My 84 year old father rents accommodation from a housing association in Wyre Forest. At the rear of the property there is parking for the residents were he has parked his car. This is housing association land.

The car is insured with a MOT etc but with no road tax however it has a valid SORN. He is waiting for funds to get the car repaired. It is a Volvo 440 and is in good condition.

He has been told by the housing association to remove the car off their property or have it taxed. If he does not do this they will get it towed and charge him for it. If he moves it off the property to prevent it being towed he is commiting an offence. He cannot afford to have it to towed and pout in storage. The only income my father has is benefits as he does not get any other pension as his pension company collapsed but that is not the issue here.

Can the housing association force him to dispose of the car or get it taxed? Can the Housing Association use their bully boy tactics to get his car towed away and then charge him for the pleasure even though it has a SORN and he is in the vulnerable group?

Hi,

Different Housing Association and location but had the same problem, except my car was MOT'd and Taxed, on a cemented driveway on/part of my front garden.

Due to the car being 'unroadworthy' (needed an expensive part to ensure was 100% safe to drive), i was told by my H.A to remove it, get it roadworthy or they would tow it away. I told them that it was not on the public road, was not blocking any access to my own or any other property etc but was no avail and i was pointed towards my tenacy agreement - very long winded, and was not entirely read thoroughly upon signing and/or was not taken in fully, but my own fault for this.

In the tenacy it states upon signing i am allowing them/agreeing that i will not have a car of my property, either on the front of my home ie drive or in the road or spaces to be untaxed, not MOT'd, unroadworthy or uninsured, if i do have my own or allow a member of household to keep/park a car in any of these conditions, then the H.A will be allowed to tow said car.

After a neighbour had two untaxed, uninsured and both sorn cars on their own drive for around 6 months, after 2 letters from the H.A a warning final letter was issued. They got these up and running however one other neighbour with one car on her drive around this time did indeed have the car towed away as we had signed our tenacy agreement allowing this to happen if need be.

I would suggest you thoroughly read through your father's tenacy agreement and see if something like this is in his own tenacy, and take it from there. However as far as my own H.A was concerned, even though it was my driveway attached to my house - at the end of the day it was/is their house/land and is not allowed.

Do wish you luck in sorting this out,

Thanks we had a read through the T & Cs and could find no reference to untaxed cars being towed away. Even if there was surely he is in the vulnerable group? It is not as if he is dumping the car as he needs it, being a pensioner he is waitng fo enough funds to get it fixed.

i'm afraid it shouldn't be on any public road which would inlcude HA land as it has public access.

ida x

Ida, only access to those renting from the HA. HA has far as I am aware is not public land as it has no conenction with the council and is a limited company.

i beleive LA land is still classed as 'public highway'. As the neighbours also park there there then there is public access.