New parking rules in force from today - including free parking for everyone

There are also new rules for appealing tickets if you get one

New parking rules have come into force from October 1, including free parking for all drivers. As of today, all new private parking sites are expected to be compliant with the new single Code of Practice, introduced by the British Parking Association and the International Parking Community.

Designed to give greater transparency to motorists, the new code comes into effect from October 1, for new sites, with existing sites having until 2026 to comply. Chris Adams, Group Operations Director at Brindley Group , said: "The IPC and BPA have introduced a few main changes to make sure that motorists are being treated fairly, with the aim of raising standards and transparency for the benefit of drivers.

"The most notable rule being introduced is a 10-minute grace period. This allows for an additional 10 minutes at the end of your parking session, before a fine will be issued by either ANPR systems or a parking warden.

"As well as this, an Appeals Charter has been introduced, which creates clear parameters for a driver to appeal against a parking fine. Coupling this with consistent rules that private parking operators must abide by will mean that motorists are no longer being slapped with unfair parking charges with little recourse.

"To appeal an unfair ticket, you should first appeal to the car park operator. If this isn’t successful, you can appeal to the trade association that the car park is a member of, which is either the BPA or IPC.

"Signage will also have to be clear to aid motorists when they’re parking on private land. The single Code of Practice maintains a cap of £100 for a parking charge notice, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days, which was originally introduced by the Conservative Government in 2023.

"Additionally, the Code of Practice aims to protect the use of blue badges, clamping down on those who misuse them or illegally park in bays that are crucial to the most vulnerable in society."

Analysis of Government data by motoring research charity, the RAC Foundation, found 9.7 million tickets were issued to drivers by private parking companies in Britain between April and December last year, which is equivalent to nearly 35,300 every day.

Private parking businesses have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees. A Bill to enable the introduction of a legislation-backed code of conduct received Royal Assent in March 2019.

But it was withdrawn by the Government in June 2022 following a legal challenge by parking companies.