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Our EC places stick-on notices on vehicles which park in the visitor parking spaces for their own personal use. It is obvious when viewing CCTV that the drivers of the offending vehicles are NOT visiting. They follow cars into the car park, park their car and then leave the premises.
Our block is conveniently located to the Sydney CBD and some of the local businesses get wind that there is available parking in our lot.
Question: Is if illegal to put a notice (stick-on) on the windscreen of the offending vehicle? Or should the notice be placed on one of the side windows?
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I doubt that it is illegal, after all they are illegally parking on your property! You just have to be sure that the owner can’t say that you maliciously damaged their property which WOULD be illegal, even though on your premises. It will certainly get their attention and then they have to remove it before they can drive off which may discourage them from doing it again.
You might also want to circularise your residents and tenants and advise them to be on the lookout for other cars which tailgate them into the private parking area. Of course if they let the other cars do it (for a mate etc) then they would be in breach of the by-laws themselves I would think.
It is really difficult to do any thing about this sort of thing as it is not a police matter as such. You could take action for trespass if the offender is a repeat one and you do have evidence by way of the CCTV footage. Active discouragement is the way to go. (Maybe you could talk to the other person on this forum who had a car mysteriously removed, plates taken off and trashed!)
Maybe your sign should also say words to the effect…
“your vehicle is illegally parked and is therefore trespassing on our property. We have photographic evidence which will identify you and action will be taken in any future cases without further notice as well as notification to the police”. Of course, don’t threaten too loudly unless you intend to take action.
I agree with Paul2000 on this – sticker away.
I have heard so much BS on this over the years. It used to be all about letting people’s tyres down and then them have a crash and you being responsible (which you would be)
That evolved into the idea if you put a sticker on someone’s windshield and they couldn’t see past it and then drove and had an accident, you would be in trouble then too. I don’t think so! If someone is stupid enough to drive when they can’t see properly, that’s their problem. A flat tyre may not be obvious until it’s too late.
A sticker that’s hard, but not impossible to remove, in a place where the driver can clearly see it, could work wonders.
I’m still partial to the sign that says “Warning – cars parked here illegally have been vandalised”. Not a threat … a community service announcement.
However, on the sticker danger issue, I did see a young woman driving in the rain the other day with her parking ticket flailing back and forth on her windscreen wiper. She must have thought that if she didn’t open it, it wouldn’t count. I think she may be in for a surprise.
Looking for ‘no parking’ stickers on the Interweb, I found THIS charming American site where they promise your phone calls will be answered by “nice people … with possibly one exception”.
But is there anywhere in Australia that you can buy big, annoying, shredding parking violation stickers?
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
Just print your own, and affix them with a water soluble glue so you can’t be accused of causing damage.
@Boronia said:
Just print your own, and affix them with a water soluble glue so you can’t be accused of causing damage.Good idea. So Flatchatters, here is my Christmas gift to you … a DIY Parking Sticker. Print it, stick it, hope for the best.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
People who threaten legal action/solicitors are usually blowing hot air out of various orifices. The simple solution for the person is to stop doing what they are doing.
Another thing you could mention on the sticker is that if the offense continues the EC will consider having the vehicle towed include a tow company phone no and recover cost.
I KNOW this is illegal but I’m not proposing you remove the car just suggest that the EC will consider it. 99% of people wouldn’t know you cannot legally tow the vehicle and so unless your offender is in the 1% this should work.
Sadly, I think you will find that the 99% know they cannot be towed, wheel- clamped or fined, and that is why they continue parking this way.
Causing some sort of non-illegal inconvenience is the only way to deter them. The threat of a trespass charge for repeat offences MAY work, as that is enforcable, although at inconvenience to you.
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