To think my neighbour isn't *entitled* to park outside my house?

[TempusEedjit]

Sorry this is long!

Some background - we've lived here for four years, the neighbours across the road who are in the house directly opposite ours have lived here for two years, they have four cars between them and no driveway of their own.

Our front drive has space for two cars but if both are parked there then one blocks the other in. This sometimes means that if DH gets home after me but knows I'm going out again later then he will park on the road directly outside our house so we don't have to mess around moving cars out of the way. Both of us will park on our drive though whenever possible, which is more often than not.

Anyway one morning I went to leave the house to find our neighbour's car parked across our drive. DH was parked on the road as he'd got home after me the night before but I was leaving before him that morning. DH knocked on neighbour's door to ask him to move, cue rant from neighbour saying it was our fault for being selfish by taking up a space on the road when we had a drive. DH explained about blocking in etc and there was plenty of space further up our road (maximum 50 feet away) but neighbour still thought we were being unreasonable.

Anyway over the last few months neighbour has taken to parking outside ours by default even when he has spaces outside his thereby leaving them free for his wife or son to park there later. If DH is literally gone for 15mins dropping his DC off at their mum's then neighbour will go out and move his car into that space whilst he's gone.

So we are having our front drive repaved, it's obvious access is needed for the workmen as there have been diggers and machinery outside for the past week. Workman told me yesterday that neighbour was very disgruntled at being asked to move his car and only did so when the workman warned him it might get damaged - despite this he was parked outside again this morning and upset at being asked to move again! (Our own cars were parked further up the road).

Anyway today a man from the council turned up saying there had been a complaint that the workmen had cracked the pavement slabs outside our house. Upon inspection it was obvious the cracks were old (they even had moss growing in them) so he just marked them for future reference and said he'd be back to check again next week.

I'm sure it must be the man across the road who's responsible as I can't think who else would report us as both of our neighbours either side are fine about the work as our front drive has been an eyesore since before we moved in.

Aibu to think that our neighbour is an entitled arse and if I want to park outside my own bloody house for whatever reason then I can? And would you say anything to them?

[Baressentials]

If they are parking outside your house (not across your drive) then I'm not sure there is much you can do tbh unless I have misread.

[SavoyCabbage]

I've had problems with my neighbours in the past and my advice is not to engage. You can't 'win' as you can't think like these people do.

[Mookbark]

If he's parking outside your house and leaving space for another family member to park outside his, then I would get in there first and park in front of his house.
Not sure it would help the situation, but I'm petty like that.

[TaliZorahVasNormandy]

I'd be tempted to do what Mook suggested. Gotta park somewhere.

[whatevva]

I would ignore him - he is the one wasting his energy reparking his cars and calling the council (whose time he is wasting - they don't forget).

[gasman]

On street so anyone can park there.

Younhave two choices - live with situation as it is or escalate it by starting to put your car in the spaces outside his house...

The latter will lead to hellish relations with the neighbours but might make you feel better.

[Fixinggood]

I agree with Mook, Park in their space. They'll soon stop. If it's a public Street you can all Park where you like so he will have no right to complain :)

[HooseRice]

When you find him parked in front of your house, park in front of his.

My ex neighbour started parking wars with us. As I was always first back (worked part time) I always "won" with hilarious consequences ... he would stand outside our window literally jumping up and down how I wish I'd thought to film him

My advice is try your best not to engage as it will not get any better. Our neighbours used to rush out and move cars when we went out too.

Life is too short for that shit.

Good luck.

[bigbluebus]

You are absolutely free to park on the road outside your house but it is first come first serve and it sounds like your neighbour is a sad bast**d has nothing better to do than move his cars around in order to get a space as near to his house as possible - which just happens to be outside your house.

Will the works on your drive enable you to park you cars side by side in future or are you just replacing a worn surface?

Just tell your neighbour that if he wanted to guarantee a parking space he should have got himself a house with a driveway for 4 cars.

[BloodyPlantagenets]

We had exactly this with our old opposite neighbours. We moved in after him and he had become accustomed to parking outside our house. When we bought a second car and started parking there he got very aerated about it and started a parking war whereby if we moved our car for any reason (to pop to the shop for eg) we'd come back to find he'd moved his car into the space. It was pathetic.

What's worse was he had his own empty drive .

[Fizrim]

Anyone can park in the road - you have no right to the space outside your own house. If he's parking across a drop-down leading to your drive that may well be an offence and can be reported. Otherwise, leave him to it - he's the one that is wasting his own time watching your cars out of the window and getting himself worked up. Stand and laugh.

[Collaborate]

I agree with those who say to park outside his house. Better still, park both cars there but some distance apart so that it takes up space for nearly 3 cars, but not quite.

Then knock on his door, explain what you've done, and that you're happy to park normally and not like a twat but he must promise to do likewise.

I'd do that. Every single time. I can't stand people who act like that over parking.

[blindsider]

If he is parking across your drive report him, if he is parking on the road outside your house you ave to suck it up. If you want to be petty park directly outside his house whenever you get the chance (including leaving your drive empty)

[middlings]

Sorry OP, nowhere can I see in your OP that your neighbour has said he thinks he's entitled to park outside your house. He's doing it, but doesn't say he's entitled to!

Why can't you or your DP just park in one of the spaces he leaves vacant across the road .

YABU and it seems like a silly argument.

[HooseRice]

collaborate that's what we had to resort to doing in the end. It worked in that neighbours became so irate the decided to move. New lovely neighbours now with normal parking habits, like us again.

[member]

www.esedirect.co.uk/p-4140-2-piece-no-waiting-cone.aspx

[LovelyFriend]

anyone can park anywhere on the street.
you are letting this turn you into your neighbour.
let it go.

[BreconBeBuggered]

The way I read it, the neighbour thinks he has the right to the space outside OP's house, and also to dictate that OP and her DH should only ever use their driveway, not the road. It has the potential to descend into a parking farce. You should probably keep it going for our entertainment, OP.

[CestTout]

Agree with Mook and Collaborate. Show him you can be as awkward should you wish!

[FeelingSmurfy]

If he is blocking you in then I would take up two of the spaces he thinks of as his, leaving the drive empty, when commented on just say that you have to do that since he keeps blocking your drive and you haven't got time to mess around getting him to move, if he stops parking across your drive you will start using it again

[TempusEedjit]

Our drive is just being repaved, in order for two cars to not block each other in we'd have to knock down our front wall and get a dropped kerb put across the entire front of our house.

We did consider parking in "his" spaces but it makes it awkward when DH is loading up the car with all the DC's stuff plus the couple of times we did do that the neighbour parked really close so we had to do loads of wheel twirling to get out

Don't get me wrong I'm not bothered if "our" space is already taken as part of the usual first come first served on-street parking but it's just his attitude that we have no right to park there just because we have a drive. And now that he's been deliberately vindictive I wish I could give him a piece of my mind but realise it probably wouldn't be a wise move.

[BoomBoomsCousin]

Your neighbour has no entitlement to park outside your house and he sounds like a dick. But I'm pretty sure, unless they have a permission from the council, your work men have no entitlement to that bit of road to ease their working either. And if they damage your neighbour's car they'll have to pay for it.

[duckyneedsaclean]

You should probably keep it going for our entertainment, OP

Pleeeaaaase

[CheesyWeez]

Can't you and your husband drive each other's cars? Like a pp said can you extend the works so to park side by side? Just for a quiet life so you can let your neighbour waste his energy on someone else. I'd hate this. Life's too short!