Neighbour knocked on our door and had a go...

[Daisycat76]

Not sure what to think of this.... DP and I moved into a new neighbourhood a few weeks ago. It's a fairly affluent area, detached houses etc. Anyway we had visitors over the weekend staying for 2 days, and DP wanted to move our car so the visitors could park on the drive. He parked the car on the street opposite. Wasn't blocking anyone's drive, or parked in an illegal or obstructive way. He parked it there Friday lunch time.

Saturday evening neighbour we've never met came knocking on the door, and without introducing himself just started having a go at us for parking our car there. He didn't ask us to move it or explain why it bothered him - just immediately started ranting that we're "disrespecting our neighbours" and "we don't give a s*". We said we haven't done anything wrong, it's legal to park on any road as long as it's not blocking a driveway. He accepted it's not illegal but it's not acceptable anyway. Said we "should have realized" it would upset him!!

DP then said sorry I'll move it, I didn't mean to upset you and we'd like to keep good relations with you. The guy just kept having a go, and eventually went "well you have upset me, welcome to the neighbourhood" and stormed off.

I'm not being unreasonable here, right? Would you go and have a go at your neighbours for parking a car outside your house for a couple of days?? I keep overthinking it, is it rude to park outside someone's house?

As someone who doesn't own a car, I find it baffling that people find it so awful to sometimes walk a few feet to their house. But my parents' road is like that. Last time I parked there (I do rent cars), my parents made me repark because otherwise neighbourly relations would never heal

The first night actually staying in our new house (small terrace). DH had gone in the shower and I was watching TV. Knock at the door 11pm . There was no way I was answering but DH came through at exactly the same time. Neighbour 2 down to introduce himself (11pm!!) And to let us know that some people were weird about parking but as long as we can leave room for everyone that would be great. We'd met/spoken to neighbours both side who hadn't mentioned anything. No because he was the bat shit crazy one.
He built a drive on his front garden . He had the paving and sand delivered on his garden . My sister stopped there to drop a parcel in for me. His wife came running out and shouted that's my drive you can't park there! My sister looked at the paving and sand BLOCKING their garden and siad 'when it's a drive I won't park here' .weve been here 25yrs and although they split up she still makes her direct neighbours lives a misery. Thankfully neither of them now gives a toss.
You have the right to park your car on the street, end of conversation. Legally you can't block someone on the drive (stopping them getting off) but not illegal to block their drive to stop them getting on to it .
It's not gonna happen every day so just ignore him but park there if you need to in the future.

I can't believe this thread is still going without a diagram!

He sounds like a rude nutter and I'd ignore him.

First come first served here. We have the only driveway which we use to let other people have the space in front of our house as there is very limited parking.

Someone apologised to me today for parking in front of my house, did I want her to find somewhere else? I was on foot coming home and was shocked she asked, perhaps she lives in your neck of the woods 🤣

When I do drive it's rare to be able to park on my side of the road let alone outside my own house!

He's an idiot and I expect the rest of your neighbours think so too!

I assume your drive only takes one car

Ok fair dos he’s obviously more collected than me. But ohhh your neighbour is one pompous arse.

if you want to park outside your own house, then buy a house with a driveway/put one in. The public road is for public parking.
If your car is road legal, then park where the hell you want to

Just because you like to park there does not make it your parking spot

I hate people parking outside our house. I am stressed until they've gone. I would find it horrific if the car was there for a whole weekend. But I've never actually said anything to the car owners.

Oh this is interesting…can we ask why it bothers you?

We live in a cul de sac and all have drives with space for 3 or 4 cars.

Despite this, 2 houses (both middle aged men) have an ongoing parking war.

One has a family and about 4-5 cars, so one car is parked off the driveway opposite the driveway of the other man.

The other man (a hospital consultant) lives alone and only has one car and a massive drive. He never parks on his massive drive though, instead choosing to park his huge car off his drive, on the other side of the road to the neighbours car, making it tight to get through. His drive is always empty! But it obviously makes them both feel better to reserve their bit of pavement and stop the other encroaching!

we’ve had this sooooo many times

I just feel they are invading my space. I know it isnt logical which is why I would never confront anybody like the person did in the OP's post. But I just hate it.

The self appointed king of your street has announced themselves. Every street has one. We have a really wide frontage and there's always some random car(s) parked outside. Solution is a high hedge so I can't see them 😀

The bloke's a bloody moron. When we moved here (many years ago), a bloke 2 doors away came round to complain about us parking near his house (not blocking his drive at all) - when it was sleeting, we were trying to get the settee through the front door, and our kids and cat were trying to escape. We didn't want any bother so moved the car. He didn't speak to us for 25 years!

