Many of the Algarve’s more urban councils are concerned at the number of abandoned vehicles clogging up their city centres, yet in many cases the vehicles can not be touched.
In Olhão, the council says that it can not remove certain categories of vehicle, for example when they are owned by a finance company or have been seized through the courts in lieu of debt.
Olhão council has just done another clear up after having identified over 250 abandoned vehicles in the past year and towed away 171 of them.
"We have made an extra effort to identify and tow away these vehicles," said the council which has another 80 vehicles to deal with and which, "will be removed as soon as possible."
The definition of ‘illegal or abusive parking’ is when a vehicle has been in the same place for 30 consecutive days on a public road, parking lot or in area exempt from the payment of any fee. Only after this period can a vehicle be towed away by council contractors.
A notice is then sent to the registered owner and if the vehicle is not claimed within 45 days it is considered State property and will be disposed of.
Leaving a car in a street and going on an extended holiday, or returning to a primary address outside the country for a couple of months, can be a dangerous habit as the council is within the law to tow a car away and, if not collected, the car is lost to the owner.
Other rules, seldom applied, include the illegality of cars parked that impede the flow of traffic or that prevent pedestrians from using the pavement.
'Abusive parking' includes the above, i.e. parking in a non-paying area for more than 30 consecutive days, overstaying in a paid area by more than five days, overstaying in a pay-and-display area for more than two hours and parking for two days or more in any public place if the vehicle 'looks abandoned.'
Any of these can trigger a letter to the registered owner and a 48 hour notice to move the vehicle, if not it will be towed away and fines applied. If these are not paid, the vehicle will become State property whatever its value.