Personal Money · Tuesday, 20 October 2026

01 Briefing what happened

UK private car parks get a new code: five minutes to decide, ten minutes to leave, and a 20-pound charge for a slip-up on appeal

The UK prime minister set out official rules for private car parks, after a record of almost 17 million tickets in a year. Much of it copies the industry's own code; the new part is that firms that break it can lose access to car owners' records.

17m

private parking tickets handed out in the UK in 2025-26, a record

17% more than a year before, the RAC motoring group found [1][2]

20 pounds

the most a firm may charge for a slip-up, such as a wrong number plate, once the driver appeals

for other breaches the top charge stays at 100 pounds [1][2]

10 min

to drive out after the paid time ends, before any charge

on top of five minutes to decide whether to park at all [1][2]

1,906 pounds

claimed from one driver in Derby over 10 tickets for paying too slowly

the machine was broken, and the claim was later dropped [5][1]

The lead story — what happened

Andy Burnham, the UK prime minister, set out an official code for private car parks in England, Scotland and Wales on Monday. [1][2]
Drivers get five minutes to decide whether to park, and ten minutes to leave after their paid time ends, before any charge. [1][2]
A charge is cancelled on appeal when the driver could not help it, such as a breakdown, a medical emergency or a broken ticket machine. [1][2] Honest mistakes, such as stopping to check directions, count too. [2]
For a slip-up, such as typing one wrong letter of a number plate or forgetting to show a permit, the most a firm may charge after an appeal is 20 pounds. [1][2] Some firms already ask that much: in Louth, Euro Car Parks offered to cancel a driver's ticket for a 20-pound fee over what it called a keying error. [8]
The top charge stays at 100 pounds, the same limit as the industry's own code. [1] Which?, a UK consumer group, had asked for 50 pounds. [2][3]
A firm that breaks the code can lose access to records held by the DVLA, the UK agency that registers cars, which makes it far harder to chase a car's owner. [1]
Private firms handed out almost 17 million parking tickets in 2025-26, a record and 17% more than the year before, the RAC motoring group found. [1][2]
Much of this was already in the industry's own code from 2024. [4][1] It gave a 10-minute grace period at new car parks, and cut a charge to 20 pounds, if paid within 14 days, for mistakes such as a wrong number plate. [4] The British Parking Association, one of the two trade bodies that wrote it, said many of the new rules are already in its code. [1]
The change is that the rules now come from the UK government, and a firm that ignores them risks losing the owner records it needs to collect. [1] A government code was tried once before, in 2022, and was withdrawn within six months after parking firms challenged it in court. [2]
Which? said the code falls well short, because it sets up no single independent body to hear appeals. [2] Firms may still add debt-recovery fees of up to 70 pounds to an unpaid charge, and the UK government will consult on cutting or scrapping them next year. [2][1]
In Derby, Rosey Hudson was sent 10 charges totalling 1,906 pounds after a broken machine made her take more than five minutes to pay. [5][1] Another driver in Derby was ordered by a court to pay Excel Parking 285.56 pounds after he mistyped his number plate. [9]
In June, the family of Jackie Whitehurst, 82, asked for older drivers to get more time to answer a ticket. [10] She died after a fall outside the court where she had just beaten a wrongly issued charge from Parkingeye. [10]

2024-2514.4 m

2025-2616.9 m

Private parking tickets handed out in the UK each year, in millions, from RAC counts.

Who is involved

Andy Burnham

the UK prime minister; he announced the code as one of his 'everyday fixes' to the cost of living
Which?

a UK consumer group; it wanted a 50-pound cap and one independent appeals body, and says the code falls short
British Parking Association

one of the two trade bodies for car park firms; it says most of the rules are already in its own code
RAC

a UK motoring group; it counts the tickets and wants debt-recovery fees banned

How it unfolded

2022 A government code is published, then withdrawn within six months after parking firms challenge it in court [2]
2024 The industry writes its own code, with a 10-minute grace period [4][1]
Feb 2025 Firms drop a five-minute payment rule after the 1,906-pound Derby case [5]
Jul 2026 The UK competition regulator warns parking firms and investigates Euro Car Parks [6][7]
19 Oct Burnham sets out the new code [1][2]
20 Oct The code goes before parliament, with no start date yet [2]

Where this points

The code goes before parliament on Tuesday with no start date yet, and the next test is whether next year's consultation cuts the debt-recovery fees of up to 70 pounds. [2]

What is pushing on the whole day

The bar and the word are our reading of how hard each one is pushing today. The arrow is where it is heading. The evidence is in the stories below.

