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

Put an advert on gumtree and facebook market place saying you are scrapping the car and does anyone want it for cheap price then take photos of the adverts and send them to your friend saying if he doesnt come today the car is going

I’ve asked chat gpt and they say you’d be responsible for the vehicle. You’d need to get a letter sent from a solicitor, stating they have 28 days to remove it. Otherwise it will be scrapped and fees taken from the scrap money before the rest is released to them.

I think you should serve the torts act notice with the hope that they will move it. It would be difficult to sell without the documents and keys though. I'm fuming for you op. What a shitty way for them to treat you.

You contact them and say 'thanks so much for arranging to get the car moved on thursday, we will open the garage doors before we leave for work for you'.

I'd be tempted to put the house on the market and send them a link to the listing. Then if they ask about the car, say that unless they collect then it will be sound as part of the house sale.

As if the police have got the resources to come after someone returning a car to its owner. Take the handbrake off and roll it on the road. Tell them you’re doing it and they’ve got a days warning. No wonder it’s been there for ten years. If you weren’t moving house it would probably be another ten?!

When you say "the house has been sold and the new owners are moving in on x date", they'll move it. Put the house on the market asap. Even that might prompt them to get on with it.

Sounds like a golden sibling has been used to doing just as they please and thinks they can continue to do so as no-one holds him to account

The alternative is that you put the house on the market, give them the completion date and tell them they have to move it by then or the new owners get to enjoy it.

Those that are saying to include it with the house sale. I don't think that's legal. I just want the legal solutions. Torts doesn't quite fit the bill as it it disposal or selling only. If I ask a solicitor to write a letter to give them 28days notice to move their car or it will be towed to their address, would I be legally protected if the car got a scratch or whatever, would I be held responsible?

The law doesn’t always work as you want it to @Avacadosprinkles . You’ve been given a way to deal with this via the bailee/torts act, the fact you don’t like the outcome doesn’t change it.

So option:

1. put up with it
2. process set out above with formal notice and eventual disposal ( though frankly you might struggle to sell it)
3. take the risk and move it. The owner may not like to, but provided the car isn’t damaged what Clim do they actually have?

I’d do 3, write to them, tell them you withdraw consent to have it stored on their property and give 28 days to r over it or you will consider it abandoned. Use all the language and process for option 2 to preserver your position, then at the end of that period find someone to recover it to their driveway.

They could try to sue you, but again if no damage what are they going to do, plus there would be contributory behaviour/mitigation if you can show how ,I h and for how long you’d been trying to get the owner to engage.

The police rent going to care and I can go see how it would be in the public interest to prosecute my way.

Time to grow a pair and accept this person may be pissed but it’s their own fault, or keep putting up with it forever. Your choice.

Look at it from his point of view.

Firstly, does he own the garage? If he does not own the land the vehicle is on and has no permission from the landowner then his SORN is invalid.

Secondly, if he does not own the land or have permission from the landowner, he could be committing trespass. There are legal implications for him as well as you.

However, if he does own or have a valid claim to the land then he is legally covered.

Sadly, from what you are saying, the option that you want - that the relative collects the car before you put the house on the market - isnt going to happen. Selling a house in the UK takes months so I suggest that a) you document the conversations etc you've already had about them moving it including one final one b) you put the house up for sale as this will tell them you are serious c) take the formal steps warning them they have to remove and d) if they dont remove notify them that you are going to sell it and will keep they money for them minus your expenses pending making satisfactory arrangements to transfer said money ( and getting a receipt from them which you might have to generate and make them sign). Not what you wanted but you do seem to be stuck otherwise.

Those that are saying to include it with the house sale. I don't think that's legal.

No, not if the house is sold with vacant possession.

Is your house actually under offer or have you not started marketing yet? I would get the car removed first because if you need a court order it could take months.

Could you pay to have it transported and left outside their house , it may be worth the cost to be rid of it?

Not on the market yet. I want this resolving prior to putting the house on the market. I don't want the stress of dealing with both the house sale and sorting the car situation. The relative knows I want to move house, I don't think they give a shit that it's inconveniencing me

I am really curious about sort of car it is

It’s not that we are suggesting you sell it with the house. Not at all. However if you sell the house, what’s in it becomes owned by the new owner, but they can potentially charge you for disposal.

The idea would be more that it’s a hard and clear boundary for your relative. You tell them the dates and what will happen. If they don’t collect that car, they won’t be able to.

It’s not unreasonable to view a house with a car in the garage. No one is going to not buy the house because there was a car parked in the garage when they viewed. They don’t need to know the backstory or that it’s not yours. When the sale proceeds you tell the relative that on 1st October the new owners will be moving in, and it’s on them to move it. Stop letting them control you.

So just like a divorce, you send a recorded delivery letter with 28 days notice to move it. After that id love to see a court try do you for criminal damage if you have it towed to their address.

I didn't suggest selling it with the house, I said give them a deadline for when the house is being sold and if they don't collect it buy then its on them.

Put it in writing, recorded delivery or as a solicitor letter, and specify that if it is still in your property when the house is sold you'll claim back from them any costs you're liable for.

Look into a county court order, which is a legally binding instruction from a civil court requiring your relative to remove the car by a specific date. First, as other posters have suggested, get a solicitor to send a formal letter giving 28 days to move it, stating that failure to do so will result in a court application at their cost.

If they don’t move it, apply to the county court. This will cost you a small amount, which the relative can be ordered to reimburse you, and once the order is granted you can arrange a professional tow with complete legal protection. If they then ignore the court order they are in contempt of court, which will be their problem. It’s a bit slower than you’d like, but this way should protect you.

It is on me to make sure it's resolved before the new owners move in. I'm not willing to pass the problem on to the new owners of the house. I want to resolve this first

You can’t scrap a car you don’t own. The documents need to be in your name.

Get it towed to a carpark and leave it.

Do you know roughly how much applying to county court would cost and how long this process takes?