Would you find this rude? (Open plan driveway)

[smokeyfoxtails]

Not an AIBU more ‘would you/wouldn’t you’.

DH has been getting his blood pressure up recently as we’ve moved into a new house with open plan driveways as it’s a new build estate. There is a covenant stopping people from separating them. We’re in a mid Terrace and the deeds show that only one set of neighbours have a right of access over one of our driveways (double drive). Different materials are used on either driveway to differentiate between shared and private and there is a clear boundary line between our private driveway and our neighbour’s. Tarmac is private, bricked is has ‘right of access’ with no boundary line. The right of access is so that the neighbours can get in and out of their cars and they have respected our boundaries so far. Tarmac driveway is the one being used as a regular shortcut.

The other neighbours and their visitors have been constantly walking and driving over our private (tarmac) driveway. There is no real need for them to do so as they have ample space to walk up their own driveway and can easily move their car from the bottom of their drive to get their other one out BUT it won’t bother me until something gets damaged. It’s just time saving on their part. We have CCTV trained on the driveways that record motion so DH has been getting quite het up about it.

They have no legal right of access and the previous owner has confirmed that she never gave permission for them to do so they haven’t ‘gained the right’ iyswim. The house was empty for 4 months before we bought it so I presume they just got used to using our driveways as one of their cars was parked on it when we viewed the property. DH is getting wound up saying it’s rude and disrespectful without asking us as it’s our private property. To me it’s just a driveway and I’ve been trying to find similar MN threads for different perspectives but am struggling. I do think DH needs to calm down a bit until the neighbours are at risk of damaging our property, such as scratching our car with theirs as they squeeze out. The only issue I have with it is privacy as they walk right up past our living room window and often peer in.

Would you find it rude for your neighbours and their visitors to walk/drive all over your private driveway without asking permission? I think it is a little bit disrespectful but not the end of the world!

Are you sure you have the driveways the right way round? Or that they have?

We have similar with the terraces in this estate but the tarmac is the shared bit.

The corner cutting at the end is a minor annoyance. Walking in front of your car right by the windows is creepy. I’d look for a plant or statue or something you could place to make that impractical.

Agree on planters. But looking in the windows is the worst. You should take up naturism for a while. Or put something offensive just inside. Many years ago we had neighbours always staring in our windows. We were students. We put a small notice on the window saying 'all perverts read this notice - this includes you'. There was a complaint about it but I think the point was made.

I read most of your post and thought ffs little Britain attitude but then I read that they look in your window - I’d hate that.
Can you put your car up close to the house do that they have to walk round it?
Defo planters.

They are taking the piss.

You need to stop them. After a certain number of years (can't remember how many) they can claim legal right of access over your land.

Either park your car right up to your window or put planters right along the front of your house, leave a 6 inch gap between the house & the back of the planters so that they inconvenience anyone trying to walk in front of your house. The only other thing would be a motion sensor & alarm to deafen them.

Stop them immediately, put a sign up mentioning trespass.

The developer and the council have conspired to create a development that gives them maximum profit. You pay with your dignity.

Don't buy crammed in developments, the guys who made the money are laughing at you.

Moral of the story is dont buy a house with shared access with neighbours on each side if you're going to have an emo fit every time someone corner cuts your little bit

But it’s not just a little bit if they’re peering in the living-room window - is it.

@smokeyfoxtails fuck that! I'd be telling them. It's downright rude of them!

Put a sign up
Block it off
Glare at them through the window as they pass and wave your arms about
Get a motion activated sprinkler
Shout at them
Go to their houses and stare in their windows, wave, and stroll off again

Our driveways are similar but not shared. I have troughs between me and the neighbour but with a path past my window that the postie uses. They fill their parking space so they can’t walk by their vehicles so started to walk by my window. One weekend they had visitors and a guy actually leaned on my window to have a phone conversation! Lots of potted shrubs that they can’t get by soon sorted that out! (But the poor old postie has to walk round the troughs now! )

We had a neighbour who used to peer in through our window. I gave him a huge smile waved at him one day and he hasn't done it since... 😂

Definitely planters. With lovely prickly holly bushes in.

You really need to stop your CF neighbours appalling behaviour now. The walking across your driveway and peering in your windows is bad enough, but they're also parking across the end of your driveway too? Massively out of order. I dread to think what they'll be doing in 6 months if this is how they behave when you've just moved in.

This is neither here nor there but it's weird that tarmac is private and paved is shared. Based on cost of material, youd think it would be the other way around...!!

Wouldn't bother me that they walk over my driveway, but I would hate them appearing at the window as they walk past!! Freaky!

I would block if you can, having people pass your windows unless you are a terrace on the street (which we have been) is not on. When we bought our house it had been empty for six months, we have a dual access drive that goes between a main road and a lane and it’s a big property so cutting through our drive saves a couple of hundred yards on foot. When we moved in people were constantly taking the shortcut as they had got used to it. I came out and challenged a couple of people who were embarrassed and didn’t do it again but it only resolved itself when we got gates.

I have only read to as far as your diagram but then saw about a caravan. Sometimes there are covenants forbidding caravans, trailers and boats - especially if where it is is impacting on the shared driveway issues?
I have experienced this with my late parents bungalow and their cf neighbours...

If you are taking video recording of them and your camera is not solely on your property you need to register with the ICO and there needs to be a sign up telling the neighbours how they can contact you should they wish to see the data.

ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/domestic-cctv-systems-guidance-for-people-using-cctv/

ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/domestic-cctv-systems-guidance-for-people-using-cctv/

Planters from house to pavement so they can't cut across at all. It's very rude.

Raindropsandspaceships it’s a £10 indoor Wi-Fi camera from Amazon that doesn’t even show up faces the quality is so low. I don’t think it’s even 720p. When baby is born it will be faced inwards as a baby monitor. We are getting a Ring doorbell when we change the use of the camera. It covers my driveways only so is on private property. We are on a private road. It only records motion for around 10 seconds which deletes at the end of the day because I don’t pay for the cloud subscription. It’s mainly to alert me that there is motion on our property. I can choose to download the clips to my phone if they show anything dubious. If neighbours have an issue they are free to knock and ask but there is a lot of CCTV around these days. It’s not like I’ve got a massive 4K 5 camera night vision system that I can use to zoom into neighbours windows. Don’t think my camera would even fall under ICO and trust me I’ve had issues with previous neighbours having cameras literally pointing over my back garden and no authorities gave a shit. If neighbours don’t want to be recorded in anyway then they shouldn’t be walking/driving over my property. Although the camera is small it is very obvious so it’s their choice to continue coming onto our property. They will know they are on camera whilst doing it and are clearly not bothered. We also live in a high rate crime area and there have been a lot of break ins/car thefts in our town recently

Here are the deeds, I’ve split up the driveways with the black line as they’re open plan to show that the difference. Hope this makes it clearer for posters

I don't get why they are walking past your window when they have a drive Infront of their house