How to get relatives car off my property

[Avacadosprinkles]

A relative has left their car in my garage for the last 10 years. I want to sell my house and they won't move it. They could move it to their own property but don't want to. It was always meant to be temporary. I have brought it up several times over the years and they just brush me off with excuses every time. I have ran out of patience. What legal route do I need to take. I don't want to dispose of or sell the car I just want to get it towed to their driveway, but Google seems to suggest I could be prosecuted for criminal damage if I do

Tort is for abandoned vehicles. This is not abandoned in that sense. The op knows the owner. She knows where they live so can deliver it back.

This is wrong. Tort is not just for abandoned vehicles. It is for any situation where party A is in possession of goods belonging to party B and they want party B to collect their goods.

Since the vehicle is not taxed, moving it onto the road is an offence. Even towing the car is illegal if its wheels touch the road (quite apart from the fact that, as OP doesn't have the keys, there would be a high risk of damage if the car was towed). Delivering the car would therefore involve getting someone with specialist equipment to lift the car onto a flatbed truck, which would be expensive and, as OP doesn't have the keys, may damage the car.

As I posted previously, she should send the notice prescribed by the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 giving the owner a deadline to collect the car and stating that it will be sold if they do not collect it by then.

@prh47bridge I bow to your superior knowledge. In this situation (which would never ever happen) we would remove it and definitely await the consequences - if any! I doubt the police would be bothered. Abandoned cars never have owners traced - let alone anyone illegally fly tipping etc. This situation should have been faced down years ago.

Having been through this with my ExH the time for being nice is over.
Issue the Torts notice, yes they will act the victim, if someone whose opinion you care about infers you have been unfair show them the evidence.
My ExH complained to all and sundry about me, those whose opinion I cared about I showed that I had given him 6 months to clear and he had failed to take action.

I agree that the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 is uselss here. Cars cannot be sold without a V5.

what I can’t understand is OP’s reluctance to place the car on a flat bed and return it to the relative. That would not amount to an offence of taking without consent.

This is what the relevant statute (s12 of the Theft Act 1968) says about it:
a person shall be guilty of an offence if, without having the consent of the owner or other lawful authority, he takes any conveyance for his own or another’s use…

You wouldn’t be taking the car for your own use.

The car can be taken out of the garage using these things:

Because the relative can refuse to accept the vehicle or refuse to allow the tow truck on the premises.

It’s also an expense for the OP. Far better to pay £250 for a solicitor to write a letter saying move your vehicle or there will be consequences, and then pay for the vehicle to be sold/delivered, or even incur no expense if the relative moves it. Better that than pay hundreds for its safe removal, only to be forced to accept it back and be sued for damaging it.

The OP has not updated the thread, probably on legal advice.

I expect we will either never know, or she will return in 28 days (minus however many days ago she instructed solicitors) to say I did this, the relative did this and then I did this.

It is really easy to advise the OP to just go ahead and take a particular action, when it’s not your money, reputation or family relationship on the line,

She has explained why she wanted advice. She has consulted a solicitor. We can only hope we eventually get to find out what happened. Personally I can live without that as long as the OP gets the car safely and legally off her property.

Cars cannot be sold without a V5.

Of course they can.

You can apply for a replacement v5 ime.

Only if you are already the registered keeper.

Please explain how if the seller is neither the registered keeper or the owner.

Either OP or the buyer could submit form V62 to DVLA (with a £25 fee) to get a new V5C making them the registered keeper. However, for clarity, I am not suggesting that OP actually sells the car. She wants her relative to remove the car. I am suggesting that a notice under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act may be enough to get some action. Failing that, I'm afraid she probably will have to go to the expense of getting the car loaded onto a flatbed truck and delivered to her relative.

With V62 the DVLA attempts to contact the registered keeper though, (presumably unless you tick that the V5 has been lost in which case DVLA will issue a copy of the V5 with the same registered keeper as previously)

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-11-13/14189/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

As I say, I'm not recommending that OP sells the car, so whether she can isn't really relevant. I'm hoping that the threat of it being sold will be enough to get her relative to move it.

None of the conditions for applying for a V5 are met here so the OP would be fraudulently applying for it.

You didn’t actually caveat your statement. Cars are sold without V5Cs all the time. Clearly the OP can’t just sell it randomly but after following the appropriate legal process then of course it can be sold and a new V5C can be obtained as long as all of the paperwork is in place to back it up.

You also seem to believe that you can only obtain a new V5C using a V62 if you are already the RK which is also incorrect.

what car is still expensive after 10 years dumped in a garage?
Classic cars hold quite a lot of value even in a non-driveable state. My brother had several Morris Minors in various states of renovation when he died, and they were eventually sold for between £2k- £5k each.

@Avacadosprinkles- how are you getting on with this? Hope you’ve managed to take some action.

Cars are not normally sold withoout a V5. It is very unusual and is often a sign that the car is stolen, as would be the case here if OP takes some of the advice offered.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/guides/can-i-sell-a-car-without-a-v5c-logbook

Cars are regularly sold without V5C present. I’ve bought literally hundreds.

I would just scrap it. Get rid yourself. Then tell them it's not your problem anymore as they took advantage for so many years