Space included in lease - UK CPM

[parkinguk]

Hi all, really hoping you can help and grateful for any response. I have received a ticket from UK CPM for not displaying a permit when parking in a space that is I have a right to park in via my lease. I cannot find the lease/wording in the lease about parking but have the schedule of car park spaces and bay allocations so it is a specific space. 

I should have come here for advice first, but I complained to UK CPM (below) and separately complained to the managing agents who said: unfortunately we are unable to cancel the PCN, as it was issued in accordance with the site's parking regulations and the information provided. 

My email to UK CPM:
I am writing to formally appeal Parking Charge Notice ***, issued at *** on ** August 2026 in relation to vehicle registration **. I am the leaseholder/resident of the property and have an existing contractual right to use the parking space associated with my property. I pay for the parking provision as part of my service charges. I am not aware of any term in my lease or other contractual documentation requiring me to display a UK CPM parking permit as a condition of exercising my existing right to park. The vehicle was parked in the parking space to which I am entitled. I was therefore an authorised user of that space and was exercising an existing contractual right, rather than seeking permission from UK Car Park Management Ltd to park. I acknowledge that a permit was not displayed on this particular occasion. I also acknowledge that the signage at the site states that a UK CPM permit must be displayed. However, I dispute that signage can unilaterally vary, qualify or override my pre-existing contractual rights under my lease. I was not a member of the general public seeking permission to park; I was exercising an existing right to park associated with my property. I do not accept that the absence of a displayed permit extinguishes or overrides that pre-existing right, particularly where I am not aware of any corresponding requirement in my lease. If UK CPM contends that a permit-display requirement nevertheless forms part of my contractual obligations, please identify the precise contractual provision upon which you rely and provide evidence of how and when that term became binding upon me. If you maintain that the charge is valid, please also provide: The contractual basis upon which UK Car Park Management Ltd is entitled to impose a parking charge upon a leaseholder exercising a pre-existing right to park; The agreement between UK CPM and the landowner, freeholder or management company which gives UK CPM authority to impose parking charges upon leaseholders exercising their existing parking rights; The specific provision in my lease, or other contractual documentation binding upon me, which requires me to display a UK CPM permit as a condition of exercising my right to park; The specific contractual provision which permits a £100 parking charge to be imposed for failure to display that permit; and A copy of the signage and terms relied upon by UK CPM, together with an explanation of how those terms are said to have been incorporated into my existing contractual relationship as a leaseholder. For the avoidance of doubt, I am not requesting a discretionary or goodwill cancellation. I am disputing the validity of the charge itself because I was exercising an existing contractual right to park. I therefore require Parking Charge Notice ** to be cancelled. Please confirm cancellation in writing.


UK CPM response: 
Thank you for your appeal against the above Parking Charge Notice.

At UK CPM we consider all appeals on a case-by-case basis. We take each appeal very seriously and thoroughly investigate any evidence that has been provided. We appreciate your circumstances and understand this is not a situation anyone would like to find themselves in; however, these parking conditions have been put in place to ensure fair usage for all motorists and support the needs of our client. After careful consideration, it is unfortunate that I am writing to you today to advise that on this occasion, your appeal has been unsuccessful.

The decision to uphold your parking charge notice has been made on the following basis.

Whilst we note the comments and reason for appeal, as per our photographic evidence, the vehicle was parked in contravention of the advertised terms and conditions. As the vehicle was parked without a valid permit on display, we can confirm that this PCN has been issued correctly.

Either due to the reason for issue and/or the insufficient evidence provided to support the details of your appeal, we have considered this PCN and found that it does not fall under the category of Annex F the Appeals Charter of the Single Code of Practice.

You have now reached the end of our internal appeals procedure and therefore you now have two options; either pay or appeal to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS) - you cannot do both.

To make payment of the total amount due as shown above, please use one of the following payment options;

Online: www.paymyticket.co.uk

Telephone: 0345 463 4040 (24hr)

Post: Payments & Collections, PO Box 3114, Lancing, BN15 5BR

Alternatively, if you do not agree with your internal appeal outcome and you wish to dispute the matter further, as you have complied with our internal appeals procedure you may use, and we will engage with, the IAS Standard Appeals Service providing you lodge an appeal to them within 28 days of this rejection.

The Independent Appeals Service (www.theIAS.org) provides an Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme for disputes of this type. If you decide to appeal to the IAS, you will need to visit their website and use your PCN reference and corresponding vehicle registration. All PCN's will be uploaded to the IAS website by the end of this working day.

If you decide to engage with the Independent Appeals Service, any offer of a discount for early payment (if applicable) will be withdrawn. Should your appeal be unsuccessful or you chose to settle the parking charge prior to the appeal being determined, the full amount of the PCN will be payable. Please note that should you pay the parking charge prior to adjudication concluding, the appeal will be closed, and you will not be given a further opportunity to contest the charge.

If you do not wish to dispute the matter further and payment is not received within 28 days of the date of this correspondence then additional charges may be incurred, for which you may be liable. If the charge continues to remain outstanding, the matter may be later referred for litigation in the County Court which could result in a County Court Judgment being made against you; this may impact on your ability to obtain credit in the future.

[b789]

Welcome to the forum @parkinguk.

