Nuisance vehicles

Vehicles can cause a problem if they are in a place they shouldn't be, or if someone is selling or repairing them in the street.

'Vehicles' can include cars, vans, motorcycles, caravans, and trailers - including trailers from articulated lorries.

Responsibility for dealing with the problem could fall with us, Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Police or the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Find out about:

Selling vehicles in the street, or on council land

It's OK to sell your own car or van outside your home, but running a business selling vehicles in the street is not. Two or more vehicles being sold by the same person, within 500 metres of each other, are classed as a nuisance, and we will investigate.

We don't allow people to sell vehicles on council land, such as open spaces, garage sites and car parks.

Repairing vehicles in the road

If you run a business repairing or servicing cars, you are not allowed to do it in the street or other public place. It's usually fine to repair your own car on the road, but if causes a nuisance to people that live nearby it could still be an offence.

If you run a vehicle repair business from your home you could be breaking planning rules, breaching your tenancy agreement (if you rent your home), or going against a covenant in your title deeds if you own your property.

Vehicles that block a council garage or council land

If a vehicle isn't taxed and hasn't moved for a long period of time (or if it has been vandalised), we may treat it as an abandoned vehicle.

We will also investigate reports of vehicles that are blocking entry to council garages or other council owned sites and land.

Caravans and trailers

If you have a caravan or other towed vehicle (such as a trailer, horse box, folding camper or HGV trailer), you should have somewhere suitable to store it, such as on your property or at a storage site.

We will investigate reports of caravans and trailers that have been parked up on council land, are blocking access to council garages, or that are causing an obstruction in the street.

If someone is living in a caravan or other vehicle on public or private land without the landowner's permission, it may be classed as an unauthorised encampment.

On-street parking enforcement

Derbyshire County Council and the police share responsibility for enforcing parking on the street, including parking on the pavement, blocking dropped kerb access and residents' parking zones. Find out more here.

If a vehicle is parked on zig zag lines, dangerously, or in a way that would prevent access to emergency vehicles, please report it here.

Report a nuisance vehicle

Let us know if a vehicle is causing a nuisance.

We need to know:

where the vehicle is and what the problem is
when the problem happens or how long it has been there
how the problem is affecting you

We can't investigate anonymous complaints. We need your name and address because we will need to visit your property or we may need to ask you for more information.

We won't share your name and address with the person causing the problem. But in exceptional circumstances your details may be quoted if your evidence is used in court.

Photos can help us with our enquiries - but don't take photos if you feel it isn't safe.

Tell us about nuisance vehicle

Protecting your privacy - find out how we keep your information safe.

What we can do

We will investigate the problem to see what action is needed. Where we can we will try and resolve issues informally, but can take a more formal approach if necessary.

Depending on the problem, we may work with, or pass the complaint to, Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Police or the DVLA.

Notices and prosecution

In some circumstances formal action may be required.

If the person causing the problem rents their property from us they may be breaching their tenancy agreement. We will also check if the problem breaches a planning application.