Frustrated with the multiple cars my neighbour has! (Title edited by MNHQ)

[Divaroses26]

I am absolutely raging!

We live on a lovely little street which just so happens to be a dead end, we live right at the bottom of the street and there’s houses either side, the law of the land forever and a day has been the left hand side of the road is left clear whilst vehicles park on the right hand side of the road (outside their houses!).

A new family moved into a house half way down the street on the right hand side, and own 9 vehicles - yes that’s right 9 vehicles for just him and his wife!!

Now, this is where the problem starts...next to my property is a small area of unused land, where these lovely folk seem to park 4/5 of their 9 vehicles causing myself and OH not to be able to get our cars onto our drive as they park adjacent to our driveway.

We’ve tried various different ways to resolve the problem, we’ve spoken to them (they didn’t take a blind bit of notice!), I phoned the police as 2/4 vehicles are actually declared SORN so shouldn’t be there but as the land is owned by LA it’s not deemed as being a public highway so there was nothing they could do, I’ve phoned DVLA & reported it that way, I’ve spoken to the LA that own the land to see if they have permission to be parking the SORN vehicles on their land and to be honest I don’t seem to be getting anywhere fast!

Besides taking the matter into our own hands I really don’t know what else we can do? I’m so fed up! I’m beginning to hate living here & to be honest I just want to be able to put our vehicles on our double driveway - surely that’s not too much to ask?

Sorry for such a long whinge post but it’s just really getting me down! Please please please let me know if you have ANY suggestions as to how I can rectify this problem! I’m at the end of my tether!

Questions:

1. who owns the tarmac area adjacent to the grass verge?
2. If not you, do you have a right of way over that tarmac in your deeds?
3. If there is a right of way, can you post the precise wording of it? You can inspect your deeds for £3 by logging on to the Land Registry portal here
4. If there is no written ROW you will have a ROW by long user.

You can enforce a ROW by action against anyone who blocks it. Check your home insurance policy for legal cover.

You're the petrol bomb poster I see. No I wouldn't like to live next door to you whether you had multiple vehicles or none.

I can't see from that photo why you can't park on your drive, although I understand it would require skill. I suspect your neighbours are ignoring your requests because they see the issue as your driving skills rather than anything else.

We have a marked out parking space directly opposite our drive that usually has a car in it, and have from the look if it, the same amount of space or maybe even less than you, to turn into our drive.

The obvious solution would be for you to remove your front wall abd pave the area to give you a wider driveway. You arent going to get anywhere with your neighbours so giving yourself more manouver room on your own land would be easiest, I think.

op, sorry if this has already been said, but why dont you start parking on the verge yourself? if its a free for all and it stops you getting your cars in and out, if you start parking there you can move your cars around if you need to, I'd have thought you'd be the person using that space as its in front of your house.

Sorry but if there is space to drive your car through, there is space to park on your drive.

I would go with the boulder idea. My PILs neighbours have put them on the grass verge to the side of the house so that people can't park there and make it hard to access the driveway. The land belongs to the council but the boulders have been there for years and they've never been told to remove them.

But even if you do buy the land, how would that help your predicament?
If OP buys the land they are then trespassing (or something...you know what I mean) and she could get a parking enfourcement company to fine them whenever they park there. There was a thread recently about parking issues and apparently there are companies who only need a photo of the ilegally parked vehicles and you get a small amount of money for every one they deal with. Sounded like a great setup.

I totally feel your pain! We also live in a tiny dead end street with parking down one side but the couple across from us have around 9 vehicles too, all in various states of repair, only five of them are able to be driven.

All houses have a garage up the top of the street and they have most of their cars parked up there, they rent four of the garages from other home owners. But they still have several cars along the street. He keeps buying more cars for parts and partly dismantles them and then leaves them rotting either in front of the garages or on their front garden. I have no idea why his DW puts up with it.

I feel my heart sink every time he announces he's bought another car - I just think where the fuck is that going to go?

I only have the width of a car driving space to turn into my driveway and I manage it.

forallthesaints Please tell you were joking with your completely stupid post?

Can you just park like a wanker too and block them in? That's really shitty of them.

If I was getting nowhere with the LA I'd write to my MP. It's the selfish unsightliness as much as anything. Start a local campaign group to get the land made into a park?

If they are half on & half off the verge, then the police can presumably argue that the SORN cars need to be removed.
If the emergency services are unable to access, the police/council should intervene.
If its a business you could see if they are allowed to run a business from their residence/call in tax inspector.
I would indeed try to buy the small patch immediately opposite your garage, & put bollards & chain to stop them using it, or park DHs work vehicle sideways along it ! depending on the price, it might cost less than knocking down your wall, & creating new parking area.

Ok - the reason we struggle getting the cars on/off the drive and why it’s sometimes impossible is because on the edge of the grass verge is a large curb running along, so if we need to put the cars off/on the driveway in such an angle cos of their shitty parking then the underneath of our vehicles gets dragged along the curb causing potential damage! Pain in the arse!

Have you tried reporting the SORNed vehicles to the council as having been dumped on the council's land? They might come along and do that thing when they stick a notice on and say they'll remove it if it's not gone within 7 days.

If the other 2 vehicles move from time to time, and you park in your drive, are you able to get out again? I'd park in the drive every time they go out, and then ask them to move so I can get out again.

And have you tried asking them to move so you can get on your drive? And what was their response?

He’s out there now revving away, screeching around...

Yes tried everything lakie - feel now the only
Options we have besides “if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em!” Is to resort to under hand tactics - less than ideal!

Keep a diary on line and email everything to thenLA. Ask if they can fence off their land and perhaps consider double yellow lines so your not blocked out of your own home

Search for the cars on autotrader and see if they’re all for sale then at least you’ll know if they’re running a business and maybe you can then do something to report them

Or get friends to ring up pretending to be interested and just not show.

Or sign up for freebies using their phone number

You could have some fun ;)

The words you're looking for are 'change of use'. They have essentially turned a wild piece of land into a car park. This is a change of use of the land and the cars will be contaminating it.

Looked on auto trader; can’t find any for sale!

We had a problem with a person running a car firm from our streets. Many were SORN so should not have been on the road but what actually sorted it out was a bye law that prevents businesses from operating from residential properties without registration.

Are your houses privately owned or council? The latter would be better as they'd take a dim view on such things.

They have to be running a business; no-one owns 9 cars unless they are super rich and own super cars!

unlicensed business so reporting that to the LA is probably your best legal way of getting them to move the vehicles.

Do you need a licence to run a business?