To park outside someone else's house?

[sallyhansen32]

Finally passed my test and excitedly bought a new car.
I live in terraced houses with no drive.
Parking is terrible and the neighbours have 2-3 cars between them.
Over the road is a elderly lady and she has no cars and space for 2 cars easily as the house next door is vacant.
I parked my car outside (which is directly opposite my house).
I get in my car this morning to drive to work and she bangs on my window..
Do not park there again as I couldn't get to town this morning as my taxi couldn't park at my door (there was room behind my car and the car wasn't blocking her front door.
Am I in the wrong here?

[DevilsDoorbell]

Nope

[alwaysontimeneverlate]

Nope terraces houses are a bit of a free for all for parking in my experience.

[Salavart62]

Obviously we need a diagram. But doesn’t sound like you were in the wrong.

[Frequency]

Why couldn't the taxi stop further up or in the road? If her mobility is so limited she needs it directly outside her front door how is she getting to town? I doubt the taxi driver drives into the town center and drops her exactly at the door of the shops she wants.

She is being dramatic.

[eggcellent]

She's being an idiot and complaining for the sake of it. If she wants a private drive then she should pay for one!

[Aprilshouldhavebeenmyname]

My neighbour says I can't park outside her house as my car blocks her light.
She is happy to block her ndn light though.
And she owns a private car park which holds up to 8 cars - but keeps it locked up empty!

[ShoeJunkie]

YANBU - I live on a similar street (that people also use to park when they are popping into town). It would be lovely to think I could always park outside my own house or even in the same street but thems the breaks of living in a house with no off road parking.

[sallyhansen32]

Exactly !!! And she didn't have a problem walking to my car to bang on my window.
I've moved it as I can't be bothered with the hassle.
Felt like a criminal !

[sallyhansen32]

Il try and do a little diagram later once I'm home ha ha

[yearyeahyah]

Nope, I park outside someone's house as I need to during work all day. They get threatening and said they would butter my windscreen. I called the police and they have been quiet ever since.

If there's no parking restrictions and it's not a drop curb park wherever you like!

[sallyhansen32]

No drop curb no

[DianaPrincessOfThemyscira]

Absolute ROFL at a taxi refusing to pick up because they can’t safely or legally park outside someone’s house!

YANBU at all.

[Whatstobedone]

Car parked legally, if she's that bothered she needs to pay for a dropped kerb.

[sallyhansen32]

The taxi would pick her up but she said she couldn't walk to it as my car was there ..then proceeds to walk to my car and bang on said window.

[Aprilshouldhavebeenmyname]

Beware fruit bat neighbour op. Mine scratched my car. And when ds parked there she let his tyres down 3 nights in a row. No proof obviously but he house is in a corner and no need for anyone to pass.
And other neighbours are fine.

[ApolloandDaphne]

You are absolutely in the right. You can park where you please if there are no restrictions. Try to ignore her. She clearly wants to make a drama out of this.

[Katielk93]

Nope! You pay road tax so park where you like on a public road 😊

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

Public road, no drop curb, no double yellows - you can park where you like.

[Juells]

She doesn't own the road outside her house. But I was just about to post to watch out for batshit behaviour like April experienced.

[Twinkletoes90]

ah she sounds like my old neighbours... they used to put butter (yes I kid you not bloody butter!!!) on car door handles if people parked outside their house!! (they had a drive and no car...and no need for the space)
don't let her boss you about - leave ur car there the longer the better !!!

[OiWhoTookTheGoodNames]

It's goodwill though - our street has crap parking similar to you're describing and we do try, wherever possible, to leave spaces in front of people's houses for them to use if they do so - people tend to put extra cars in front of vacant houses, or those they know are OK with it, or at the end of the street (where the street runs down past the side of houses on the road it joins onto). Basically our mutual "don't be an arse" system tends to function pretty well in general.

There's no point pissing people off unnecessarily if you've got to live in close proximity to them - especially if there are non-controversial spaces to leave your car instead.

[BlueBug45]

Nope.

If her mobility issues are that bad and she has a car then she would have a disabled parking space in front of her house. As she can walk up to your car and bang on it then she clearly has no mobility issues.

BTW as a new driver I would get a dashcam that is fitted into your car. You can get ones that turn on if some hits your car when parked.

[FellOffMyUnicorn]

We used to have one of these, used to dash out to say we couldn't park outside her house because her CARER needed to park there

[CtrlCandCtrlV]

People believe they own the road in front of their home. They don't. As long as you park legally, don't block drives and dropped kerbs, you park wherever you want.

If there is a goodwill system, of course it's everybody's interest to respect it. People in residential areas being irate because people park on their road to go to town or anywhere are ridiculous.

I sometimes park in front of my house to discourage others to do so, just because I childishly don't like to look at their cars, but I completely acknowledge their right to park there if they arrive first

[KinkyAfro]

oi OP is being considerate by parking her car in front of a house that doesn't have any cars, surely that's better than parking in front of a house that has 2 or 3 cars?