Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Falling out with new neighbours before we move in

62 replies

Regalparade · 29/07/2017 17:25

We have recently just bought an end of terrace house with a driveway on the side. The lady who lived there previously did not drive or have a car. Next door have turned their front garden into a driveway...they can fit one car in but they have two cars and they park their other car by driving over our driveway into theirs. Obviously if we park then they are blocked in.
Actually we have to park our cars at an angle so their first car can come out easily. Their house didn't originally come with the driveway but ours did.
They have taken advantage of the fact the neighbour was elderly and didn't drive to suit their own needs. We have two cars to park. It's in a small cul de sac so no actual parking bays for non driveway users.
Any advice welcome on this. We don't want to fall out with neighbours but obviously want to park our cars on our own driveway. We drove past today and they had three cars on their driveway.

OP posts:
Andrewofgg · 29/07/2017 17:54

Fence off your property and make sure that when one of your cars is in the other is on the drive but near the road so that they are excluded from your drive. If they are not happy just say Sorry, it's our drive and we have two cars and TNS about it.

Diagram please!

flowery · 29/07/2017 17:56

It's unusual for a household to have no cars, so I imagine they are fully expecting that your drive will be occupied when you move in and their access will be over. Bit odd to assume there will be any falling out?

ineedamoreadultieradult · 29/07/2017 17:56

It might not be an issue. Where I used to live we parked one of our cars on our lovely next door neighbours drive as she didn't have a car, we also used her garage to store bikes etc because it was mostly empty except for a few bits she used for gardening. When she moved out we knew this arrangement would stop and removed our car and bikes from the property. Not everyone is a dickhead.

StaplesCorner · 29/07/2017 17:56

Its a tricky one. When you move in you'll have to say "oh by the way we will be using our drive full time now so you won't be able to use it for access any more" don't say "sorry" and just smile. You have to bite that bullet some time!

Rossigigi · 29/07/2017 17:58

Diagram please

BeepBeepMOVE · 29/07/2017 17:58

They were a bit stupid to build driveway with no access!

Park on your drive normally, no at an angle or any of that shite.

You bought a house with a drive. They didn't buy a house with a drive.

Hotheadwheresthecoldbath · 29/07/2017 17:58

I think a fence says it all without being confrontational otherwise they'll be asking you to move cars etc
Just make sure it goes up when the cars aren't there.Of course if they then block your drive we have and even better parking thread.

Hidingtonothing · 29/07/2017 17:58

Agree with PP's, nip this in the bud now, Staples approach is spot on.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 29/07/2017 17:59

They'll be expecting to have to give it up. Surely.

If not, have a word very very early on as soon as you see them parked there.

Mothervulva · 29/07/2017 17:59

Don't say anything, they must realise that they were on borrowed time with that set up. If there's any nonsense from them about it once you've moved in get that fence up.

kevstep · 29/07/2017 18:00

They obviously don't want expense of dropped kerb and front garden wall removed.

Maryz · 29/07/2017 18:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Purplepicnic · 29/07/2017 18:04

I wouldn't be putting a fence up before you even know there's a problem. Don't get off on the wrong foot.

Benedikte2 · 29/07/2017 18:04

Pancakes the right of adverse possession does not apply in cases like this. One has to use the land to the exclusion of others and pay any taxes etc due on the land etc. Public Rights of Way can be a little different which is why owners of private lanes etc used by the public will lock the gates once or twice a year to assert their ownership and prevent them becoming public.

OP I imagine your neighbours have been expecting you to say something so do this asap so there is no room for misunderstandings

StaplesCorner · 29/07/2017 18:05

My elderly next door neighbour and I share a drive. She has a lovely front garden; in fact she doesn't even have a small footpath through the lovely front garden, so the only way she can exit her front door is via the shared drive. we don't park on the drive as (a) part of our front garden has been turned over to parking as with every other house in the street except one other, and (b) we know that if we park on the drive, she would have trouble leaving her house on foot. We are not idiots. However, playing the elderly dear card she invites all her visitors to park on the drive, meaning that she and they have to use our convenient front garden as a footpath. Her builders even unload bricks etc into our front garden as there are no lovely plants to damage and we are clearly there for her convenience!

There is little we can do to resolve the situation; funnily enough her daughter has the only other house in the area where the front garden is entirely garden meaning they have no private parking. But that's ok, they park on the pavement ... Hmm

RestingBitchFaced · 29/07/2017 18:09

Just park on your driveway, it's their problem not yours

DailyMailReadersAreThick · 29/07/2017 18:11

How long has this been going on? If it's more than 20 years, they could have created a right of way. But it sounds more recent than that, thankfully.

I would put this out of my mind. Park as you would if you didn't know any of this, and see if they talk to you. If they do, act sympathetic for their driveway problems but make sure you talk about it as THEIR problem. "What a shame access is difficult to your house. Have you had any quotes for extending your drive?"

SerfTerf · 29/07/2017 18:12

You don't know that they'll take umbrage.

Or do you?

GloriousGoosebumps · 29/07/2017 18:25

I think you're over thinking this. The neighbours will have realised that their parking arrangements will have to change once you move in and will have accepted that one of them will have to park on the street so there's no need to have any sort of chat with them.

Supermagicsmile · 29/07/2017 18:27

Diagram needed!!

StaplesCorner · 29/07/2017 18:27

I've no idea why I posted all that, just wanted to join in I suppose. Not relevant to OP at all, sorry. I meant well. gets coat

Slimthistime · 29/07/2017 18:28

From your description, they have no proper access to park their car in their drive, so they need to sort it. It's that simple.

You talk about parking your car at an angle so they can get out, which is kind of you. But pop by and point out that can't be done long term and tell them they need to sort their driveway. Politely of course. They might be fine but might also have seen your initial kindness as permanent, so do explain that it isn't.

OliviaStabler · 29/07/2017 18:29

Fences and bollards

Witsender · 29/07/2017 18:31

I would assume they will be anticipating it changing

Taylor22 · 29/07/2017 18:31

Does not compute.
In need of diagram.