Someone has left their trailer outside my home for three years without moving it.
I have contacted my local council, they say as long as it is registered I can't do anything (yes it is registered) plus I have contacted the police, same answer. It has a lockable compartment for storage but no one ever comes to inspect or remove anything from it.
If anyone has any suggestions as to how it could be removed I would be very grateful.
They would probably think it's OP's trailer by now and move it back to OP's house
Could you load it up with heavy waste like an old fridge? The owner may take notice and come knocking in which case you can confront them. If nobody comes, take the trailer and fridge to the dump and leave it there.
People do that ALL THE TIME when you have a skip in front of your house. I would treat a trailer in the same way. Just make sure the items dumped are non identifiable.
If you're in Melbourne DM me and I'll take it away hahaha.
Problem solved … OzBargain way.
Check with your council again.
For abandoned vehicles, it must be out of registration before the Law Enforcement Officers can act.
However, for abandoned/unattended trailers, Council will attempt to contact the last registered owner of the trailer and generally the trailer will be removed from a public place within 15 working days. If the trailer is not removed by the owner Council may impound or dispose of the trailer in accordance with the Impounding Act, 1993.
Yep because a trailer isn't really a vehicle, there are usually separate rules for trailers, as there should be. Imagine if anyone could park their crappy trailer anywhere for the $0/py rego fee on a small one. You could escalate all of those neighbourly disputes so easily by dropping a few carefully placed trailers outside their house.
A trailer is considered a 'towable vehicle' along with caravans, campers, boat trailers etc
For the most part normal parking rules apply. (Parking for large vehicles is much more limited though.)
So what?
Found the owner OP.
What would happen if the trailer unfortunately caught fire and was badly burned ? Would the council move it then?
Some councils have a law about trailers and vehicles need to be moved every x-weeks. Otherwise you're sol.
Mine you only get 24 hours.
yeah, I didnt realise that was a rule until i went to ADL
Sometimes it's council based because of issues.
i.e. areas in sydney where people dump their boats. Or taxi distance from perth airport.
Even if it is registered, it can be deemed abandoned, if it doesn't get used. Push that with your Council.
Rubbish
Ah yes. A registered vehcile can still be abandoned.
https://www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/waste-environment/public-n…
If it hadn't been moved in two months it can be considered abandoned. Victorian laws apply.
I'm in NSW, my council is different. Some cars are clean but are left on the street otherwise untouched. Some vehicles, 4wds, vans etc are very dirty but driven daily, yet they look abandoned and rundown.
I remember that story of that old lady with the camry on ACA where the council crushed her car but was still registered and being used. Oh dear.
@Kranbone: At least in this case, OP says it's been years and has never seen the owner come to use it, as well as mentioning that none of the nearby neighbours even know who owns it when asked
Might I suggest you brush up on your Australian road rules if you have a licence. There is a section in the Australian road rules that can be used by states. States may tweak times or not at all.
Here is the part relevant to my location. So just because it may not be relevant somewhere doesn't mean other areas can't do something about it.
63 Abandoned vehicles
In this Part, abandoned vehicle means a vehicle that is:
(a) registered under the Motor Vehicles Act 1949 (or a corresponding Act of another jurisdiction) and is left:
(iii) for more than 7 days in a parking area where the time a vehicle may remain parked is not limited; or
What is a registered trailer? You mean they have a specific rego? The next long school holiday when everyone is out of town make this your operation. To move this to some other deserted place. Prior do your homework on where that might be. Drop it outside the council on a weekend.
Another thought. Perhaps someone is using it as cheap storage whilst living overseas. Trailer registration is only $60 or so. Hence they keep it registered but don’t ever visit. If so it’s pretty unreasonable. If everyone did this there would be no parking for anyone.
Move it to block your driveway, then call police to have them contact the owner to move it.
Unfortunately, contrary to what most people believe, the spot outside on the road outside your property is not owned by you, it's public road (unless you are in a private estate with private roads).
As a result, besides notifying your council & police there is not much more you can LEGALLY do.
Thinking outside the box whilst staying legal, here are 2 other avenue's you can go down:
- You could potentially report an abandoned vehicle, And if you can do so frequently (like once a month), or show how long the vehicle has been there for you MIGHT have a better chance of getting rid of it.
- If you know the vehicle hasn't been moved (and you can prove it), even when the rego gets renewed (most states have a free rego check which allows you to find out when the rego is due), you could potentially notify your road authority or police that somebody is passing the rego inspection on this trailer without actually inspecting it….which could get the rego stripped of that vehicle, but also potentially get the mechanic in trouble for "inspecting" it.
