Abandoned vehicles

We remove abandoned vehicles from public land. 

This could be a dumped car, van, lorry, motorbike, caravan, trailer or boat.

If a vehicle is poorly parked or does not belong to a resident of the road, it does not mean it is abandoned. 

Report an abandoned vehicle

Untaxed vehicles

If the tax on a vehicle has expired, the vehicle may be removed from the road.

You can check the current road tax status of a vehicle on the DVLA website

Removing abandoned vehicles

The council must remove vehicles that have been left on public roads. A vehicle might be abandoned if:

  • it has no owner (keeper) listed on the DVLA and is not taxed
  • it has not moved for a long time
  • it is badly damaged or not safe to drive, for example, flat tyres, missing wheels, or broken windows
  • it has been burnt out
  • it has no number plate
  • the number plate does not match the vehicle identification number (VIN)
  • its tax and MOT have run out

The council may remove an abandoned vehicle without giving a warning.

Where removed vehicles go

Vehicles taken away by the council are stored by one of these companies:

If no one claims the vehicle within 14 days, it may be scrapped.

Vehicles on private land

If a vehicle is abandoned on your land:

If there is no registered keeper or you cannot reach them, call us on 020 8825 6000 for advice.

Abandoned bicycles

You can also report abandoned bikes, including electric bikes. 

Abandoned e-scooters and e-bikes

You can report abandoned or misplaced e-scooters and e-bikes through the relevant operators. Each operator's e-scooter is brightly coloured and has a unique ID number which is labelled clearly on the vehicle. When reporting an issue please give the date, time, location, colour and serial number of the e-scooter:

  • Lime e-scooters have a green and white frame colour, and black handlebars and wheels. Call Lime on 0800 808 5223 or email support@li.me 
  • Voi e-scooters have a red frame colour, and black handlebars and wheels. Call Voi on 0800 376 8179 or email support@voi.com