Home loans costing more High→

The average US 30-year home loan rate reached 7.4%, a three-year high. [15] US builders report the fewest buyer visits since 2012. [16] In the UK, 56% of first-time buyers now pay more each month than they paid in rent. [14] The US rate dipped to 7.20% on Monday. [18]

Living costs beating incomes High↑

In France, 41.1% of people lived in homes that struggled to make ends meet in 2025. [25] In the US, 51% of people near retirement now expect to stop work later than planned. [24] A retiree in a California mobile home park has seen her rent go from 825 to 1,600 dollars a month. [22]

New rules protecting customers Building↑

Britain plans to scrap the cap on payouts for wheelchairs that airlines damage. [26] The UK's financial regulator asked AI chatbot makers to add clear warnings about the limits of their money advice. [29] Parking firms that break the new code can lose the car-owner records they need. [1]

The rest of the day

14 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

02
Bereaved families face tax over late pensions

Families waiting for a civil service pension lump sum may pay income tax on it, because delays at Capita, an outsourcing company, could push them past a deadline. [11] Under UK tax rules, a death payment is tax-free only if it is paid within two years of the scheme hearing of the death. [11] Capita took over the scheme for 1.7 million members in December 2025, and its backlog reached 120,000 cases by February. [11] At the end of September, 1,643 bereavement cases were more than 100 days old. [11]

Why it matters — Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who chairs Parliament's spending watchdog committee, asked the UK government to promise that no family will be taxed. [11] The Cabinet Office says families can claim the money back through the Pensions Ombudsman, which is taking about 18 months on a standard complaint. [11] In July it said it was looking at taking the scheme back from Capita. [12]
03
Most UK first-time buyers now pay more than rent

56% of first-time buyers in the UK paid more each month for their mortgage in September than they had paid in rent, Hamptons, an estate agent, found. [14] It is the highest share in at least a decade, and the gap was 39 pounds a month on average. [14] Buyers in their 40s were hit hardest: 67% paid more, by 18% on average. [14] The average five-year fixed mortgage rate was 5.99% on Monday, says Moneyfacts, a firm that tracks loan deals. [14]

Why it matters — When rates were low, buying was the easy choice for tenants who could manage it, says Hamptons' head of research. [14] Rents are still rising too: new rents went up 2.7% in the year to September, to 1,433 pounds a month on average. [14]
04
US builders' mood falls to a 14-year low

A monthly survey of US home builders by their trade group, the NAHB, fell three points to 29 in October, the lowest since June 2012. [15][16] Any score under 50 means more builders see sales as poor than good. [16] 43% of builders cut prices this month, the most since at least 2020, by 6% on average. [16][15] 65% offered extras such as paying to lower a buyer's loan rate. [15] Visits from would-be buyers fell to their lowest since April 2012, leaving aside the start of the pandemic. [16]

Builders cutting prices43%
Builders offering extras65%
Share of US home builders in the NAHB's October survey doing each, to win buyers.

Why it matters — Builders blame home loan rates above 7%, dearer petrol and immigration checks that keep some legal workers off sites. [15] Buyers who can still borrow are being offered lower prices and help with the rate. [16]
05
More US home markets tip towards buyers

Buyers now have the upper hand in 17 of the 99 biggest US housing markets, up from 13 a year ago, says Realtor.com, a home listings site. [17] Sellers have it in 27, down from 39. [17] Homes sit unsold for longer, so sellers cut prices and help with costs. [17] But the 30-year loan rate rose from 6.66% in late August to 7.40% on 8 October. [17] For a buyer who can pay 2,000 dollars a month, that cut what they can borrow by about 22,000 dollars. [17]

Why it matters — Lower prices help only buyers who can still get a loan at these rates. [17] On Monday the average rate fell to 7.20%, says NerdWallet, a personal finance site, and loans for military veterans averaged 6.90% on 15 October against 7.29% for a standard loan. [18][19]
06
New York adds 10,000 free places for two-year-olds

