Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to want to park in my garage

140 replies

Poppets14 · 22/10/2021 19:12

My garage is on a corner so if my neighbour parks out side her garage - it blocks mine.
The parking round the back of mine is horrendous so I want to start using my garage to park my car.
If I do this this means that my neighbour can’t park outside hers as she’ll be blocking it- and possibly the neighbour next to her won’t be able to park outside her garage as it won’t give us enough space to get into our garage.

It’ll mean they’ll have to find somewhere else to park or park in their own garages.

Do I have a legal right to have access in and out of my garage?

I’ll probably ruffle a few feathers but the neighbours are so inconsiderate when it comes to parking

OP posts:
blairresignationjam · 22/10/2021 20:07

@CheeseCakeSunflowers I agree. OP parking outside her own garage for a bit is the best way to send her neighbour the message that parking outside is madness

RacketeerRalph · 22/10/2021 20:08

Very odd set up!

TirednWorried · 22/10/2021 20:16

The land in cront of the garages is clearly for garage access not parking. I think a sign needs putting up. You are not being on the slightest unreasonable or selfish

Kiduknot · 22/10/2021 20:16

How annoying.

Try saying you’ll be using it from the end of November and see how it goes but be prepared for having to involve the council. Tell them this if they start being awkward.

QueenCarrot · 22/10/2021 20:20

Is this an ex-council property OP.? If so there is a good chance that when the garage was sold it was with a right of access only over the forecourt. I used to work for a council and parking on forecourts was forbidden. We did get people complaining that it was ridiculous that they couldn’t park outside their own garages but this sort of thing was the reason why.

Check your deeds and if council owns the forecourt discuss with them.

Beautiful3 · 22/10/2021 20:20

Looks like you all shouldn't be parked outside the garages. It's only an access path and not meant for parked vehicles. You'd all have to agree to park inside your garages. Your neighbour should not block your access. If she does, you'll have to keep knocking in her door to access your garage.

FFSFFSFFS · 22/10/2021 20:21

Of course you would have right of access! Check your home insurance and you should have legal cover and given them a call and they can advise you of how to enforce your rights

ThisIsBanana5 · 22/10/2021 20:23

@Poppets14

It’s such a stupid set up! I’m going to speak to them and tell them from March onwards I’m going to use my garage. That then gives them time to clear a space in their garage if they then have no choice but to use their garage as an actual garage!
Problem is, they do have a choice; they can (and probably will) just block you in when you're parked in your garage.

It sucks. Someone I know had a similar situation and it was really stressful, they spoke to the neighbour so many times but ended up moving.

BurntO · 22/10/2021 20:23

YANBU to park in your garage.

They will be unhappy about it.

It is what it is

NotMyCat · 22/10/2021 20:23

@Tilltheend99

One of my pet peeves in life is people not parking in their garages. The world would be a much better place if everyone did. Streets look so untidy to me now they are all just sprawling car dumps.
In our whole street and the one next door, Nobody parks in their garage! I think most use for storage and a few have converted it to extra rooms
JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue · 22/10/2021 20:24

Wait until they all go out in their cars, and then YOU park in front of YOUR garage. They'll find out what it's like Grin

Staffy1 · 22/10/2021 20:27

Your immediate neighbour is going to have to park elsewhere. If you did what they did and parked in front of your garage it would block theirs, which I am sure they wouldn’t like. Which one has the three cars? You could explain to them that as there is often nowhere else for you to park because they take up so many spaces you will have to start using you garage and will need to have room to get into and out of it at all times.

KayKayWat · 22/10/2021 20:30

It's gonna piss her off but better to act sooner. People get used to taking liberties, like my flatmate years ago who couldn't drive in her late 20s and got increasingly more moody when I started saying no - she never had a problem with her other driving mates who hardly ever gave her a lift!

Staffy1 · 22/10/2021 20:30

@Tilltheend99

One of my pet peeves in life is people not parking in their garages. The world would be a much better place if everyone did. Streets look so untidy to me now they are all just sprawling car dumps.
I used to think the same but I don’t think all garages are made big enough any more. There wouldn’t be room to open the car door in ours if we could use it, but can’t even get into it as there is stone cladding on the outside of the house and a bit sticks out too far for the car to fit past it.
Original poster
Poppets14 · 22/10/2021 20:32

I think it’ll be easier to move

It’s stressing me out to think I’d have to live next to people that hate me for changing the parking set up!

Thanks for everyone’s advice

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 22/10/2021 20:36

I think you need to expect them to continue to park outside their garages as is their right, which will block you In. And then take legal action to see if you can legally stop them parking in front of their own garages

Good luck with that.

Tuirseach · 22/10/2021 20:39

If the land is council owned, you can just contact them and request markings put down, it might be a bit of paperwork and a small fee but would surely it would be worth it!

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 22/10/2021 20:45

@Tilltheend99

One of my pet peeves in life is people not parking in their garages. The world would be a much better place if everyone did. Streets look so untidy to me now they are all just sprawling car dumps.
Have you tried getting a car into a 70s garage? I've got a small car and would struggle to get out if the car if I parked in the garage. DH's would struggle to get his car in at all.

On the subject of car dumps, where do you expect people to park if they don't have a driveway or garage? We only have a garage as we pay to rent it and I'm planning on cancelling it next year so I don't give our bastard freeholder any more money for something that isn't fit for purpose!

BlueMongoose · 22/10/2021 20:51

You may have to check your house deeds to see what access is defined.

ivykaty44 · 22/10/2021 21:01

do you keep anything in your garage?

if not id suggest you park in th garage and leave the doors open so they can see you're parked in there - then if they park and block you in - you knock them to move, eventually they'll either have to park in their garage or somewhere else - but they'll know as they park up that you'll likely to knock and ask them to move

then knock to get back inside, never make any comment, just keep doing it

ivykaty44 · 22/10/2021 21:03

in some countries, Japan for example - you can't purchase a car unless you have storage for it

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 22/10/2021 21:12

@ivykaty44

in some countries, Japan for example - you can't purchase a car unless you have storage for it
I'm sure the public transport system in Japan is far superior to here! I have a 4 mile drive to work that takes me 20 minutes. Public transport would take about 90 minutes and cycling/walking isn't safe. I have no option but to drive.
thenightsky · 22/10/2021 21:19

Can you put up a sign reading 'access required at all times' ?

ivykaty44 · 22/10/2021 21:21

PinkSparklyPussyCat you don't live in Japan so your 4 mile journey that would take one and a half hours on public transport, isn't really relevant, you get free storage on most highways for your car, if you paid market rents on the size per square foot, compared to house rentals by square foot per month, you'd be coughing up a lot of money - so enjoy it for free

category12 · 22/10/2021 21:46

Could you ask the council to put in yellow lines? Bloody weird set up.