Neighbour blocked shared drive deliberately, AIBU or are they?

You mentioned previously that you have been told that the previous owners had problems with your difficult neighbours. Did they declare that dispute to your solicitors before you bought? If they were asked and didn't declare then you can take this further. Bet they were glad to get out of there.

I know it’s tempting to block them in, but I think they are trying to goad you into doing it, you will have the upper hand if you manage not to sink to their level. I know it would force them to engage but the way that they wont even answer the door makes me think that they’d do something insane like call the police and try and take you to court or something mad. If you leave notes i think that’s a good way to do it, they are very likely to be read. Please start parking in front of your own house and stop letting them bully you by parking slightly over the line, as for all the other behaviour keep rising above it xx

Blocking in their cars would at least force them to engage! I'm sure your deeds (and theirs) will grant you both the right to use the driveway but not to actually block it. A few minutes to load/unload a car would be reasonable but may be difficult to negotiate when your neighbours are so awful. Is the space in front of the garages also marked on the deeds as shared? Does he actually park in front of your garage or just so close that it's difficult for you to get in? (I'm assuming you are younger and fitter and could possibly park close and scoot in and out the passenger door. Or back in and park close.)

op you are letting yourself be bullied off your own drive. You have no choice but to let this escalate by blocking her in today and finally getting to speak to them otherwise you are allowing yourself to be a pushover and they will always take over the shared drive. I would wait till their cars have gone out at very least and then park outside your garage so far over the way he has been to prove a point.

This.

Hi op if they don’t answer leave a note of the times you have knocked tell them next time it is a call to the police as the garage is private property so they are blocking access to you garage. Then if they do it again put a ring bell up let them knock to complain tell them to go fuck themselves it is a necessity with suck obnoxious neighbours. Your past politeness now op.

Can they see the drive from inside the house op? I'd make a big show of going out with my camera phone to take lots of photos of their cars and maybe a pretend phone call.

Ah I have caught up I think. I was picturing the blocks at the end as your houses but they are are just the garages. Can you not park next to him super close and get out driver side only? Bit awkward having to reverse down the drive I know but hopefully only temporary.

I just worry that by you doing nothing other than ringing the doorbell every couple of hours they are having far too much reward.

Getting a ring doorbell would prompt an engagement if nothing else... You could also put one up on your garage pointing down the street.

@WoesFromAuntFlo they are teating u and bullying you. My parents had a similar issue. If you dont respond now by blocking her in, and asking them to contact you as they wouldnt respond to the door this will contune and worsen. You do now need a camera too aimed at your door and drive only. I bet its used more than u think. Personally Id also be tempted to have glass of wine be unable.tondrive goe a few hours but u may not want to escalte that far😂

No from what I understand the driveway is shared and allows access to two garages at the end of the drive one belonging to OP and one to her neighbour the working space in front of the garage belongs to whoever owns the garage. The rubbish was In front of OPs garage in her parking spot. The neighbour was parked on the drive blocking access to OPs garage, her parking spot and the rubbish.
OP is definitely not being unreasonable she has probably been too reasonable not complaining before as her neighbour also parks his car blocking her garage so she has to park in the road

You must must block her in or this aggression will escalate. When one of them comes to the door don't be meek and mild.

I'm sorry it is so shitty and stressful but why did you move you car again? Easy for me to say when it's not my life I know, but a Sunday would seem to me a good day to reclaim your spot.

Seems to me they are asking for you to block them both in but that is probably very poor advice.

This is a bullying situation and while they are holding all the cards, unfortunately there is so much power and fun in pissing you off and nothing in it for them in answering the door to you.

I know you don't want to escalate, but as they won't engage with you, maybe you should park in front of daughters car and block her in, abs leave a note asking them to call you. They will have to have a conversation then.

I would now be 100% parking in front of her so she can’t get off the drive. Where is your car now?

Park directly behind her into they call in to you to ask you to move is the only way.