Does the mechanic not deserve to get in trouble for lying?
never said the mechanic doesn't deserve it. But it's just something the person reporting it might want to be mindful of, as they may not want to impact someone else like that.
i can't for the life of me understand why 2 people voted down this comment :-S
Council enforce parking road rules.
Here is one specific to this situation in my location. Need to check if the state OP is in to see if they have taken from the Australian road rules the same section.
63 Abandoned vehicles
In this Part, abandoned vehicle means a vehicle that is:
(a) registered under the Motor Vehicles Act 1949 (or a corresponding Act of another jurisdiction) and is left:
(iii) for more than 7 days in a parking area where the time a vehicle may remain parked is not limited;
Wonder if some ":random person" took the number plates, then how could the council identify it to know if it was registered? Then you could report an abandoned vehicle with no plate or registration being displayed?
I was wondering the same thing (not suggesting, just wondering what would happen).
If OP unscrewed / removed the number plates, then just left it like that, would it get towed next time the ticket inspectors blitz the street?
Does it smell weird from the inside?
17 hours and no Superwog reference yet?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13540384/mediaviewer/rm28670097…
Go out one night, take the plates off and bin them. Then you have lots of choices!
1) Report it as abandoned since it's no longer registered.
2) Tow it somewhere else
3) Tow it somewhere, get it nicely sprayed, get it roadworthy, sell it, keep the money as payment for the inconvenience of having to look at old mate's trailer for 3 years. Use money to buy up some bargains.
4) Get spotted doing it on your neighbours CCTV, arrested and charged… :/
Everything in life has risks… :D
Also have you ever actually tried to identify someone from a home CCTV? Virtually impossible unless they film you coming out of your house, doing the dodge and then walking back in. I've got 8MP cams and unless people come up my driveway I can't make out anything the cops would be able to use and if it's night none of them capture any personal details from the street.
I take all the above back, CCTV cams work great, stay away from anyone's house that has then, you will definitely be identified…
Plaster some offensive stickers on it so it becomes an eyesore.
I'm sure the council won't have any issues removing it then….
It would be unfortunate if a giant swastika or similar was spray painted on it in the middle of the night. OP won't even need to report it, someone else will do it for him.
If has a valid rego, it hasn't been abandoned. Why don't people understand this? Someone has paid for it annually.
Yep. This also rules out the "check if it's stolen" comment.
Whittlesea Council disagrees with you
What is an abandoned / derelict vehicle?
A vehicle may be considered abandoned if:
the registration is listed as expired or cancelled on the VicRoads website
the vehicle has no number plates, orthe vehicle is registered but has not moved for at least 2 months
the vehicle is damaged and cannot move under its own power
Abandoned vehicles are unsightly and can be unsafe.Vehicles can include cars, motorcycles, trucks, trailers and caravans.
2 months???? I've left my car for 4 months before and would be ropeable if someone towed it. I've paid for it to be there by paying rego. What's it matter if someone uses the same daily spot anyway too.
In front of your own house?
Using the same spot every day is very different from not moving the vehicle at all.
It depends where it was, but I would say you are pretty lucky not be towed after four months.
Because it's not true with many councils. Unfortunately not OP's council
In 3 years you've never seen anyone go up to this trailer?
Correct!
Do you sleep or go out? :p
Legally parked.
Legally registered.
So what is the problem again?
Why isn't it parked out the front of the owner's home?
Maybe it is? Could be OPs neighbour
Anyway, it doesnt matter. If council doesnt have a law about it, and it's road registered - they can park it outside OPs house.
So the solution here is for OP to buy a trailer and park it out the front of the owner’s home, if they ever find out who it is.
I don't know any public place where it is legal to park in one spot for 3 years, would be very surprised if it's legal outside OP house.
That said, the owner could come move it two feet each day and then it's probably legal parking again.
I have contacted my local council, they say as long as it is registered I can't do anything……
Not every random working for the council has memorised every single law and regulation though, and they aren't necessarily going to be particularly motivated to go hunting through the rules to help you.
It's worth looking these things up for yourself.
That way, instead of being fobbed off, you can tell the person from the council exactly which rule is being broken.
I'm sorry you got advice from both council and police and you still thought it would be a good idea to ask OzBargain? Aside from bikies being the obvious solution, I don't know what else you're expecting.
