19 November 2025

Odesa approves procedure for cleaning up ownerless car scrap metal

(An abandoned car. PHOTOS: Odesa life)

Deputies of Odesa City Council approved the Procedure for exercising self-governing control over the state of landscaping in relation to ownerless vehicles in Odesa.

The decision was made on November 19 at a regular session.

The document is needed to remove from the streets cars that have been parked on the sidewalks for many years and are not used by anyone. These cars are gradually turning into scrap metal, sometimes used as warehouses and sometimes as resting places for the homeless.

A car that has no owner or whose owner is unknown will be recognized as ownerless. This will be determined by the executive committee. These are cars that have been illegally left on community land, have not been in operation for a long time, and show signs of loss of operational capabilities, for example, they lack basic components and assemblies, body parts, have significant damage, and their placement has a negative impact on the state of the city's amenities.

How the procedure will work

The Department of Transport learns about an abandoned car from citizens or the police, and a commission is created by the mayor's order, which includes representatives of the

The commission reports to the department that the car has signs of abandonment, after which parking inspectors and police officers should try to identify the owner of the car. The parking inspector must also draw up a report on the violation of parking rules. The search for the owner is allowed two weeks, and the police must interview residents of the surrounding buildings, if any. If the owner is found, he or she will be fined for violating parking rules, damaging the amenities, and forced to move the car to a garage or official parking lot.

What happens next?

If the owner is not found, the car will be evacuated to the police impound lot and a corresponding announcement will be published. The owner, if found, will be able to pick up the car after paying for the tow truck and storage.

If, within six months from the date of publication of the announcement of the transportation of an ownerless vehicle to a special site (parking lot) of the Main Department of the National Police in Odesa Oblast, the owner or other person who is legally entitled to demand the return of such a vehicle is not found or does not claim his or her rights to the ownerless vehicle, the Main Department of the National Police in Odesa Oblast has the right to sell it, with the subsequent transfer of the amount from such a sale to a special

Кирило Бойко

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