Who is the registered keeper of a lease car?

When you lease a car, the logistics are slightly different to when you purchase a car in your own name as essentially you are renting the car from the leasing company. In most cases when a car is leased the leasing company is the registered keeper of the car, as they own the asset, and you are the registered owner.

What this means for you as a leased car driver

Not being the registered keeper is not an issue for you as a driver, it simply means you need to consider the different consequences in certain scenarios. You are still the keeper of the car the finance company is the legal owner. There may be certain instances where you may need to pay admin fees if the finance company need to deal with paperwork on your behalf for example. At Car Leasing, we provide a full and transparent view of our policies and procedures from the outset. 

V5 documentation

When you lease a car, you will not receive the V5 documents that come with ownership of a car. The V5 document will stay with the leasing company. Although the V5 is not proof of purchase, the registered name and address on the V5 documents will be the leasing companies.

Road tax

Usually, you will need your V5 documentation to set up and pay for the road tax of your car. As you do not have access to the V5 for the vehicle, the leasing company will be responsible for taxing the vehicle. The cost will be covered by your monthly payments, so you do not need to worry about the additional cost.

Parking fines & Speeding tickets

As the V5 is in the leasing company’s name, if you find yourself with a parking ticket or other road violation resulting in a fine, the information will be sent on to the leasing company and not your personal address. This shouldn’t cause any problems for you, it just means that depending on your lease contract, the company will send the details straight over to you, inform the correct authorities of your details or pay the fine and bill you the charges separately.

Parking Permits

If you live or work somewhere where a permit is needed, you may need to contact your leasing company to provide you with the relevant information that the body or council require to provide you with a permit. Usually, this needs to be no more than a letter explaining that you lease the car from them and both parties are used to dealing with this situation.

Personalised/ cherished number plates

You are able to add your personal plates to a leased car. You will just need to speak to your leasing company as you will need their permission and help when assigning the plates. At Car Leasing we will happily permit you to use personalised plates. Just let us know first and we can help you with the paperwork. As we own the vehicle and you are leasing it from us, our name will be at the top of all the documentation.

Insurance

When you are setting up the insurance for your personal lease, you will need to make sure that you give the correct details for the owner and registered keeper. It is important to get this information correct to ensure that in the unfortunate event that you need to claim your insurance will be valid.

The Car Leasing “Total Care Package” provides you with the peace of mind that you are covered in the event of an accident, a theft, or a fire for the duration of your lease. The “Total Care Package” will also protect you in the event of a breakdown.

Frequently asked questions