Do I have to pay a private parking charge?

Private parking charges are contractual, not fines. You are only liable as the keeper if the operator followed the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 requirements exactly. Over 50% of POPLA appeals succeed.

How do I appeal a council parking ticket?

You have 28 days from the PCN date to make an informal challenge. If rejected, you receive a Notice to Owner and have 28 days to make a formal representation. If that fails, you can appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for free.

How long do I have to appeal?

For council PCNs, 28 days from the date of issue. For private parking charges, 28 days from the original notice. The 50% discount is typically frozen during the appeal process.

5 June 2026

The New Private Parking Code 2026: Charge Caps, Grace Periods & Your Rights

For years, private parking in the UK was governed by two competing industry rulebooks — one from the British Parking Association (BPA), another from the International Parking Community (IPC). The result was a patchwork that confused motorists and gave operators plenty of room to push aggressive charges. That is now changing. A single, industry-wide Private Parking Code of Practice is being rolled out across sites through 2026, and it puts real limits on what operators can charge and how quickly they can ticket you.

Charge Caps: Most Tickets Are Now Capped at £50

The headline change is a cap on charges. Outside London, most parking charges are now capped at £50, rising to £80 for more serious contraventions — such as parking in a disabled bay without a valid Blue Badge. Inside London, where parking pressure is higher, the caps are set at £80 and £130 respectively.

This matters directly to your appeal. If you have received a charge demanding more than the applicable cap for the alleged contravention, that is a clear and citable problem with the notice — and a strong basis to challenge it.

The 10-Minute Grace Period

A mandatory 10-minute grace period after the expiry of any paid-for or free parking period is now built into the single Code. In practice, this means that if your paid time ran out at 2:00pm, an operator should not issue a charge for an exit at, say, 2:08pm. If your Notice to Keeper shows that the charge was triggered inside that 10-minute window, the charge should not stand.

The 5-Minute Consideration Period

Just as important is the 5-minute consideration period when you first arrive. This gives you time to read the signage, understand the terms, and decide whether to park or leave — without being charged. If a camera or warden issued a charge within five minutes of your arrival, before you had any real chance to read the terms or move on, that charge is open to challenge.

What Hasn't Changed: PoFA 2012 Still Applies

The new Code sits on top of the existing legal framework — it does not replace it. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) still governs when and how an operator can pursue you as the registered keeper rather than the driver. Crucially, the operator must serve a compliant Notice to Keeper within the statutory timeframe. If they got the timing or content wrong, keeper liability fails — regardless of the new Code.

How the New Code Strengthens Your Appeal

Taken together, the 2026 changes give motorists several concrete, evidence-backed grounds to challenge a private parking charge:

Charge exceeds the cap for the contravention type and location.
Ticket issued inside the 10-minute grace period after your paid or free time expired.
Ticket issued inside the 5-minute consideration period after you arrived.
Signage was inadequate — terms not prominent, legible, or correctly placed.
Defective Notice to Keeper under PoFA 2012 (late or non-compliant).

The operators know most people simply pay to make the charge go away. Don't. If any of the above applies to your ticket, you have a genuine basis to appeal — and the new Code is on your side.

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