05 October 2018
A new law to protect private landowners against vehicles parking on their land without permission has been lodged by the Minister for Home Affairs.
The draft Motor Vehicles (Removal from Private Land) (Jersey) Law - will allow landowners to
- remove vehicles from their land when the vehicles do not have permission to be there
- apply to the Petty Debts Court for an order preventing persistent ‘nuisance’ parking on their land
The draft law will also make it unlawful for landowners to interfere with or to immobilise vehicles on their land. This will make practices like wheel clamping prohibited.
The Minister for Home Affairs, Connétable Len Norman, said: “Vehicles that are parked on private land without permission can be a source of great frustration for private landowners. Currently, private landowners have few remedies to deal with the problem, and it can involve a costly legal process. The introduction of this law will make it much easier for private landowners to deal with vehicles that have been abandoned on their land or that are causing a nuisance, obstruction or a potential hazard to the emergency services.”
If the States approve the law, additional regulations will be brought in at the beginning of 2019 to introduce the new powers.
A register of reputable vehicle removal operators will be established so the public can be assured that any vehicle removals will be carried out safely and appropriately.
The draft law will be debated at the States sitting on Tuesday, 20 November.
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