Sorry for yet another parking post but I'm genuinely struggling to work out who's BU here! And sorry if it gets a bit long and boring..
I live in a block of six Housing Association flats (we moved in mid-2010). We have a communal driveway with space for eight cars which is partly in front of the flats and partly down the side (four spaces at the front and four at the side). I haven't had a car until very recently as I only passed my test at the beginning of this month, so I obviously haven't used the communal driveway until now. I have, however, paid the £2 a week paving/driveway maintenance charge that makes up part of our weekly rent. Until I got a car there were only eight cars in the block (the other three two-bed flats have two cars each, and the two one-bed flats have one each, if it makes any difference) but now there are nine, so we're short by one space.
The way the parking has worked up until now is:
Flat 1 used one front space and one side space.
Flat 3 used two front spaces.
Flat 4 used one front space and one side space.
Flat 5 used one side space.
Flat 6 used one side space.
When I bought my car I was chatting to some of the neighbours and one of them actually told me that they would 'kick off' if they came home to find I'd parked in their space. Another said I should just park on the road because everyone had 'their' space and I shouldn't mess with things. I kind of feel like I should be able to park on the communal driveway because there are enough spaces for every flat to have one car, with two left over, and I've paid for the HA to completely ignore maintain the driveway, even when I wasn't blimmin' parking on it! So for the last few weeks I've been playing Car Tetris, just parking where there's been a space and hoping no one comes to my door looking for a fight about it.. and now one of the neighbours has been getting quite aggressive about it, saying that I've got no right to just get a car after three years (even though they've only lived here eighteen months, if that's relevant) and start using everyone else's spaces. Are they right? AIBU to think that I should be allowed to use the driveway? I can see why it's irritating when they've all parked easily for however long, but I've got a right to have a car and park it too haven't I?