Zohran Mamdani, New York City's mayor, said on Monday that 10,000 more two-year-olds will get free childcare places from autumn 2027. [20] Every school district in the Bronx and on Staten Island will be covered. [20] The scheme, called 2-K, began this year in four areas, where the first 2,000 families got places. [21] A toddler's place in a New York care centre cost 23,400 dollars a year in 2024, the city comptroller's office found. [20]

Why it matters — Between 2020 and 2024 the number of children under five in New York City fell 18%, as families left for cheaper places. [20] The scheme has reportedly had funding and payment delays as it grows. [20]
07
Retirees' mobile home rent nearly doubles

Residents of Crestview Hills, a mobile home park for over-55s in Fallbrook, California, face a second rent rise this year after the park was sold. [22] Rita Burn paid 825 dollars a month when she retired there in 2017 and now pays 1,600 dollars. [22] The manager, Cabrillo Management, says the rise pays for a new sewer system and higher property tax after the sale. [22] It did not say how much rents went up this year. [22]

$825Rent in 2017
$1,600Rent now
One resident's monthly rent at Crestview Hills, before a second rise announced this year.

Why it matters — Mobile home parks are exempt from California's cap of 10% a year on most rent rises, and state law sets no limit on park rents. [22] The residents own their homes but rent the ground under them, and modern mobile homes are rarely moved once they are placed. [22]
08
US home repairs cost three-quarters more

The typical US home improvement job cost 2,113 dollars in 2025, against 1,200 dollars in 2015, a 76% rise after allowing for inflation, LendingTree, a loans comparison site, found. [23] The biggest jump came between 2021 and 2023. [23] Builders say their main materials cost 6.7% more than a year ago. [23] Three in four jobs were paid in cash, and jobs paid with a loan against the home had a median cost of 7,924 dollars. [23]

Why it matters — Many owners holding old loans near 3% are fixing up the home they have rather than moving and borrowing at today's rates. [23] Homes built before 1940 cost about 1,706 dollars a year to keep up, against 173 dollars for homes built in 2022 and 2023. [23]
09
More older Americans put off retiring

51% of Americans over 50 who have not yet retired now expect to retire later than they planned, up from 45% last year. [24] That is from a survey by F&G, a company that sells annuities and life insurance. [24] Of those delaying, 52% worry they will not have enough money. [24] Social Security, the US state pension, was the biggest factor in their plans, named by 46%. [24] 31% are, or plan to be, semi-retired, working less rather than stopping. [24]

Why it matters — Three in four said they would rather have a steady income they can predict than a chance of bigger growth. [24] F&G sells annuities, which turn savings into a fixed income, and its own executives name them as part of the answer. [24]
10
France's poverty rate is the highest on record

15.4% of people in mainland France, about 9.8 million, lived below the poverty line in 2024, the highest since records began in 1996, says INSEE, France's statistics office. [25] The line was 1,337 euros a month for a person living alone. [25] Energy prices in France rose more than 60% between 2015 and mid-2026. [25] In 2025, 41.1% of people lived in homes that had some difficulty making ends meet, according to Eurostat, the EU's statistics office. [25]

Why it matters — Protests over the cost of living in France turned into riots and looting over the weekend. [25] Fuel there was 30% dearer in April than at the end of 2025, after the war with Iran and the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil. [25]
11
UK plans to scrap the cap on wheelchair payouts

The UK government plans to remove the limit on what airlines pay when they lose or damage a wheelchair. [26] It also wants the aviation regulator to be able to fine airlines and airports that fail to help disabled passengers. [26] Both are expected in a civil aviation bill now going through parliament. [26] More than 1,000 wheelchairs were damaged in transit in 2024, over 80 a month. [26]

Why it matters — Airports have added staff training, and a standard system now prepares airlines to handle wheelchairs and other mobility aids. [26] Requests for help are up nearly 10% in a year, and almost one in five disabled passengers are still unhappy with flying, industry figures show. [26]
12
Car hire desk refused an online bank's card

Enterprise Rent-A-Car's desk at Carcassonne airport in France refused to hand over a car because the Visa card came from First Direct, an online bank owned by HSBC. [27] The group of ten paid 440 euros for trains and taxis instead. [27] Enterprise's own terms accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express. [27] It refused to repay the costs for months, then admitted the error and paid after the Guardian's consumer column took up the case. [27]