They are petty. Keep this in mind with whatever you do next, for absolutely no reason at all they’ve blocked the drive just to inconvenience you. There will be no positive relationship because they have gone out of their way to be difficult just because they can. Initially I would have suggested leaving the rubbish on the drive as close to the boundary as possible to annoy them, but now I think they would retaliate. I would go straight to a recorded letter, maybe with a threat of reimbursing costs because you are having to pay twice.

If at all possible, DRIVE OVER HIS GRAVEL.

the only way to get people like him to engage is to show them that they have to engage or their property will suffer.

be very firm, be immovable and stubborn. Tell them that this was the last straw, that they don’t have the right to prevent access or or from your property for anyone you’ve authorised to attend your property and that in future any truck that they block will just drive across their garden.

they will be terrified that their grass/garden will be damaged. If you need a Ring door bell, get one. If you need scaffolding, do it.

tell them very clearly that they have zero power over you and that you have a very well documented right to live as you please, come and go as you please and have trades come to your home.

our old batshit neighbours used to scream and shout at any vans coming up here. I had to go out and tell them to leave the Amazon guy alone, leave the JLP delivery truck alone, and leave our visitors alone.

first step is telling them how it is.
second step is ideally a solicitor letter explaining to them that they have no rights to do what they are doing and to make clear to them that you intend to exert your rights.

next step IS legal action, but this goes to Mediation first and foremost. In this stage you can ask for agreement on whatever you want. So include the driveway parking issue can be included

when we went to mediation, we got all the trees and planting removed that was wrecking our boundary fence (they’d planted it) we told them we’d have window cleaning without asking permission, we’d be able to inspect our property (which means standing on their ground which is in front of our house. Legally we had to advise them of any work, but we made it clear that this was us advising them not asking them. She once said about needing to know about any scaffolding going up “in case she had guests” I told her clearly that any work requiring scaffolding would be for essential work on our home, nothing to do with hers and that I’m sure her guests would be just fine with it, that I wasn’t asking permission, because it’s not their home, it’s mine.

she didn’t like that <shrug>

she’s moved now, new neighbours are totally normal and it’s a breath of fresh air. We finally feel free and happy in our home all the time.

For 6 years tho, there were times I really wondered wth we’d done.

and this house is so big and so expensive, selling it and finding somewhere else round here would cost so much money in needless stamp duty etc. our house isn’t perfect for everyone, but it is for us, it’s a forever home and then some. The old neighbours were a real blight on it though.

Grapevine tells me that the nasty witch is unhappy in her new little home down the road in next (far less posh) village. Karma. Utter Karma. That woman deserves all the payback that Karma can possibly manage

My mum was a legal sec for years and I remember her saying to me that shared drives were the biggest cause of neighbourly disputes. Good luck!

It is a good plan but make sure you do it face2face. Do not get into the habit of exchanging notes - people like your neighbour are likely to hide behind notes. They are trying to bully you - you must show them that yours is the bigger broomstick so they bully somewhere else.

If you don't already have it, I'd suggest getting legal expenses insurance (LEI) (it can usually be added on to home or car insurance) because it sounds as though things may well kick off at some point in the future. Whilst LEI isn't always great, it's better than having no cover at all - these sorts of disputes can cost tens of thousands of pounds and get very nasty.

If you do have LEI you might want to consider contacting the provider, now. That said, if you're able to find a way forward with your neighbours, without involving solicitors, that would almost certainly be preferable - it's very difficult for neighbours to live harmoniously after one has got lawyers involved. There's also the matter of having to disclose to any future buyer the existence of the dispute, should you take any sort of formal action, which could ultimately devalue your property or jeopardise a sale.

I'd certainly be looking to your conveyancer / seller as it should have been disclosed to you that there was a previous neighbour dispute concerning the property you have purchased.

@WoesFromAuntFlo Did you go and speak to them in the end? What did they say?

OP did let them know beforehand.