Removing abandoned car from underground car park?

connundrum

Hey,

There is an old car abandoned in the underground car park of our apartment block. It has been there since Sept 2008 approx.

Phonecalls have been made to the guards and city council with no result.

Is (as I've heard) the best way to move it to - remove plates, push car out onto main road?

All other suggestions welcome.

CharlieCroker

afaik, it's up to the management company to sort it out.
Gardai and council dont care as its on private property.
not their problem

I would't touch it as you could be done for criminal damage or theft if you remove the number plates

galwaytt

tbh, it's none of your business ........maybe the resident is gone on a 6-mth work contract abroad. Or is out of work, and parked it. Or is ill, in hospital. Or........you get the idea......

If it's belonging to some other resident, and you interfere with it, you're liable for damage/theft.

If it's not in your space, what's the issue ?

GeeNorm

Yeah, my brother went looking for his car one day to find the management company had dumped it. It was in his own spot was the funny thing but some resident had been harping on at the mgt company to move it for 4 months so they did!

McSpud

Cars have been abandoned in our underground car park & have been removed - not sure what happens to them. If something has been there for 6 months I think can assume it is abandoned. If I was going away for 6 months I would notify the Mgt Co. so they don't take car.

I suppose could just drag outside the complex & let local authority deal with it.

hobochris

surely it should be up to the person who's sport its in to get the management company to move it, not some busybody neighbor who's business it is not.

Victor_M

If it's in Fingal here is the number 01- 8906287 / 8906289

If not, the relevant CoCo will have a facility to remove cars on the behalf of scumbags too lazy to pay for the scrappage/ safe removal themselves, just make sure reg plates are removed and they will come and take it within a day or two.

galwaytt

McSpud wrote: »

Cars have been abandoned in our underground car park & have been removed - not sure what happens to them. If something has been there for 6 months I think can assume it is abandoned. If I was going away for 6 months I would notify the Mgt Co. so they don't take car.

I suppose could just drag outside the complex & let local authority deal with it.

That's theft, pure and simple. Once a resident, you can park your car for 100 years if you like, and never use it. The mgt company can't touch it under any circumstances.

McSpud

galwaytt wrote: »

That's theft, pure and simple. Once a resident, you can park your car for 100 years if you like, and never use it. The mgt company can't touch it under any circumstances.

Mgt Company set the rules & if the rule exists can do whatever they want. We don't have designated parking spots so first sign car has been there a while is the inch of dust on it. I am not aware that any cars removed in error as I would guess most were fairly obvious that abandoned. To use your logic nothing stoipping me storing 50 rust buckets in my car park indefinitely.

A good few years ago car thieves stored a few cars in the car park too. Can't remember what cars they were but were high value.

thegen

When you say an old banger, what is it?

Seth Brundle

Is it in your parking spot? If not, why all the concern?

Yakult

I can see this just been a repeat of the episode a few weeks ago where someone wanted to claim ownership of an "abandoned" car.

Do we really need it again?

connundrum

To clarify,

The car is parked in no one's spot as spots are not assigned, and it is covering 2 spots in the way it is parked.

The problem is that its taking up two spaces where parking is at a premium.

Add that to the fact that two cars have been burned out on site in the last six months makes this car a prime target IMO.

Tax is out since Aug 2008, NCT is out since 2007 and there's no insurance disk.

Its a 1996 Opel Vectra.

I'm not looking to claim it, I'm trying to free up space for myself and others as well as trying to avoid the real possibility of fire damage to the carpark and nearby cars.

galwaytt

connundrum wrote: »

To clarify,

The car is parked in no one's spot as spots are not assigned, and it is covering 2 spots in the way it is parked.

The problem is that its taking up two spaces where parking is at a premium.

Add that to the fact that two cars have been burned out on site in the last six months makes this car a prime target IMO.

Tax is out since Aug 2008, NCT is out since 2007 and there's no insurance disk.

Its a 1996 Opel Vectra.