Why it matters — Hire firms often insist on a physical credit card in the driver's own name, so they can take money if the car is damaged. [27] Another traveller paid more than 145 pounds for extra insurance in Warsaw because her card showed her initials, not her first name. [27]
13
Opendoor tests a home deal with 2% down

Opendoor, a US company that buys and resells homes, is testing a scheme in North Carolina with Ownify, a firm that co-invests in homes. [28] Buyers put down 2% and pay one fixed monthly sum for five years. [28] Part of each payment buys more of the home, and part covers tax, insurance and upkeep. [28] An investor fund pays the rest of the price and aims for a return of 10% to 14%. [28] Buyers can buy the rest at any time, at a price set by three valuations. [28]

Why it matters — Opendoor has not said what the payment becomes in year six, or how much of the home a typical buyer owns by then. [28] It bought 4,378 homes in the second quarter and sold 2,339, so it has many homes to move. [28]
14
UK regulator wants money warnings on AI chatbots

The FCA, which regulates UK banks and financial firms, asked the makers of AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude to add clear warnings when they give money information. [29] Four in five less-experienced investors aged 18 to 40 have used AI to help them invest, the FCA said on Monday. [29] Only 40% of people know they have no way to get money back if advice from a general AI tool goes wrong. [29] The FCA also published examples of good and poor use of AI by firms. [29]

Why it matters — The FCA says chatbots blur the line between advice from a regulated firm, which carries protections, and general information, which does not. [29] A joint survey with the Bank of England, due next week, finds 86% of financial firms now use AI. [29]
15
Young Americans move to cheaper states

California lost about 58,109 more adults of Gen Z, people born from the late 1990s, than it gained in 2024, the most of any US state, a LendingTree report on census figures found. [30] Texas took the most young Californians. [30] South Carolina gained 22,843 young adults, Missouri 14,063 and Tennessee 13,537, and several of these states cost less to live in than much of the country. [30] Nearly 11 million Gen Z adults, about one in four, moved in 2024. [30]

Why it matters — A Bank of America study found that 42% of Gen Z live from one pay cheque to the next. [30] Washington DC still gained young adults despite its high costs, and the report's author says well-paid jobs there may help cover them. [30]

02 Lesson why it matters

Why a higher loan rate shrinks the home a monthly budget can buy

Buyers borrow what their monthly payment can repay. When the rate rises, the same payment repays a smaller loan, so buyers can offer less.

The twist

The price on a house can stay the same while what a buyer can pay for it falls. A buyer with 2,000 dollars a month lost about 22,000 dollars of borrowing in just over a month, without the price changing at all.

The picture

$2,000Monthly budget

6.66% to 7.40%US loan rate

$22,000Borrowing lost

Same budget, higher rate, smaller loan. The rate rose between late August and 8 October; Realtor.com worked out the loss.

How it works

A buyer starts from the monthly payment they can afford
The lender works out the biggest loan that payment can repay
A higher rate puts more of each payment towards interest
So the same payment repays a smaller loan
Buyers offer less, so sellers cut prices or pay to lower the rate

The same force, elsewhere today

Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

US builders' mood at a 14-year low

65% of builders pay extras such as lowering a buyer's rate, because a lower rate makes the buyer's monthly payment carry a bigger loan again.
UK first-time buyers paying more than rent

With five-year fixed rates near 6%, most first-time buyers now pay more each month than the rent they paid before, so the monthly payment is what squeezes them.
More US home markets tip towards buyers

Sellers are cutting prices, but the rate rise took about 22,000 dollars off what a 2,000-dollar-a-month buyer can borrow, so buyers gain little.
Opendoor's 2% down test

Opendoor sells the home as one fixed monthly sum, because the monthly number is what a buyer checks first.

Where you've seen this

Car dealers

they quote a monthly payment, and a longer loan lets a dearer car fit the same payment

Phone contracts

the handset's price is folded into the monthly bill, so buyers compare monthly sums, not prices

Student loans

a higher rate on the same repayment means more years before the loan is cleared

The catch

This bites only on buyers who borrow: a cash buyer sees only the price, and a rate that falls again, as it did on Monday, works the same chain backwards.

And the whole of it

The family stretching to 2,000 dollars a month, the builder paying to lower a stranger's rate and the seller cutting the asking price are all reacting to the home loan rate. That rate is set in bond markets far from any of them, and each of them sees only its own house and its own monthly sum.

