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Parking tickets on private land
This advice applies to Scotland Print
In many areas, parking on public land is managed by the local authority. Where it isn’t, the police are responsible instead. Parking tickets can be issued by either the local authority parking attendant, or by a police officer or traffic warden.
On private land, parking is often managed by private parking companies who issue their own parking tickets. The rules about issuing these tickets are different to the rules about tickets issued by local authorities or the police.
On this page, read about what you can expect if you get a parking ticket if you parked in a private car park or on private land.
Parking on private land
If you park on private land, such as a supermarket car park or a privately owned multi-story car park, you will have entered into a contract with the landowner. If there are clear signs displayed in the car park setting out rules for using the car park, then these are the terms of the contract. If any of these rules are broken, then the car park owner can take steps to enforce them. There is often a parking operating company managing the car park for the owner or landlord.
Parking on a private residential road
Some roads are privately owned by the residents. Residents may have problems with unauthorised parking. Private landowners are entitled to impose reasonable terms and conditions and restrictions on those using their land. You may want to get legal advice about how to enforce your legal rights. Options available to resident landowners include:
asking the local authority to adopt the road, with enforcement coming under local authority control. This requires majority agreement. Your local authority can explain the process, including any costs.
entering into an agreement with a reputable private parking operator to enforce the parking restrictions.
When a parking ticket may be issued
If you park on private land without permission from the owner, or breach any conditions imposed by the owner, then the owner or someone authorised by them, may give you a parking ticket. This might look like an official fixed penalty but it isn't one. It's a notice that the owner of the car park or the private car park operator intends to take you to a civil court, and will offer to let you pay the charge to settle the case out of court. This is a civil matter, not a criminal one.
You must be aware of the terms of use of the parking
The car park operator issues the notice on the basis that you have broken the terms of the contract between you and the landowner. There is no specific legislation dealing with parking on private land in Scotland. The general principles of contract law apply. This means that for a binding contract to be formed between you and the landowner, the rules about where and when you can park and what charges apply must be displayed clearly throughout the car park (particularly at the entrances). They must be clear enough so that no reasonable person could claim that they were not aware of the rules.
A sign is misleading if it fails to make it clear what the car parking rules that form the contract between you and the landowner are. If signs are misleading or deceptive, they might break consumer protection regulations, as well as not forming a valid and enforceable term of the contract between you and the landowner.