I'm not looking to claim it, I'm trying to free up space for myself and others as well as trying to avoid the real possibility of fire damage to the carpark and nearby cars.

Nothing you say there gives you any right to interfere with someone else's property. Just as surely as someone can't interfere with yours........which I'm sure you would have an issue with.

I have a property, mgt co 'managed', and I'm familiar with the scenario, but at the end of the day, the law is the law, and 'rules' introduced by the likes of a mgt co are subservient to the laws of the State, end of.

Fwiw, tax is irrelevant - it is not a requirement unless the cars is out on a public carriageway. NCT....mmm, plenty of threads on that already !

Blitzkrieger

Are you sure it's abandoned? I've got my second car in an underground car park and only bring it out for an hour or two every fortnight. To a casual observer it might look like it never moves.

McSpud

If someone parked his car on your driveway or front garden coud you legally removed it?

preilly79

my car has been parked in the underground carpark of our building for the last two years. there's more than an inch of dust on it. it's not taxed, insured nor NCT'd. but it IS in the space that I pay for.

you do mention that the spaces are not assigned to anybody, but that doesn't mean somebody hasn't gone abroad. if it's not your car, it's not your business.

whowantstwoknow

Just checking...

There appears to be 2 cars parked in my estate and they havent been touched for 4+ weeks. Both cars have expired NCT/Tax/Insurance. Is ones housing estate considered a public road? and if so will the CoCo remove as they are untaxed? Whatever about the tax, but I'd hate to think the "owners" subsequently using the cars and being involved in an accident etc. etc.

Thanks
W.

smash

If it's in an apartment block then I'd presume the owner lives there. It's not your concern unless it's in your spot and I'd be well p!ssed off if I had a car that I left lye for a few months to find out some nosey git had got it crushed!

whowantstwoknow

Not an apartment block just a normal estate. Are the road in an estate deemed public? cause if so they shouldn't be there as they have no tax, thats the law...

W.

Victor_M

whowantstwoknow wrote: »

Not an apartment block just a normal estate. Are the road in an estate deemed public? cause if so they shouldn't be there as they have no tax, thats the law...

W.

Call the guards with the reg, ask if it/they have been reported stolen, if you get a nice guard he'll contact the owner and ask them to move the car if it's causing an obstruction or seems like it's been abandoned, if the tax is out then it's not supposed to on the road and once you have tried nicely to have it moved (leave a note on the window) call the local council and they will come and remove it.

Lots of people seem to think it's perfectly acceptable to dump their cars on someone else's doorstep making it someone elses problem.

If all else fails pull off the reg plates and call the council again and they have to come and reomve it.

redfacedbear

whowantstwoknow wrote: »

Not an apartment block just a normal estate. Are the road in an estate deemed public? cause if so they shouldn't be there as they have no tax, thats the law...

W.

It depends on the estate. Normally the Local Authority will only 'take in charge' an estate a number of years after it has been developed and if there are no issues unresolved (e.g. drainage, public lighting etc). Once it has been taken in charge the road is a public road and the responsibility of the Local Authority. If it hasn't been taken in charge then the road (most likely) is the property of the developer and the abandoned car would be their problem.

slimjimmc

redfacedbear wrote: »

It depends on the estate. Normally the Local Authority will only 'take in charge' an estate a number of years after it has been developed and if there are no issues unresolved (e.g. drainage, public lighting etc). Once it has been taken in charge the road is a public road and the responsibility of the Local Authority. If it hasn't been taken in charge then the road (most likely) is the property of the developer and the abandoned car would be their problem.

Not relevant, it don't matter who takes over the ownership of the estate, private or council. Once the public have access it's deemed a "public place" and that's the important bit. Any vehicle in a public place must have current motor tax and insurance and NCT (if applicable) and the Local Authority and Gardaí would be obliged to apply the law.

connundrum

Just saw that this was updated and said I'd update everyone on my situation.