03 Truth what's really going on

What is really going on

Most of Britain's new parking rules, including the 10-minute grace period and the 20-pound charge for a slip-up, were already in the code the parking industry wrote for itself in 2024. [4][1] What is new is that the UK government now sets them, and a firm that breaks them can lose the car-owner records it needs to chase a charge. [1]

Why it works on us — One shocking case makes a new rule feel like a rescue: the 1,906-pound Derby claim was quoted again on Monday, though firms dropped the five-minute rule behind it in February 2025. [1][5]

Who gains

Drivers who make a slip-up in a private car park — A wrong number plate or a forgotten permit will cost at most 20 pounds after an appeal. [1][2]
Private parking firms — The top charge stays at 100 pounds, not the 50 Which? asked for, and debt-recovery fees of up to 70 pounds stay until a consultation next year. [2]
US home buyers who can still borrow — 43% of builders cut prices in October, by 6% on average, and 65% offered extras such as paying to lower the buyer's rate. [15][16]
Landlords letting to new tenants in Britain — New rents rose 2.7% in the year to September, to 1,433 pounds a month on average. [14]
F&G and other sellers of annuities — Three in four older Americans in F&G's own survey said they want a predictable income, which is what an annuity sells. [24]
Families with two-year-olds in the Bronx and on Staten Island — Free places from autumn 2027 replace care that cost 23,400 dollars a year in a New York centre in 2024. [20]

Who pays

Bereaved families of civil servants — A death payment from the pension is taxed as income if it arrives more than two years after the scheme heard of the death, and Capita's delays push some past that line. [11]
First-time buyers in Britain — 56% now pay more each month than their old rent, 39 pounds more on average, with five-year fixed rates near 6%. [14]
US buyers on a fixed monthly budget — The rise in rates from 6.66% to 7.40% cut what a buyer paying 2,000 dollars a month can borrow by about 22,000 dollars. [17]
Retirees at Crestview Hills in California — The park's new owner is passing a new sewer and a higher property tax on through rent, and park rents have no legal cap there. [22]
Drivers already chased for unpaid parking charges — Debt-recovery fees of up to 70 pounds can still be added on top while the UK government consults. [2]

What nobody knows yet

Open questions from across today’s stories — ours included.

01

When the parking code takes effect.

It goes before parliament on Tuesday, and ministers say only 'as soon as possible'. The last official code was withdrawn within six months after parking firms went to court. [2]
02

How many bereaved families will be taxed on late civil service pensions.

1,643 bereavement cases were more than 100 days old at the end of September, but the PCS union says not all of them will reach the two-year limit. The figures do not say how many will. [11]
03

Whether the UK government will pay back any such tax, and how fast.

The Cabinet Office points families to the Pensions Ombudsman, which is taking about 18 months on a standard complaint. [11] In January it offered interest-free hardship loans of up to 10,000 pounds to the worst-affected members. [13]
04

Whether debt-recovery fees on unpaid parking charges will be cut or scrapped.

The fees can reach 70 pounds, and the UK government will only consult on them next year. [2][1]
05

Whether the new code changes much for drivers at all.

The British Parking Association says many of the rules are already in its code. Which? says the code falls well short. [1][2]
06

Whether the dip in US home loan rates on Monday lasts.

NerdWallet says it depends on whether tech firms can convince investors of their profits, and on fuel prices. [18]
07

Whether rising rents in Britain will spread to tenants who are not moving.

So far the rises have mostly hit tenants moving home, and Hamptons expects more existing tenants to feel them if rents keep climbing. [14]
08

What Opendoor's buyers pay after year five, and how much of the home they own by then.

Opendoor has not set out terms beyond the first five years, and does not comment on products it is still testing. [28]
09

How large the second rent rise at Crestview Hills will be.

The park's manager did not give the size of either of this year's rises. [22]

04 Hope carry this

New York City will add 10,000 free childcare places for two-year-olds from autumn 2027, covering every school district in the Bronx and on Staten Island.

Also true today

Airports in Britain have added staff training, and a standard system now prepares airlines to handle wheelchairs, after more than 1,000 were damaged in transit in 2024.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car paid back a group of ten travellers their 440 euros of train and taxi costs, after admitting its desk in Carcassonne was wrong to refuse their card.