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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

122 replies

TempusEedjit · 03/02/2016 13:15

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?

OP posts:
balletgirlmum · 03/02/2016 14:25

I'm like you OP. DH leaves early in the morning so if I am home last I park in the cul de sac opposite rather than blocking him in on the drive.

Your neighbour shouldn't be blocking your drive but can park anywhere he likes in the street (as can you)

HoneyDragon · 03/02/2016 14:27

Oh please extend your drive and get the kerb dropped. Then you have genuinely stolen his space Grin

BrokenVag · 03/02/2016 14:28

Bte, the neighbours are unreasonnable to have 4 cars anyway. I hope they do realise that nowdays, houses are planned on thre basis of one car by household and no more!

That's changed now, at least around here. It's 2 spaces for a 3 bed, 3 for a 4 bed.

CPtart · 03/02/2016 14:33

An ex neighbour used to park so close to my car on a terraced street if I so dared as to encroach near his house, that it blocked me in regularly. I had the last laugh however, when my shift patterns changed and I was banging on his door at 6am asking him to move his car every morning so I could get out.

Original poster
TempusEedjit · 03/02/2016 14:38

Just to clarify I am not irritated by him parking outside my house as I am fully aware it's first come first served (although I do think him moving his car the second we pop out is petty). What is annoying me is that he has had a go at us for daring to take up that space on occasion, and that he now feels so entitled to be there that he took exception to the workmen politely asking him to move and I have no doubt it was he who reported them to the council for damage they didn't do!

OP posts:
PosieReturningParker · 03/02/2016 14:40

If he obstructs your access to the highway it's an offence and you can call the police, this would prevent you from a quick run to the hospital and so very unsafe.

The rest of it? you can't do anything.

PosieReturningParker · 03/02/2016 14:42

By the way he can block a dropped kerb as long as your car isn't on it..

My neighbour used to paint he dead, for eight years, mother disabled bay every summer. Even that you can park on though unless it has an accompanying post and sign, but you'd have to be a complete dick to do it.

ouryve · 03/02/2016 14:47

Yes, he is allowed to park anywhere that you can park that isn't your own property. His reaction to the request to move his car out of harms's way was pretty twattish, though.

And why the hell would someone with 4 cars buy a house with no off street parking (in an area where some houses clearly do have it)?

Agree with parking outside his house, when you get chance. Never say a word, though. You can't reason with people like this.

budgiegirl · 03/02/2016 14:48

What is annoying me is that he has had a go at us for daring to take up that space on occasion

Well, although he had no right to have a go, or to park across your drive, I can see why it might be a bit irritating from his point of view, seeing as you would have had an empty space on your drive. But you are, of course, entitled to park there if you want, just as he is.

looki · 03/02/2016 14:54

IMO you are not being unreasonable. We are in a similar position as a house nearby is rented and between them, they have three vans, three cars and a boat. The boat is the only thing in their drive. This results in every available space on our small road being taken up by them. The main road nearby has double lines. While the neighbours are not committing an offence, it is so bloody annoying and it is unfair to all the other houses. They often use only the vans so the cars are left unmoved outside other people's houses for weeks at a time.

It has got to a point where everybody runs around re-parking at all hours of the night. As soon as one car drives off, it is guaranteed that about another car will park there within ten minutes.

They have blocked our drive a twice and when asked to move, replied they will do so 'later'.

So OP I think you should definitely park outside the neighbours if you can!

PosieReturningParker · 03/02/2016 14:54

My old neighbour NEVER used his drive or garage but thought he could reserve the dropped kerb for his wife or second van (not the same thing). I thought he could too, I didn't know the law.

This was fine, everyone accepted that as he paid for the garage why shouldn't he benefit from a saved space? That was until I had dc4 and parked across his drive when I first got home. It was 10pm and I had had a section, pouring with rain and so we didn't fancy driving to a space two roads away.

He came home and hammered repeatedly on our door, he knew that we had just had a baby and other small children. From this day on he would leave whichever car he wasn't using outside of my house for days. Sometimes he would park outside of my house and not use his dropped kerb space at all.

Over the next four years I probably used that space six times, he got very angry. I looked up the law.

I then, knowing we were moving, parked outside of his house as often as I could. And happily told him what the law was.

TeddTess · 03/02/2016 15:03

seriously is that the law? that you can park on a dropped kerb as long as you are not blocking someone in?

