New rules to stop overzealous wheel clamping and charging unreasonable fines to release a vehicle passed its third reading in Parliament on Tuesday night.
The new maximum clamping fee will be $100.
The new rules will apply to people who use wheel clamping as a method of parking enforcement on private property.
"Other changes require a wheel clamping operator to release a person’s vehicle within a reasonable period after a request to do so," Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Kris Faafoi said.
While there are no rules for what a reasonable amount of time is, if the time it takes to unclamp a wheel causes unnecessary inconvenience, it will be in breach of the new law.
"This Government is committed to protecting New Zealand consumers from unreasonable and predatory behaviour, and some of the worst practices related to wheel clamping have concerned me, as they have many consumers, for some time," Faafoi said.
Anyone found to charge more than the $100 maximum or who fails to remove a wheel clamp in a reasonable amount of time will be committing an offence.
Police will be able to issue on-the-spot fines for any infringements and require someone to pay up to $1000 for individuals or $5000 for a company.
If someone commits an offence and is convicted in court, they can be liable for penalties up to $3000 for an individual and $15,000 for a company.
"The changes coming into effect provide a fairer system of private parking enforcement.
"They strike a balance between protecting motorists from unreasonable and extortionist behaviour at the hands of rogue wheel clamping operators while ensuring businesses have the means to prevent people from parking where they shouldn’t," Faafoi said.
