Abandoned and nuisance vehicles
27Removal of abandoned and nuisance vehicles
(1)Section 3(2) (requirement to give notice to occupier) of the 1978 Act does not apply where the vehicle is abandoned on any relevant land in Greater London.
(2)This section is without prejudice to section 3(2A) of the 1978 Act (no requirement to give notice to occupier in the case of vehicle abandoned on a road).
(3)In this section, “relevant land” means land to which the public has access, and does not include any—
(a)land within the curtilage of a dwelling;
(b)driveway giving access to a dwelling;
(c)fuel or field garden allotment within the meaning of section 19 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (c. 67).
28Disposal of removed vehicles
(1)Section 4 (disposal of abandoned vehicles) of the 1978 Act shall have effect in the area of a borough council in accordance with this section.
(2)For subsection (5), there is substituted—
“(5)The local authority shall permit a person to remove a vehicle from their custody before it is disposed of by the local authority in pursuance of this section, if that person—
(a)satisfies the authority that—
(i)he is its owner; and
(ii)either of subsections (5A) or (5B) below applies; and
(iii)he is insured to drive the vehicle; and
(b)gives a bond in the prescribed sum to the authority in the case—
(i)where no current licence is displayed on the vehicle; or
(ii)where no test certificate is shown to the authority, in the case where section 47 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) (obligatory test certificates) applies to the vehicle; and
(c)pays to the authority such sums in respect of its removal and storage as may be prescribed.
(5A)This subsection applies if the person in question has not been offered the opportunity to pay a fixed penalty under section 2A above.
(5B)This subsection applies if the person in question has been offered the opportunity to pay a fixed penalty under section 2A above and—
(a)he has paid it; or
(b)he has not paid it and the period mentioned in section 2A(2)(a) above has not expired; or
(c)he has not paid it and the period within which proceedings may be instituted for the offence in question has expired and no such proceedings have been issued;
(d)he has not paid it and proceedings for the offence have been instituted but not determined.
(5C)A bond under subsection (5)(b) above shall be repaid by the authority to the person who gave it once the authority is satisfied that a current licence has been obtained and can be displayed on the vehicle, or a test certificate has been issued in respect of the vehicle, as the case may be.
(5D)In subsection (5)(b) “prescribed sum” means such sum as may be prescribed by a joint committee established under section 101(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) and consisting of at least one representative from each London borough council.”.