New private parking rules promise grace periods and £20 cap for honest mistakes

Drivers who use private car parks at supermarkets, retail parks, hospitals and stations are to get new rights to challenge what the government calls 'rip-off' parking charges, under a new Private Parking Code of Practice.

The code was announced by the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and laid before Parliament on 20 October 2026. It covers England, Scotland and Wales. It is not yet in force and must complete its passage through Parliament first.

"These charges leave people feeling ripped off and out of pocket, so I'm putting a stop to them," Mr Burnham said. "We are introducing clearer rules, longer grace periods and lower charges for genuine mistakes, while going after the deliberate scams that rip drivers off."

What the new code means for drivers

Drivers will get a guaranteed five-minute period on arrival to decide whether to park. Once their paid time runs out, they will have a 10-minute grace period before a ticket can be issued.

Charges should be cancelled on appeal where there is a genuine reason, for example a breakdown, a medical emergency or a broken payment machine.

For smaller slips, such as typing one digit of a number plate wrong, forgetting to display a valid permit or making a mistake at the payment machine, the charge will be capped at £20 on appeal.

Private parking charges will stay capped at a maximum of £100. The code will also bring in a fully independent scrutiny and oversight board for the first time.

The government said operators that do not comply risk losing access to DVLA data. Private parking firms use the DVLA's vehicle keeper records to find and pursue the registered owners of cars, so losing that access would make it far harder for them to collect payment.

Record numbers of tickets

A record 16.9 million private parking tickets were issued in the year to the end of March 2026, according to analysis of government figures by the RAC Foundation. That was a rise of 17 per cent on the year before.

Private car parks already have an industry code, brought in by the two trade bodies in October 2024, which includes a 10-minute grace period. The new code puts these protections on a legal footing, seven years after the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 became law.

Reaction and what is not covered

The RAC's head of policy, Simon Williams, called the code a "step in the right direction". The motoring group said more needs to be done, because debt recovery fees can still be added on top of tickets. These fees are currently capped at £70. The government has said it will consult on whether to lower that cap or scrap the fees altogether.

The AA's head of roads policy, Jack Cousens, said drivers "finally have something which could offer them better protections against the worst private parking operators". He called for debt recovery fees to be banned and for the industry-run appeals bodies to be replaced by a single independent one.

The shadow transport minister, Greg Smith, criticised the plans. He said the £100 maximum was unchanged and that the government had not banned debt recovery fees.

The code applies only to Parking Charge Notices issued by private companies on private land. Penalty Charge Notices issued by councils, such as those enforced by camera cars and civil enforcement officers on streets and in council car parks in Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Brent and Harrow, have their own separate rules and appeals process. They are not affected.

Until the new code takes effect, drivers who get a private parking charge can still appeal to the operator first and then to the independent appeals service run by its trade body. Keeping receipts, photos of signs and evidence of faulty machines can help with an appeal.