Keeper Liability Rules Do Not Apply in Northern Ireland
The law that lets a private parking company chase the registered keeper of a vehicle — rather than whoever was driving — only covers England and Wales. It has never applied in Northern Ireland: section 119 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 limits the keeper liability rules in Schedule 4 to England and Wales. So if your ticket is from Northern Ireland and the company is pursuing you simply because you are the registered keeper, it has no legal power to hold you liable on that basis. Be careful: this only defeats the claim against you as keeper. If you admit you were driving — or name the driver — the company can pursue the driver in the usual way, and a court can sometimes conclude the keeper was probably the driver if nothing is said to challenge that. Never falsely deny driving; simply do not identify the driver.
Legal basis
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, s.56 and Schedule 4 (keeper liability for unpaid parking charges) extend to England and Wales only — s.119 (extent); Schedule 4 itself is marked as extending to England and Wales only. Northern Ireland is outside its extent, so keeper liability under Schedule 4 cannot arise there.
How to identify this in your case
If parking event occurred in Northern Ireland, verify whether keeper liability provisions have been commenced.
Sample appeal wording
This alleged contravention occurred in Northern Ireland. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 has different commencement and application in NI compared to England & Wales. Please confirm the legal basis under which you are pursuing keeper liability in Northern Ireland, citing the specific statutory provisions and commencement orders that apply.
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- POFA 2012 commencement orders
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