

You are entering a minefield with this.

The Road Traffic Act (s192) defines a road thus:

"...in relation to England and Wales, [road] means any highway and any other road to which the public has access, and includes bridges over which a road passes,"

There is lots of case law where the term "road" or "highway" has been in dispute. One case handled by a parking adjudicator dealt with a scooter being parked on a pavement.

PAVEMENT LIGHTS White-v-Westminster.PDF (londontribunals.gov.uk)


The defendant argued that not only was the pavement not part of a "road" but also that it was private property and so no offence was committed. Whilst not entirely the same as your situation, the adjudicator drew on a number of earlier rulings to help his decision. He ruled against the defendant and among the remarks in his conclusions was this:

"The areas in Glasshouse Street and Brewer Street where the Appellant parked, although privately owned, are either a part of the highway or a length of road to which the public has access (or both) and therefore are part of an urban road."

So what exactly is the status of this area? For example, if I drove my car to that location and there were free spaces, could I simply park there? If not, why not?

As far as evidence goes, provided there is no dispute over where your car was parked, the issue will be the status of the area involved and whether it is classed as a "public road". If you have a read through the decision I provided, you will see this is by no means straightforward.

I've see an Google Streetview of where I believe this is and I have to say (provided I'm looking at the right place) the areas you mention look more like large shared front drives than part of any road. But of course as you can see from the above decision, the property being privately owned does not necessarily take the biscuit.

One other thing that crosses my mind: I take it that the DVLA are alleging this is where the vehicle was seen and it was not elsewhere?

[PallasAthena]

It is a legal minefield as you say HandyAndy and this often comes up in relation to driving without insurance offences because the requirement to tax a vehicle is different to the requirement to insure.

For insurance the RTA (s143) requires insurance for a vehicle being used "on a road or other public place" with road being defined as you quoted (s192) "any highway and any other road to which the public has access". That definition only applies to the Road Traffic Act and can't be applied to other legislation which has its own definition of 'road', such as the law governing vehicle excise duty.

For car tax (VED) the relevant law is the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 which requires a vehicle to be taxed if it is "used, or kept, on a public road in the United Kingdom" with the definition (s62) "public road ...in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, means a road which is repairable at the public expense". That definition again is specific to the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act.

OP's alleged offence is tax related so the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act definition is the relevant one. That makes no reference to whether the public has access so that doesn't appear to be relevant to OP's situation. And I've emphasisied "public" as that appears to me to be an importatnt difference between the type of road defined in the RTA and the 'public road' defined in the VED legislation.

If in doubt OP can contact his local council to find out whether the place his vehicle was parked in is maintained by the council.

However, that still leaves scope for argument about whether the parking places do in fact form part of the road at all.

[zombie]

"So what exactly is the status of this area? For example, if I drove my car to that location and there were free spaces, could I simply park there? If not, why not?"
As far as I'm aware the parking spots are allocated to each house. I can't park in the spot next to mine as it belongs to my neighbour. I do know years ago someone dumped a car in one of the spots, the house that owned the spot contacted the police, the police got in contact with the owner which had to move it. If I remember correctly when the whole estate was built the plans showed each house with its relevant parking spot.

I also believe that the repairs to my parking spot are down to me.

the registry does mention my parking space (blanked out parts are my address)

Also yes the DVLA are alleging the incident is down my street, and nowhere else.

[HandyAndy]

Are we looking at somewhere like this?:

[zombie]

picture below