TBF, councils are useless and the police don't care unless they can fine someone.
everything is black and white until it becomes a problem / hassle / eyesore for you.
Been through something similar. Most councils have a 3-day limit with on-street parking. I had to find this out myself and remind the parking inspectors who agreed with me, they rang the cops for the owner's details then rang the owner. Vehicle was moved with 20 minutes.
is this a sign of decay in society
Just tow it around the corner somewhere when no one is around. I’m surprised people on this forum are less supportive of your dilemma. I’m sure if someone parked a monstrosity of a caravan, dilapidated boat (registered) in front of their house over time, you’d get pretty pissed off as well….especially if the neighbour say lived on the other side of the road.
Typical of this forum full of trolls
Look up the parking rules in your LGA. Where I live you only get 24 hours parking in any public place.
7.8 Vehicles not to obstruct a public place
(1) A person must not park or leave a vehicle, or any part of a vehicle, in a public place so that it obstructs the use of any part of that public place without the permission of the local government or unless authorised under any written law.
(2) A vehicle which is parked in any portion of a public place where vehicles may be lawfully parked, is deemed to cause an obstruction and may be impounded where—
(a) the vehicle is parked for any period exceeding 24 hours;
(b) the vehicle is so parked during any period in which the parking of vehicles is prohibited or restricted by a sign; or
(c) the vehicle is abandoned, unregistered or disused.
C) applies too… "disused".
I have a similar situation but it is a hotted up Suburu WRX with no plates
Rules are different if it is unregistered. Can't be on the road.
Free WRX.
Is it a GC8? What do you want for the engine lol?
Do you live in City of Sydney council by any chance?
Sell it on FB Marketplace
Take off the rego plate at night and it is not registered anymore
Someone damaged mine in front of my house by cutting the wires that went to the light
Give us the full story, Pam.
it was registered, parked in front of my house. Someone asked to borrow it, I said No. Someone cut the wires
I am going to play detective and hazard a guess that the person who asked to borrow it was the person who cut the wires. What do you think?
Talk to your neighbours and see if it belongs to any of them and express your concerns if they are the owners. If not well, few suggestions from in this thread you can try. If someone who is not a neighbour is sh*t enough to abandon their stuff in front of someone else’s property and not their own needs to be treated the same way.
Posting a photo might elicit some creative ideas. Please oblige OP.
Create a pothole that can only be repaired by moving the trailer, then get council to fix the pothole
If this is in Victoria it can be classed as abandoned even if registered. I purchased a abandoned registered car from a regional council car was abandoned in front of house not blocking driveway. It was in councils possession for nearly 9 months before rego cancelled. Approach council again if that doesn't work write a letter or email to all the councillor's that usually gets action. Out of all the councillor's you are bound to get at least one respond.
Without reading every post…. does it have sufficient reflectors on the trailor?
Tyres roadworthy and correctly inflated?
How about you just tell us what your local council is and someone less lazy might check the local laws for you…
From all the comments above, the OP really needs to tell us which council area this is, and what size & type of trailer this is. Rules will vary based on this information.
Just stick a 'free' sign on it
Maybe OP should supply LGA.
His bio says Sydney. Isn't there a council for every 10 people in Sydney?
Just a thought but in certain places I've seen temporary signs put up that says you cant park here on xx date to xx date. Can you get council to do this outside your house for say a delivery of something large or an earth moving truck. Just tow the trailer when that day comes cause it's not supposed to be there?
If the registration is current and valid, you can't do Jack. All you can do is continue to stare at it and complain
Put all your hard and regular rubbish in it then tell the council its an eye sore and health risk.
So handy, free trailer without the registration issues! Would use it every week.
Except for the wheel clamp.
This is not an issue at all if you know the trick.
Just call the Mayor of your shire. Mention that it is abandoned for years. Rant a little. Tell them you will go to the media:)
Works every single time!!
This could be quickly solved by someone else if ‘someone’ teleports the trailer to a bus zone or in front of a Aust Post mail box……
Ask them to move it as you need to put a skip bin there. If that fails, get a sled truck to do it. Then buy a cheap car with rego and park it where the trailer was. At least then you'll have control of the space out the front…
Option B is to enlist the local felons for a small fee.
Registered, they can park it where they like. It's not your road. It shits me when people think they have rights to the space outside their house, it always causes nothing but problems with neighbors.
I mean 3 years is quite intrusive especially if there is limited street parking and it has not been used at all in this time
After the first neighbour has their three year turn, he can move along again to the next one.