AIBU or is my neighbour?

[StrayDoll]

I live on a new build estate where the houses back onto a shared car park. Each house either has a garage and a designated parking space or 2 designated spaces with no garage. I have a garage and one space.

The car park also has a visitor space. In the last few months I've been using this visitor space whenever it's free as my partner has moved in with me and now uses my space (his vehicle is too big to fit in the visitor car port). If the visitor space is being used I use one of my neighbours spare spaces they don't use. This was suggested by them and I'm very grateful however I don't want to take liberties so use the visitor space as much as possible.

There are 8 other houses that share this car park and no one is bothered about me using this space apart from one neighbour. We have had issues in the past which means he is being petty and regularly takes the visitor space if it's free. He has 2 cars, one in the garage and one he keeps on his space. He doesn't need the visitors but does it to wind me up.

As an example I went out earlier for an hour and he jumped straight into the space. When I then went out again he had moved back to his space and luckily I got it back but it made me laugh how petty he was to take it.

AIBU to take it when 7 other households are not bothered and only one is?

Depending on what the work van is used for, could it remain at a central location and your DP uses his bike to get there?

Or if he moves around, for example as a builder - again leave the van at the job he is currently working at and commute there and back on the bike?

@Durgasarrow

Basically, your neighbor was polite enough to show you through silent actions that he did not think it was fair for you to monopolize the visitor's space (which should be empty most of the time, except when there are real, you know, visitors) instead of giving you a rude lecture to your face. No doubt the rest of the neighbors agree with him. Why wouldn't they? You should probably bake him some muffins and write him a letter of apology.

Lol!

I don't think the OP should park in the only visitors spot, however this neighbour was not polite, and could have handled it like an adult, no need for a rude lecture! He could have went to the OP and spoke to her politely about it instead of behaving that way.

I always find people like that so strange. Use your words like an adult instead of engaging in passive aggressive behaviour. I certainly wouldn't reward or thank any adult for acting that way!!

Yabu 100%

Visitors' space for visitors not tenants who can't be arsed moving their cars to park on their own property. Yabu.

It’s very rare I would say this but you are being YABU (very much so!). Why would you think as a resident you have any right to use visitor parking?! You don’t. People need that. I would bet more than one neighbour finds it deplorable and the rest just don’t say anything.

I’m sorry but you seem to be completely unaware of how your actions impact others - that spot is for friends, family, service people, carers and deliveries. If you have a new partner and it doesn’t work he either gives up motorcycle or van, you put motorcycle in your garden, or he parks in the street. Or move! What would make using visitor parking as your own spot an option?

As an adult we have to look at things from other people’s perspectives. The time is nigh!

The visitor's space is not yours. If I was a neighbour I probably wouldn't tell you I had an issue as I wouldn't want to fall out with a neighbour, but I'd actually be really kissed off with you!

“The motorbike would kill the vibe” made me lol.

Don’t permanently park in the visitors space. It’s a dick move. You need to stick to the spaces you have, or move to a property with enough parking for your three vehicles.

Well he has just as much right to park there as you do. The space is for visitors not residents who want to take it over permanently. No doubt that's how your neighbor sees it.

YABVU

YABU, that space is for visitors.

Are you even allowed to park large vans on your drive? It isn’t even allowed round here on new builds as there are covenants against it, together with caravans etc it spoils the look of the estate.

You are probably that annoying neighbour that takes all the space and has big ugly vehicles on the drive. Sorry, YABU.

I know I'm being unreasonable but

Hmmmmm, if he’s creating a problem by parking there - are you not doing the same? If you’re going to pull hairs then it’s a visitors space not residents overflow. YABU, you don’t have three spaces. As said above v entitled.

We have two visitor spaces on our part of the estate - both used my permanent residence. It bothers me a whole lot less than the idiots who park behind the space and block me in.

Oh dear, I'm afraid YABVVVU. The weird part is not that your neighbour is now fed up, it's that you have got away with it for this long. I used one of our visitors spots once to put my car in during a bad hail storm, there was someone knocking at my door complaining within ten minutes!

Do you think it's likely that in a group of ten houses, no other house apart from you has more than one vehicle? I would say most if not all of them probably have 2 if not more.

So your do is using both of your spaces and you are using the space shared by 8 of you for visitors as your third space.
Obviously you are being VU.
No question.
Move his bike to free up your garage or get him to park His car on the street. Use your own space. Stop worrying about your neighbour - it reads as slightly obsessive. Get on with your own life.

You have more vehicles than you have space for, one of which is a van, which most neighbours hate anyway because they block light when parked outside people's houses. There are various solutions available to you, none of which appeal to you, so you regularly park an annoying van in the visitors parking space, justified to yourself based on your judgement of the needs of your neighbours. You should be the one being inconvenienced by your surfeit if vehicles, not your neighbours. So yes, that means either having one vehicle out of your sight, or the bike in the garden, or moving cars around to get in and out. Stop trying to make your neighbours take the impact of your vehicle ownership and take responsibility.

If you can park there then he can. You have one vehicle too many.

Another YABU. As a pp said, your neighbour won't be the only person pissed off about this, others will be too as they will resent the fact that if they have a visitor that space won't ever be free for them to use. You're being selfish and unfair.

The issue us your partner, who has decided to have two vehicles . He needs to get rid of one or store the bike somewhere else, so you can use your garage. It's as simple as that OP.

For example if my petty neighbour uses the visitor space and I use my neighbours spare space it means if they have a visitor they have nowhere to park which is obviously not right.

This place s what happens all the time if you use the visitor's space. If a visitor comes, they have nowhere to park.

You say nobody uses it, but that's the point - it's supposed to be free for visitors.

Tbh I think it isn't a fair long term parking solution. You need to either negotiate a permanent other space with a neighbour or park on the road ...

Our visitor space has a condition that it can only be used for 24 hours by any one guest. It's in the deeds and plan of our property.
As a renter you might not be aware of any conditions that your neighbour is aware of? And this could actually be the source of their frustration? We own and know our renting neighbours weren't aware of the specific spaces for particular houses/visitors

YABU

It is your household which has too many vehicles for the house which you rent. So it is your household which should be inconvenienced by this. Not all the other households.

People who hog what is supposed to be shared space are always annoying.

As lockdown ends and people start moving around more you could find yourself at the receiving end of a lot of complaints to your LL.

Sort the problem now as it is one of your making

I could park on the road however it means my car will be out of my sight which concerns me plus the roads are already crowded where I live.

That's a consequence of your decision to allow the motorbike to be stored in the garage. You have to decide which is more important to you. It is not a reason why you should have permanent use of the visitor space - the clue's in the name.

I'd suggest your partner investigate local lock-up garages for rent and keep his bike there.

If my neighbour bought a car just to put there I think it would just be pettiness. If it was a car he actually drove and needed then it would be first come first served.

But it's not petty to put a garage out of use to accommodate a boy's toy? Or to use the visitors' space because you can't be bothered to shuffle cars around? Or to use four spaces when you actually have visitors?

Some covenants even say that you can't have a van over a certain size at the property unless delivering.

I'd get a copy of the TP1 for the property if I were you OP.