The car is still there, the doors have now been magically opened, with 2 windows being smashed, allowing kids to play in it on a frequent basis.

Phonecalls to the Gardai have proved fruitless, car isn't stolen, the cop I was speaking to said that she's write to the registered owner asking him/her to move it/claim it. That was back in May.

Local council have nothing to say on the matter.

A local scrap yard have agreed to take it once a letter of permission has been given by the Managing Agent i.e. MA takes responsibility for the car if the owner returns to find it gone.

As I said from the beginning, its not me being a nosy or akward prick. I believed the car to be abandoned, it was taking up 2 spaces, it is a fire risk and is a H&S risk with kids playing in it.

Whilst I respect the right of people's private property not being interfered with, you can't just dump your crap wherever you want for nearly a year and expect everyone to be ok with it.

markpb

We have the same problem in our estate - people dump their cars in our underground car park when they don't want to pay to get rid of them. Eventually someone notices and they are vandalised, anything worthwhile is stolen and occasionally set on fire costing us a fortune in repairs (and sometimes affecting other cars parked nearby).

We started removing cars a few years ago once they sat for a year and the Gardai confirmed they weren't stolen or owned by anyone in the estate. It's not entirely legal because we're crushing someone else's property but in most cases nothing ever comes of it because the owner didn't want it anyway. It's annoying because all the owners have to pay for their waste but there's nothing we can do because it's not a public road.

Victor_M

connundrum wrote: »

Just saw that this was updated and said I'd update everyone on my situation.

The car is still there, the doors have now been magically opened, with 2 windows being smashed, allowing kids to play in it on a frequent basis.

Phonecalls to the Gardai have proved fruitless, car isn't stolen, the cop I was speaking to said that she's write to the registered owner asking him/her to move it/claim it. That was back in May.

Local council have nothing to say on the matter.

A local scrap yard have agreed to take it once a letter of permission has been given by the Managing Agent i.e. MA takes responsibility for the car if the owner returns to find it gone.

As I said from the beginning, its not me being a nosy or akward prick. I believed the car to be abandoned, it was taking up 2 spaces, it is a fire risk and is a H&S risk with kids playing in it.

Whilst I respect the right of people's private property not being interfered with, you can't just dump your crap wherever you want for nearly a year and expect everyone to be ok with it.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, pull the registration plates off the car, call your local council tell them there is an abandoned car with no reg plates on it, they have to come and remove it.

FGR

It was asked already but not answered -

What is the case when someone parks their vehicle on your own private driveway? From a Garda standpoint nothing can be done..however can the owner of the house take it upon himself to have the vehicle removed without repercussion?

markpb

ForegoneReality wrote: »

It was asked already but not answered -

What is the case when someone parks their vehicle on your own private driveway? From a Garda standpoint nothing can be done..however can the owner of the house take it upon himself to have the vehicle removed with repercussion?

From what I've been told, there's nothing you can do. If you touch or move their car without permission, they can sue you for damages. It's a crazy situation.

samsemtex

markpb wrote: »

From what I've been told, there's nothing you can do. If you touch or move their car without permission, they can sue you for damages. It's a crazy situation.

By parking on your driveway they are interfering with your property rights just as much as you would be with theirs. There is nothing to stop you having there car moved and if it did go to court i dont think they would have a leg to stand on. You cant just dump your property on someone elses land.

dogbert27

With regards to abandoned cars in housing estates:

I have the same problem at the minute. Car has been there for over 9 months now. Magically appeared one morning parked in a general parking area with "For Sale" written on it. At first I assumed that it was one of the houses nearby. After a few months it started to bug me but when it started to get vandalised it really annoyed me.
I got on to the local council and they said the estate is still in the developers control. Called them and they said they'll take care of it. I talked to them yesterday and they said that they have to put a notice on the car that if it is not removed by the owner then the developer will have it removed. Legally they have to leave the note there for a few weeks.
This sounds ridiculous as it is a car that has been a) abandoned for over 9 months and b) vandalised on a weekly basis by kids.
Do they really think that the notice they put on the car today will still be there tomorrow?
Why can't they just say they put the notice on the car a few weeks ago and nobody claimed ownership?!

