Thank you for the email exchange. Although the managing agent stated prior to move-in that up to two vehicles could be registered and that there was ‘no visitor parking’, the tenancy itself contains no parking terms at all.
The pre-tenancy emails are inconsistent and internally contradictory: visitors are variously described as permitted provided the vehicle is not left unattended, subject to random in-person checks, and also as liable to ticketing because the agent has ‘little or no control’ over the parking contractor. Those emails do not impose any clear, certain or enforceable restriction on the use of the tenant’s own numbered bay, nor do they evidence any agreed contractual variation of the tenancy. In particular, they do not prohibit an authorised guest from parking in the tenant’s allocated bay, and instead demonstrate an unmanaged, arbitrary enforcement regime operated by a third party without proper oversight.
Letting/Property Management agents in England must belong to a government-approved redress scheme. The two common ones are:
• The Property Ombudsman (TPO)
• The Property Redress Scheme (PRS)
If they’re a letting/managing agent, you can threaten escalation to whichever scheme they are a member of (you can ask them which scheme, or it may be in their email footer/website).
If it’s a block managing agent (not your letting agent), they may also be a member of:
• ARMA/ARMA-Q (trade body with a complaints/standards process)
Separate to “ombudsman” style redress, you can also credibly mention escalation to:
• the landlord/freeholder (who can instruct cancellation), and/or
• the relevant local authority private rented sector/housing team (more weight where conduct is unreasonable or harassing), depending on facts.
You should send the following email to the managing agent and CC yourself with any correspondence:
Subject: Formal Complaint: Parking Charge Notice [PCN NUMBER] Issued to Authorised Visitor in Allocated Bay
Dear [Managing Agent Name],
I am writing to formally notify you that a Parking Charge Notice [PCN NUMBER] has been issued by your parking contractor to an authorised visitor of mine, whose vehicle [VEHICLE REGISTRATION MARK] was parked correctly in my own numbered bay.
As you are aware, my tenancy agreement and welcome pack contain no terms whatsoever relating to parking, permits, visitor restrictions, or third-party enforcement. There is no contractual requirement within my tenancy to display permits, to comply with contractor signage, or to restrict the use of my allocated bay, including by an authorised visitor.
Prior to moving in, I raised parking queries with you and received conflicting and unclear information. Visitors were variously described as permitted provided vehicles were not left unattended, subject to “random” in-person checks, and also as potentially ticketed because you have “little or no control” over the external contractor. At no point was it stated that an authorised visitor could not park in my own numbered bay, nor was any visitor permit or registration mechanism offered.
The issuing of a parking charge to my authorised visitor while parked correctly in my own bay is therefore wholly unreasonable and unsupported by my tenancy. Although the charge has been issued to my visitor, the interference is with my tenancy rights, including my right to quiet enjoyment and my ability to make lawful use of my allocated parking space. Your contractor has no lawful basis to penalise an authorised guest using my bay.
As the party who appointed the contractor, responsibility for their actions rests with you. I require you to immediately instruct your agent to cancel this Parking Charge Notice. If this charge is not cancelled and your contractor continues to pursue my visitor (including by debt recovery or litigation), I will treat that as a matter for which you are jointly responsible as principal, and I will consider taking action against you directly and/or seeking to join you to any proceedings, together with a claim for any resulting loss and distress.
If you do not resolve this matter, I will escalate a formal complaint through your complaints procedure and then to your redress scheme (TPO or PRS as applicable), as well as to the landlord/freeholder.
Please confirm by return that cancellation has been instructed.
Yours sincerely,
[Tenant Name]