UK CPM have done precisely what I would have expected them to do: completely sidestep the substantive issue you raised and simply repeat that no permit was displayed.

That does not answer your appeal.

Nobody appears to be disputing that the permit was not displayed. The important question is whether UK CPM had any legal or contractual right to require you to display one in the first place, or to impose a £100 charge upon you for failing to do so, when you already have a pre-existing contractual right to park in that specific allocated space.

Their statement that:

"the vehicle was parked in contravention of the advertised terms and conditions"

simply assumes the very thing that is in dispute. A sign erected by a third-party parking company does not automatically amend or override rights already granted under a lease.

Your case therefore potentially turns upon what your lease actually grants and, just as importantly, whether it contains anything permitting the freeholder/managing agent to introduce and enforce a permit scheme of this nature.

Before deciding the next step, I need to see:

• Both sides of the original Notice to Keeper, or, if the first notice was placed on the windscreen, the original Notice to Driver and subsequent Notice to Keeper.
• The entrance signage to the development/car park.
• A clear photograph of the actual contractual terms sign applying to your bay.
• The parking-space schedule/plan showing that the bay is specifically allocated to your property.
• Ideally, the relevant parts of the lease dealing with the parking space, rights granted to the leaseholder, regulations/covenants and any power reserved to the landlord or management company to introduce regulations.

Do not obscure dates, wording or times when uploading the parking notices. You can redact your name, address, vehicle registration and PCN reference.

At present, the important point is that UK CPM's rejection does not establish that the charge is valid. It merely establishes that UK CPM say their signs require a permit.

Those are two very different things.

Where a lease grants an occupier a right to park, the starting point is the lease, not whatever terms a parking company subsequently chooses to put on a sign. A parking company cannot simply grant you permission to do something that your lease already permits and then charge you £100 for failing to comply with an additional condition unless there is a proper contractual/legal mechanism by which that condition became binding upon you.

There may also be issues concerning primacy of contract, interference with rights granted under the lease and potentially derogation from grant, but I want to see the actual documents before going further with those arguments.

You now have the option of an IAS appeal, but do not rush into submitting one yet. There is a 28-day deadline from UK CPM's rejection, so make a note of that date. Let us first see the notices, signs and whatever lease material you have available so that we can determine exactly what UK CPM are relying upon and whether there are additional grounds, including any defects in keeper liability.

Keep in mind that you are dealing with a totally corrupt system that is nothing but a scam, for all intents and purposes. The IAS is a kangaroo court and certainly not "independent" as they are owned by the very same entity that owns the IPC trade association. Knowing CPM, this will go as far as a small claim hearing in the county court. Nothing to be worried about and there is absolutely no danger of anything affecting your credit rating.

There is another important issue here: the conduct and potential liability of your managing agent. They have apparently appointed UK CPM to operate this parking scheme and have now refused to intervene, asserting that the PCN was issued in accordance with the site's parking regulations.

I would challenge that assertion directly. The managing agent must explain precisely where it derives the authority to impose regulations that potentially interfere with your existing leasehold rights.

The Court of Appeal decision in Saeed v Plustrade Ltd [2001] EWCA Civ 2011 establishes that a landlord cannot derogate from rights already granted under a lease. Furthermore, in Jopson v Homeguard Services Ltd [2016] B9GF0A9E, the County Court, sitting on appeal, considered the incompatibility of a parking company's restrictions with existing residential leasehold rights.

I suggest you send the managing agent the following:

FORMAL NOTICE – INTERFERENCE WITH LEASEHOLD PARKING RIGHTS

I refer to your assertion that UK Car Park Management Ltd issued the Parking Charge Notice in accordance with the site's parking regulations.

You have failed to explain how those regulations can lawfully interfere with my pre-existing contractual right to park in the space specifically allocated to my property.

For the avoidance of doubt, your appointment of a private parking contractor does not, in itself, confer upon that contractor any authority to override or diminish rights granted under my lease.

I therefore require you to identify:

1. The specific provision of my lease authorising the imposition of a permit-display requirement as a condition of exercising my existing parking rights.
2. The contractual provision authorising a third-party parking company to impose a £100 charge for failure to display such a permit.
3. The identity of the party that authorised UK CPM's appointment and the legal basis upon which it claims authority to enforce charges against leaseholders using their allocated spaces.

You are now formally on notice that I dispute the lawfulness of these arrangements insofar as they interfere with my leasehold rights.

Should UK CPM continue enforcement action, I reserve the right to pursue appropriate remedies, including injunctive relief and damages where legally justified, against any party responsible for authorising, facilitating or continuing an unlawful interference with those rights.

This expressly includes consideration of your own involvement as managing agent. Acting on behalf of a freeholder or management company does not provide automatic immunity from liability for a managing agent's own unlawful acts.

I require a substantive response addressing the contractual and legal issues raised, rather than a repetition of UK CPM's assertion that its signage requires a permit.

Please confirm that this matter has been referred to the freeholder or management company responsible for appointing UK CPM, and that you have instructed UK CPM to suspend enforcement pending resolution of this dispute.

So, for now: do not pay it and do not identify the driver if that has not already been done. Upload the documents above and we can take it from there.