York's fraud team closed 10 residents' parking permit cases in six months, against 4 all last year. Permits were pulled from guest houses and holiday lets.

The council’s fraud investigators have closed more cases about misused residents’ parking permits in six months than in the whole of last year. Some of the permits were being used by guest houses and holiday lets.

Between April and September 2026, the counter fraud team completed 10 investigations into parking permits. In the full year to March 2026 it completed four. The figures are in a progress report from Veritau, which runs the council’s fraud service. It went to the Audit and Governance Committee on Wednesday 21 October (counter fraud progress report, October 2026).

What the parking investigations found

The report says parking fraud “often relates to blue badge abuse”. The team also looks at “the misuse of residential parking permits by landlords of holiday lets”. In the six months to 30 September:

  • 22 parking investigations were completed: 12 about Blue Badges and 10 about parking permits
  • three people accepted formal cautions instead of being prosecuted
  • eight people received warning letters about their conduct
  • three residents’ parking permits were withdrawn because they were being used commercially, “for example by guest houses and holiday lets”

Last year’s annual report recorded 20 parking investigations in the full year: 15 about Blue Badges, four about permits and one about a bus pass. Two people were prosecuted for Blue Badge fraud, four accepted cautions and six were formally warned. Four permits were removed for commercial use (counter fraud annual report 2025/26).

Bar chart of parking fraud investigations completed by City of York Council's counter fraud team: Blue Badge cases 15 in the full year 2025/26 and 12 from April to September 2026; parking permit cases 4 in the full year 2025/26 and 10 from April to September 2026.
Parking fraud investigations completed, last full year against the first six months of this one. Source: Veritau reports to City of York Council. Chart by The York Times
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The report does not say which streets or permit zones the cases came from.

The wider fraud picture

Parking is a small part of the team’s work. Between 1 April and 30 September, it logged 192 reports of suspected fraud and completed 73 investigations, with 73 more still open. The report also records:

  • two council houses recovered and let to families on the housing waiting list
  • £110,000 of loss identified in adult social care, from six investigations. Fraud in that area includes deprivation of capital, financial abuse and direct payment fraud, the report says
  • three false applications to the York Financial Assistance Scheme blocked
  • one Right to Buy application blocked
  • invoices totalling £33,000 issued in nine cases

Counter fraud savings so far this year stand at £157,795, against a target of £200,000 for the year. The team reached £219,512 in 2025/26.

What it means for you

  • A residents’ parking permit is for residents. The council withdraws permits used for a business, including a guest house or holiday let. If you let a property to visitors, do not rely on a resident’s permit for their cars.
  • A Blue Badge can only be used when the badge holder is travelling in the car, as driver or passenger. The Department for Transport’s rights and responsibilities booklet sets out the rules.
  • Struggling to find a space near home? Our guide to parking in York covers residents’ parking zones, car parks and prices.

Sources