marganne

Hi, I've just jooined Boards and am very interested in finding out about abandoned cars. There is a car on our road for over a year, untaxed and despite several calls to gardai we have been told its up to the owner, outside whose house it is, incidentally. I pointed out to the Gardai that I was under the impression that an untaxed car should not be left for such a long time. However the Garda in question didn't seem to know the legal situation. Wing mirrors are now broken and hooligans regularly walk over it at weekends!! Travellers have called to the road asking can they take it away, and when they call to the house in question they are told no.
The Gardai said the County Council may consider it a litter problem if it gets badly enough vandalised, but how long do we wait for that?. It is unsightly and very near a acorner, opposite another house driveway, making it difficult for the resident to gain access.

Victor_M

marganne wrote: »

Hi, I've just jooined Boards and am very interested in finding out about abandoned cars. There is a car on our road for over a year, untaxed and despite several calls to gardai we have been told its up to the owner, outside whose house it is, incidentally. I pointed out to the Gardai that I was under the impression that an untaxed car should not be left for such a long time. However the Garda in question didn't seem to know the legal situation. Wing mirrors are now broken and hooligans regularly walk over it at weekends!! Travellers have called to the road asking can they take it away, and when they call to the house in question they are told no.
The Gardai said the County Council may consider it a litter problem if it gets badly enough vandalised, but how long do we wait for that?. It is unsightly and very near a acorner, opposite another house driveway, making it difficult for the resident to gain access.

Remove the registration plates (once you are certain it's been abandoned, in your case it is, over a year and untaxed so it shouldn't be on the road), call your local council they will have a department for removing dumped rubbish/abandoned cars/burnt out cars etc, tell them there is a car with no registration and it's posing a safety risk to the area they will have it removed within 2 days.

JMSE

connundrum wrote: »

Tax is out since Aug 2008

Ah sure that means they can drive it for another year. Sounds to me like its in the way and it doesnt belong there

nialler

If the car is out on a public road and untaxed it should be up on blocks, if it's on private property I'm afraid there's nowt you can do about it, Management Company are the ones to contact I doubt your CoCo has any right to trespass on the property as the car parking spaces are the property of all the tenants/owners.

maidhc

Victor_M wrote: »

Remove the registration plates (once you are certain it's been abandoned, in your case it is, over a year and untaxed so it shouldn't be on the road), call your local council they will have a department for removing dumped rubbish/abandoned cars/burnt out cars etc, tell them there is a car with no registration and it's posing a safety risk to the area they will have it removed within 2 days.

I don't think you should be advising people that criminal damage is way to solve problems.

The relevant law is set out pretty well in this judgment
http://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/IEHC/2005/H420.html

Victor_M

maidhc wrote: »

I don't think you should be advising people that criminal damage is way to solve problems.

The relevant law is set out pretty well in this judgment
http://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/IEHC/2005/H420.html

That's one way of looking at it, having museum buses as your example states removed is one thing having an abandoned car that is clearly abandoned, untaxed and uninsured removed is another.
If you are happy to ignore cars abandoned in your area and do nothing about it that's fine, but I'm not.
You can quote as many pretty irrelevant examples as you like, just don't abandon a car anywhere near my house, as it won't last too long;)

JHMEG

Cars abandoned on private property (eg underground carpark) are not the realm of the local authority or the gardaí.

Cars abandoned on public roads are technically litter but some local authorities won't deal with them as such, instead insisting it's a matter for the gardaí.

When I say abandoned, I mean abandoned, not parked up.

No car can legally be on public road without displaying a valid motor tax disc, so this can help to establish whether it's abandoned or not.

Gary ITR

I'm going to lock this because it's ancient and going nowhere