Private Parking Code of Practice

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Homelessness, Democracy, Communities and Faith (Florence Eshalomi)]

Today I have laid before Parliament the private parking code of practice, marking the Government’s first step in our commitment to protect drivers across England, Scotland and Wales.

Everyone knows a story of someone getting ripped off through huge charges, often because they have been a couple of minutes late back to their car, or because of something entirely out of their control. The new code will give drivers a range of rights and protections to make these unfair practices a thing of the past.

Drivers will now have a guaranteed minimum five minutes to decide whether to park and 10 minutes to leave without facing a penalty. The maximum charge will be capped at £60 if paid within a fortnight, and frozen at £100 if not. But for honest mistakes, like forgetting a permit, charges will now be limited to £20.

These are just a few examples of the dozens of new rights and protections being brought in for drivers. Operators who fail to comply will now face losing their access to DVLA data to pursue payment.

The code has been laid after receiving over 4,000 consultation responses, which showed drivers want fairer appeals, and independent oversight of the private parking industry. It will now be subject to the statutory parliamentary process set out in the Act. Parliament has a 40-day scrutiny period. The code will come into force 21 days from the point it is issued and replace the industry’s existing sector single code.

The Government will publish a further consultation as soon as possible which will include debt recovery and cover the remaining topics raised by the Competition and Markets Authority in their open letter sent to my Department in April 2026. We are committed to continue to set the bar at the right level and take further steps as necessary, based on sound evidence.

We are also today announcing plans to ban car clocking—the practice of altering a vehicle’s mileage. This will be done through the addition of odometer tampering to schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Anyone who buys a second-hand car should have the confidence of knowing the mileage has not been tampered with.

This Government know that if we are to give people hope again, we must show that politics can work for them. Through these everyday fixes for drivers, we are taking on daily frustrations to make life that bit easier.

[HCWS393]