“DP then said sorry I'll move it, I didn't mean to upset you and we'd like to keep good relations with you”

this would annoy me just as much as the entitled batshit neighbour…dh needs to get a backbone and not tolerate and enable this nonsense behaviour.

Ridiculous-my sisters road is likke this half of the road doesnt have their own parking half does

the half that half their own drives park on the road in front of their house to stop others parking there-ive never seen anything so petty

My husband and I separated last September. He’s now in a rented house on a street with no off road parking. I went to drop some things round one weekend and parked in front of H’s new house. Not long afterwards his neighbour knocked on the window asking me to move my car. I was leaving anyway so I got in my car and drove away. Neighbour has a large 4x4 so I assume he couldn’t get into the space in front of his house.

After I left the new neighbour then starting banging on H’s window, saying I had called him a cunt (I didn’t even speak to him) and shouting that no woman is going to speak to him like that etc.

Apparently new neighbour’s daughter has a car now and she parks in front of H’s house and when she goes out her dad reverses his car slightly so he is then taking up two spaces. He moves it forward when she comes back.

I think the neighbour had this intention all along and wanted to make sure no one parked in front of the house H lives in. H doesn’t care because he doesn’t drive.

So yes people can be pricks about parking.

Never ever move your car for pricks like this. They won't thank you for 'keeping them happy' anyway.

Park there more often.

He wouldn't rant at a random who parked there. He's just doing it to demonstrate his willy waving ability and insecurity. He's trying to piss on his lamppost.

Treat accordingly.

In the place I last lived I used to get annoyed at a couple of neighbours who would park outside our house and get their visitors to as well - but the reasons it annoyed me were twofold. Firstly, they had drives- in one case bigger than we had, they just didn't want to have to shuffle. Secondly, they wouldn't park on the street outside their own houses, but would ours- because they knew it made it hard to get on and off the drives if someone was parked by them. So they deliberately went out of their way, to park outside our house which was further away because despite knowing it would make life hard for us.

I've had people ask me. I've always said 'its a suitable place to park, i can't stop you and it really doesn't bother me anyway' I've always found it weird they ask. Its a good, safe and sensible place to park given the alternatives.

I don't get the angst at someone parking outside your house. Unless its private bays or yellow lines or permits, then crack on.

I do despite lamppost pissers.

I have had words with people about parking in front of my house, actually. Only in my first house, in 1998.

Context: it was a new-ish estate, not on a main road, all the houses had garages and a drive. Long cul de sac with some houses including mine on a lower level to the cul de sac, small front garden sloping down to house, no walls or fences on the front gardens.

The layout meant that the view from my front window was the side of some neighbours’ gardens and the road. However when someone parked right outside my garden, that was my view: their car. It would literally fill the window (quite a small house). Nothing to do with reserving a space: I just didn’t want to look out of my window at someone else’s car instead of a garden.

I didn’t want my view to be somebody else’s bloody car. Being in my twenties and ballsy I called around to a neighbouring house when the grown up daughter of the owners, who lived with them, took to regularly parking outside my house. To add insult to injury it was a rusty old thing with stickers saying, “Jesus is alive!” plastered on it. They had a drive that they didn’t use, and could have parked outside their own garden, but no. The crap car had to be blighting my vista, not theirs. So, too right I told them to move it. Jesus could be alive in front of their house, not mine.

All was well for a few months until a random woman started parking in front of my house during the day. I lived fairly close to a suburban railway station. One day I was back before she picked up her car, so yes, I strolled outside and asked the woman, who didn’t live on the estate, whether she’d mind parking somewhere else for her commute, please.

She said, “But Denise said that it would be OK!” Who is Denise, I asked. She pointed towards a house around the corner with an unused drive and nothing parked in front of Denise’s garden (I had no idea who Denise was). So yes, I told the women with the car to park in front of Denise’s house in future.

I have absolutely no regrets. Who tells their friends to park inconveniently in front of someone else’s house when there is space in front of their own?

We live with nasties like this opposite us too. They do things like put rude notes on visitors cars telling them they can’t park there. Awful snobs. I ignore them and find life better like that!

My neighbour always parks his car in front of my house and not his own. And I know its a public street but dude. Just park in front of your own damn house...