Britainupdated 58m ago2 min read
Andy Burnham Ends Rip-Off Parking Charges With 5-Minute Decision And 10-Minute Exit Rules
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Guaranteed five-minute decision period to park under new private parking rules. Ten-minute grace period to leave car parks without penalty.
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New rights for drivers
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced new rules to end what he called “rip-off parking charges,” giving drivers a guaranteed 5 minute period to decide whether to park and 10 minutes to leave without facing a penalty once their session ends. The rules will allow charges to be cancelled on appeal for issues drivers cannot control, including vehicle breakdowns in car parks, medical emergencies, or broken ticket machines. The rules will also cancel charges for honest mistakes such as stopping to check directions, and they will set maximum charges of £20 on appeal for smaller slip-ups like forgetting a parking permit or entering the wrong vehicle registration.
The government will freeze the maximum parking charge at £100, and it will require operators who do not comply to risk losing access to DVLA data. Angela Rayner said, “Parking should be straightforward, not another everyday hassle,” as the changes are laid out for England, Scotland and Wales.
Grace periods, £20 appeals
Andy Burnham framed the changes around the idea that “Being a few minutes late back to your car or typing one digit of your numberplate wrong shouldn’t end with a hefty fine landing on your doormat.” The government said the Private Parking Code of Practice laid in Parliament will scrap charges on appeal for honest mistakes like stopping briefly to check directions and for situations like a medical emergency, breakdown or broken ticket machine. The code will impose maximum charges of £20 on appeal for smaller slip-ups, including forgetting a parking permit, entering the wrong vehicle’s registration, or forgetting to confirm it in the machine when parking.
The government said it will also consult on private parking debt recovery fees, including whether to cut an existing £70 cap or scrap the fees altogether. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the code was a “step in the right direction,” while warning it was “not the leap” his firm had been campaigning for.
Scale of tickets and oversight
Government data analysed by the Press Association and the RAC Foundation showed a record 17 million private parking tickets were issued in 2025/2026, a 17% increase from a year earlier. The BBC said the data suggested drivers could collectively face private parking charges worth more than £4.6m each day, with each charge worth up to £100. The government said operators who do not comply risk losing access to DVLA data, which it said would make it far more difficult to identify the registered owner to pursue payment.
The code will apply in England, Scotland and Wales and will bring in a fully independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board for the first time, with operators required to report data on the charges they issue and how appeals are handled. The Guardian reported that Which? said the “long overdue” rules appeared to fall well short of what was needed to help drivers fight back against private parking “cowboys,” and the consumer body said the government had shied away from a £50 price cap.