To have complained to neighbour about blocking my drive?

[anxiouswaiting]

We moved house 3 weeks ago, have met lovely neighbours but not the ones directly to my right yet. For context I am 33 weeks pregnant and particularly irritable, but I still think I wasn't being unreasonable.

7.30am I hear lots of noise outside, look out bedroom window and see loads of rubble being dumped outside my driveway. DH goes out and asks what is going on - our driveway was blocked and would not have been able to get my car out.

Told they didn't think it would be an issue as only be there a day or 2, DH asked they why they have blocked our drive and not their own, they say they need access and it also might block the neighbour to their right. DH told them it can;t stay like that as we need to get our car out at 8am. Builder gets grumpy but says fine I will push it up nearer the shrubs and then says oh there is a skip coming soon as well, I have a permit so I can put it there.

When I left what is usually an easy maneuver turned into about an 8 point turn to back my car out.

Got home and could not get in my drive front way like I usually do and had to reverse in with a lot of difficulty.

Then I hear the skip turn up and they put it next to the rubble. I'd have been able to drive my car out but I wouldn't have got back in again front ways or reversing.

Neighbour knocks on the door and says that will be ok won't it. I say no and explain the trouble I already had parking, so builder comes over and tells me I have loads of space and it is fine. I tell him no I don;t have loads of space and I now don;t have access to my drive he has to move it again. He got really shirty and rolled his eyes at me, telling me it is fine and then walks off saying well where am I supposed to put it then.

Diagram attached is how they wanted to leave it. This is my first diagram attempt so not perfect, but honestly the turn in to my drive way made impossibly tight.

What annoys me most is that they have their own driveway and right now the builders van is parked in it. Surely the right thing to do would be to put all their rubble and skip in their own drive and park the van somewhere else. Why is it ok to block my access without any warning and then try and make me feel I am being difficult for saying it is not ok.

I feel sad because the other neighbours are so lovely and we have moved to a nice area where I hoped I would be able to make neighbour friends, but now I am pissed off and clearly so are they because they think I am unreasonable and being difficult and I think they are really inconsiderate. Fine it was the builder who was rude to me, but the neighbour employs them and should be telling them not to block other people in, she could also have had some consideration and spoken to us before hand.

If he's got a permit to put it on the road but your road is unadopted then he has a permit to put a skip on the road at the end of yours. I'd suggest to him he puts the skip where he's actually got a permit for. Or he's lying.

Also he's blocking fire engine access to neighbour 2

Your neighbours are CF. I’d call the skip company and check that they have a permit and complain if it’s causing a danger to you (ie no access for emergency services). Is the builder an independent person or part of a larger company? If it’s part of a larger company I’d ring and complain, and lay on your being heavily pregnant thickly. If it’s an independent speak to your neighbour, and the builder again.

I really commented on this just to say your diagram was beautiful 🤣

report to your lettings agent and LL they have every right to complain to the builder.

He may have a permit but that will only cover council owned land (the public road). A council can’t issue a permit for private land/shared driveway.

I agree with PP, assert yourself now before this gets worse!!
I bought a house about a year ago. My house had sat empty for about 2 years before I bought it and some of the neighbours had gotten used to using my house/property as their own. When I moved in, they had hoped they could continue (despite never speaking to me) and acted as if I was a 'problem' neighbour when I said they couldn't continue parking in my drive, etc.

My NDN has been the worst. It's an elderly couple who have lived in their home for decades and they were telling me what I could and could not do in my own home. Wanting to get along with my new NDN, I initially tried to be friendly and polite and understanding that they were struggling with change. They seemed to see that as a weakness and their behaviour escalated to them sneaking over to my house at night, digging up my property, putting weed killer on my new plants that they didn't like, damaging my new fence, damaging my new extension that they desperately tried to get planning denied, etc.

This might sound sexist, but tell your DH that together you need to stand up to this NDN and his builder and make it clear that this is your house, you have rights and you're not going to put up with their shite. I've found that saying 'no' 'stop' to people on my own has had no effect as they just challenge me, but they don't seem to mess with my DH. Your NDN doesn't sound pleasant tbh and that is never going to change, so don't worry about maintaining good 'neighbour relations' so much as I doubt they'll ever be friends but they might 'respect' your boundaries more if you assert yourself from the beginning.

Good luck!

I suspect it is the builder who is the CF rather than your neighbour and wouldn't let this necessarily sour relations. It sounds a bit like the builder does what he pleases and I imagine, if anything, your neighbour is the one who having realised that you are disenchanted, has persuaded him to move the skip.

Your neighbour could of course also be a CF but I wouldn't jump to conclusions unless there are repeat offences

If you're renting, you need to make your landlord aware and ask them to sort the problem out.

Be very grateful that you haven't actually bought your home and got stuck for years with these CF neighbours!

Well just got a surprise ring on the doorbell, builder apologising for this morning and the inconvinience.

He gave us a business card in case we want to make a complaint and let us know more materials will be delivered tomorrow but they will make sure they aren't near our drive and he doesn't want to cause us any more inconvinience.

I hope this means it was him who was a CF this morning and neighbour has told him to put things right and we can still have a good relationship.

Sounds like the neighbour may have had a word. Good outcome.

Or other neighbors have complained to the council....

If its on the shared drive way so not on a busy road and you have time and space to manoeuvre past it and could manoeuvre past, although annoying I would have put up with it for a day or 2 to let my neighbour get their work done. I would have also have considered parking next door if necessary to help out. They have been a bit inconsiderate, but it could have been unintentional/mislead by their builder and not really worth kicking up a fuss for just a day or 2.

Why?

Why should the OP have put up with it?

I'd take a chance and pop round later to thank your neighbour for sorting out the builder. Get relations back to calm asap.

Glad things were sorted out a bit which is always better than falling out with people.

On the prive road issue, if relevant, we live on one and we charge a large fee and could sometimes refuse if someone requests prior permission to put a skip outside theuir house on the road. They are required not put it on theii own land if at all possible. Permits from the council would not apply if it were a private road. It would be the owner of the land who would need to be approached for permission.