HPFA · 03/02/2016 15:11

While I got rather lost in the specifics of this case, as someone who doesn't have a parking space of their own, I do think that people who have driveways should generally park on them. It seems unfair to leave empty a space that a neighbour can't use and take from them one that they can. Luckily, I must live on a nice street so cos everyone does use their driveways and I can always manage to park somewhere.

PosieReturningParker · 03/02/2016 15:11

Seriously that was the law when I looked it up in 2014.

JessicasRabbit · 03/02/2016 15:15

You are both unreasonable. He is unreasonable for getting so angry, but you are unreasonable for not parking on your drive. It is a pain in the neck when you live somewhere with no parking, and a breeze when you have a driveway. It really helps to be a bit considerate of your neighbours.

JessicasRabbit · 03/02/2016 15:20

the neighbours are unreasonnable to have 4 cars anyway.

Depends why they have four cars. When I briefly stayed with my mum after a break up we had four cars between us - all required for work / commute. Fortunately bro gets the bus to work, and they have a double driveway so we only took up two spaces on the road. The cars were all there at night, but usually all in use during the day.

Jayne35 · 03/02/2016 15:25

Sorry OP I can see neighbours POV too. I live in a cul de sac with very little parking and selfish people drive me mad. Cars taking up two spaces etc.

Also one neighbour has a drive big enough for 3 vehicles but only uses it for a camper van, leaving two cars parked on the road. Worse still if they are away they park one car opposite making entry into the road very tight (apparently so that he can move his car then easily get camper on drive!) The thing that bothers me the most is if not using drive at least park across it so the spaces either side are free for some one else.

I am considering making some notes with 'If you can't park you should not be driving at all' made up. Grin

Having had above moan, life is too short to be rowing with neighbours over parking so I tell myself the few minutes walk from parking space is good exercise.

peggyundercrackers · 03/02/2016 15:26

YANBU, you have 2 cars, he has 4. although you have parking on your drove there is no law to say you need to use it. he should have thought about parking before buying 4 cars...

stumblymonkey · 03/02/2016 15:26

They can park there unless you have a dropped curb.

Do you have a dropped curb?

MrsJorahMormont · 03/02/2016 15:27

You should have widened your drive before you spent money on repaving it. We widened our drive to avoid taking space on the street and it's no big deal to get a dropped kerb. It doesn't alter the fact that he is an arse but he isn't doing anything illegal. Although they really need to clamp down on the number of cars any one household is allowed to have without a driveway.

PuppyMonkey · 03/02/2016 15:30

We used to have a drive like yours op. We added a little extra bit of a paved area going off the main drive to the right near the entrance so that we had an extra parking spot at the top of the front garden. So effectively we had two separate drives and our two cars never blocked each other in, but the same gate and the same dropped kerb.

I feel I have explained this very badly. Grin

I'm just saying - while you've got the workmen in, get them to do something similar.

var123 · 03/02/2016 15:34

My ex used to put a piece of potato into the exhaust pipe of cars that repeatedly parked in front of his house (even though he didn't have a car, and even though it was a London street with no drives or front gardens). Apparently , it makes the car choke and stop after a short distance. then the driver goes round to see what the problem is and pulls out a piece of potato.

It worked for him, but people probably thought he was a prat (and they were right)!

Believeitornot · 03/02/2016 15:40

Why doesn't he get a driveway?

ActivelyAnxious · 03/02/2016 15:43

even though he didn't have a car

Our NDN used to part in the spot outside our house (the 2 houses make a sort of corner just off the road so there is a tab of non-road, non-pavement tarmac for parking), then he got rid of his car a few months before we got ours. I then started parking there and he has been very odd about it - like I shouldn't be using 'his' space even when he doesn't have a vehicle to put there!

Original poster
TempusEedjit · 03/02/2016 15:46

But why on earth should I be expected to pay extra to get my drive widened/apply and pay for a dropped kerb/have the cosmetics of my property looking the way I don't want it, just so that cuntychops across the road doesn't have to walk a few extra yards on the few occasions (2-3 times a month max) when DH and I don't want to block each other in? ( puppy thanks for your suggestion but we would have no space to do what you suggested, when I say "drive" I mean that our entire front garden is already paved over).

I have never asked neighbour not to park outside our house, the workmen asked him this week as it was bloody obvious they needed some space in which to work without a quarter of his car parked on the pavement outside (sorry if that's a drip feed - the road is narrow enough that most people have two wheels on the pavement when they park).

OP posts: