Parked a long time is not the same as abandoned
A car with plates, a valid inspection and insurance, which could start and drive away, can legally stay parked in the same spot for months. It is annoying, it takes a space and it looks bad, but it is not an abandoned vehicle in the legal sense.
Article 106 of the consolidated Traffic Law requires more than time. It is the part almost nobody checks before calling, and it decides whether the council can act at all.
The three cases in article 106
The administration may order a vehicle moved to an authorised treatment centre, for destruction and decontamination, in three situations.
- More than two months have passed since the vehicle was immobilised or removed from the public road and deposited by the administration, with no objection filed by the owner
- It has been parked in the same place for more than one month AND has damage making it impossible to move under its own power, or its number plates are missing
- It was collected after a breakdown or accident on private premises and the owner has not retrieved it within two months
The case that applies on your street
The second is what almost always applies to a car dumped on the public road, and it has two requirements that travel together: more than a month in the same place AND damage preventing it from moving under its own power, or no plates.
That is why the photo matters so much. A car with no plates is obvious in a picture. So is one with burst tyres, a smashed window, the engine stripped, or vegetation growing underneath. A merely dusty car is not.
Before removal the administration notifies the owner and requires them to collect it, warning that otherwise it goes to the treatment centre.
It is also waste, which opens another route
An end-of-life vehicle abandoned on the public road is not only a traffic matter: it is also waste, which brings it under Ley 7/2022 on waste and contaminated soil.
That matters for two practical reasons. First, an abandoned car leaks fluids, oil, antifreeze, fuel and battery acid, and that ends up in the drains. Second, abandoning waste carries its own penalty regime, harsher than the traffic one.
If the vehicle is clearly stripped, burnt out or dismantled for parts, say so in the report. It stops being a badly parked car and becomes abandoned waste, which a different service handles.
What to put in the report
- The registration, if it has one. If it does not, say so explicitly: that is one of the two conditions in article 106
- Make, model and colour, so it can be identified when the plates are gone
- Exact location, and whether it occupies a parking space, a bus stop, a vehicle entrance or a reserved bay
- How long it has been there, with the most specific date you can give
- Visible condition: flat or burst tyres, broken glass, rust, missing parts, vegetation growing around or under it
- Whether it is leaking fluids, has burned, or whether children can get inside it
Who to tell
The local police or the council, which handles removal. Many municipalities have a dedicated abandoned-vehicle form, separate from the general reporting channel.
Logging it on CleanSpot as well gives it a photo, a date and coordinates on a public map. That does not replace the report to the council and we do not present it as if it did: it is the dated record proving how long the car has been there, and that "how long" is exactly what article 106 requires and what nobody can usually evidence.
What not to do
- Do not move it, push it or open it. It remains someone's property until it is declared waste
- Do not take parts or the plates, however abandoned it looks
- Do not mark it with paint or stickers: besides the damage, it makes later identification harder
- Do not assume someone else has reported it. That is the most common reason a car is still there a year later
Sources
How long must it sit there to count as abandoned?
More than a month in the same place, but time alone is not enough: article 106 also requires damage preventing it from moving under its own power, or missing plates. A roadworthy car can legally stay parked for months.
The car has plates and looks intact. Can I do anything?
Through the abandoned-vehicle route, probably not. If it blocks a vehicle entrance, a reserved bay or a bus stop, that is a parking offence and follows a different path. Missing inspection or insurance can be reported, but does not make it abandoned.
What happens after I report it?
The council checks the condition and the elapsed time, notifies the owner and requires them to remove it, warning that otherwise it goes to an authorised treatment centre for destruction and decontamination.
What if the car is burnt out or stripped?
Say so explicitly. It stops being purely a traffic matter and becomes abandoned waste under Ley 7/2022, usually with more urgency because it leaks contaminating fluids and can be dangerous.