Abandoned vehicles

Nuisance or abandoned?

Abandoned vehicles often get confused with nuisance vehicles. A vehicle that is causing a nuisance is often not abandoned. Examples of a vehicle causing a nuisance are poorly parked, causing an obstruction, residential parking issues, broken down, untaxed.

The Council is not allowed to investigate and remove vehicles that are not abandoned. You should not report vehicles that are causing a nuisance or parked inconsiderately as abandoned as it wastes valuable police and council time. Vehicles that are not abandoned will not be removed and you will not be advised of the outcome. Find more information about nuisance vehicles

It is an offence to unlawfully abandon a vehicle. Anyone found to do so may face a fine and be required to pay the cost of collection, storage and disposal of the vehicle.

Reporting an abandoned vehicle

Before reporting a vehicle as abandoned please collect as much information as possible. Local authorities often receive reports of vehicles that are not actually abandoned. The following points should help to decide before making a report

A vehicle is likely to be abandoned if at least one of the following applies:

• It has no keeper on DVLA's database and is not taxed - get vehicle information from DVLA and report a vehicle with no tax
• there is litter, weeds or leaves under the vehicle indicating that it has been there for some time
• it has significant damage e.g. has flat tyres, missing wheels or broken windows
• there is mould on the inside or outside of the vehicle
• it has been burnt out
• it has been 'hot-wired' i.e. driven without keys and has wires hanging from the dashboard
• the number plate is missing

It would also help if you have the following information:

• registration number of the vehicle
• make, model and colour of the vehicle
• location of the vehicle
• approximately how long the vehicle has been there for

What happens next?

The Council works in partnership with Northumbria Police to investigate reports of abandoned vehicles through the AVAIL (Abandoned Vehicle Action Information Liaison) scheme.

When a report is investigated and the vehicle is confirmed as abandoned, it will be removed in a timescale dictated by the circumstances.

When a report is investigated and the vehicle is NOT abandoned, the police will make the Council aware and a record of the outcome will be retained for future reference.

Report an abandoned vehicle